The push and pull between the local residents in Massachusetts and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe that has been ongoing for sometimes now is yet to see its end after the previous judgment. The tribe was not satisfied with the initial position given and has sought a review of the case, which involves a 321 acres piece of land they were to develop.
The Tribe has it that they were rightfully given this land and everything was precise on what it was to be used for. That is, the piece of property was to host their new $1billion resort center. In addition, while the business was obviously going to benefit the tribe big time, this was also intended to help create new employment opportunities for the people around.
In precise, the government, through the former president of the United States – Barack Obama permitted the land to be used and this case consented to the Tribe’s intention of building an entertainment resort, a casino and a hotel.
The obvious benefits this would have brought to the community are clear. However, the residents strongly opposed the move and through the area leaders sued the government for this decision. With this court case in place, it halted the project and so the tribe had to wait for judgment.
In most cases, the reason a casino or gaming venue can be resisted by residents is ethical practices. However, in this case, the actual reason the residents of Massachusetts are in opposition is that they were not consulted. According to calvinayre.com, the notion is that the government had no right to ignore the resident’s point of view of the decision, to just hand in a piece of land that is all open before them. And without officially putting in writing what the community should expect in return.
Another detail that the lawyers representing the residents see as weakness on the tribe’s side is the fact that the tribe is allegedly not officially recognized. That is, following the federal Indian Reorganization Act, the tribe ought to have been registered to be considered legal, long before. Since 1934, after the law was passed, the tribe did not take any action to register itself, thus it should not claim its existence.
However, on the other hand, the so-called Cape Cod tribe claims their full rights of consideration as reorganization and has previously presented evidence to showing or trace their ancestry to 1621. Their representatives stand on the ground that they have all it takes, only that their client the tribe was officially recognized in 2007.
The Trump administration at the official level has not opposed the initial decision of its predecessor, which favors the tribe. However, their opponents have gone ahead to say it openly that the members of this tribe are not even Indians to be precise. And the federal law should acknowledge. The two sides are now waiting to hear what the appeals judgment would be on the matter, while the initial plan to restart the project remains halted the second time.
