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House approves bill to aid casino bid by Massachusetts tribe
Source: Associated Press
House approves bill to aid casino bid by Massachusetts tribe
By MATTHEW DALY
May 15, 2019
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Wednesday approved a bill reaffirming the right of a Massachusetts tribe to hold land in trust, a crucial step to building a $1 billion casino.
The bill, approved 275-146, would allow the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to hold 321 acres of reservation land in trust, despite a decision by the Trump administration that threatens its control. The Interior Department said last year that the tribe doesn’t qualify to place the land in trust because it wasn’t under federal jurisdiction when the Indian Reorganization Act passed in 1934.
The dispute was thrust into the national spotlight last week after President Donald Trump criticized the bill on Twitter and urged Republicans to oppose it.
Trump called the legislation a “special-interest casino bill” backed by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic presidential candidate. He called it unfair and said it “doesn’t treat Native Americans equally!”
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass., said the measure was needed to ensure the survival of the tribe, which signed a treaty with the Plymouth colonists and shared a meal commemorated as the first Thanksgiving.
-snip-
By MATTHEW DALY
May 15, 2019
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Wednesday approved a bill reaffirming the right of a Massachusetts tribe to hold land in trust, a crucial step to building a $1 billion casino.
The bill, approved 275-146, would allow the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to hold 321 acres of reservation land in trust, despite a decision by the Trump administration that threatens its control. The Interior Department said last year that the tribe doesn’t qualify to place the land in trust because it wasn’t under federal jurisdiction when the Indian Reorganization Act passed in 1934.
The dispute was thrust into the national spotlight last week after President Donald Trump criticized the bill on Twitter and urged Republicans to oppose it.
Trump called the legislation a “special-interest casino bill” backed by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic presidential candidate. He called it unfair and said it “doesn’t treat Native Americans equally!”
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass., said the measure was needed to ensure the survival of the tribe, which signed a treaty with the Plymouth colonists and shared a meal commemorated as the first Thanksgiving.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/0281be8e122a462ead667698fd4ee170