Indian Gaming > Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe said to claim gaming site

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe said to claim gaming site

Thursday, February 4, 2010
Filed Under: Casino Stalker

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is said to have identified a new site for a casino in Massachusetts but a state-recognized tribe is raising objections.

According to leaders of the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe, the Mashpees are looking at 100 acres in Fall River. The site apparently lies within the state-recognized Watuppa Reservation.

The Mashpees don't have ancestral ties to the land, according to the Pocassets. “If there is going to be gaming in our territory, it will be the Pocasset Tribe working with the local and state agency for the benefit of the people who live in our territory, not just for ourselves,” Pocasset Chairman George Spring Buffalo told The Fall River Herald News.

Pocasset leaders say the Mashpees never brought up gaming during recent meetings. They say the only found out about it after news reports indicated the Mashpees were looking at sites in Fall River.

The Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs has apparently looked into the land-into-trust process but executive director Jim Peters declined to discuss the issue in detail.

Get the Story:
Pocasset Wampanoags say casino is behind land deal (The Fall River Herald News 2/4)
Mum's the word on tribe's plans for casino (The Middleboro Gazette 2/4)