Jan
31
2012
Kathryn's quoted in this Boston Globe article on the Mashpee Wampanoag's efforts to acquire tribal lands and open a casino, and the effect of the Carcieri decision on the tribe's land-into-trust application. Massachusetts
More on Mashpee Wampanoag in Massachusetts
Jul
27
2010
Today's student guest blog post is by Andrew Weiss, a second-year law student in Kathryn's Indian Gaming Law course. Andrew's post discusses another twist in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's pursuit of a casino.The Mashpee Wampanoag Indians plan to build a casino in Fall River, MA, which is about an hour away from Boston and 20 minutes away from Providence, RI (a highly lucrative location). This new project was announced around May of this year after negotiations with the city of Middleborough fell through. The new casino in Fall River will include three hotels, a gambling area, shopping mall, and indoor waterpark.
Update From Massachusetts: Mashpee Wampanoag's Casino Efforts
Jul
14
2010
Today's featured student guest post is by Joshua Haugen, a second-year law student at UND:Massachusetts is deciding whether or not to allow a casino to be opened. A recent article mentions some really interesting points like:
"The Mashpee Wampanoag Indian tribe started the whole Massachusetts competition when it announced plans in 2007 to build a $1-billion casino-hotel complex in Middleboro. Since then, the tribe has changed leaders, financiers and its proposed casino location.
"The competitors now include three other racetracks, a second Indian tribe and other commercial groups, who’ve announced plans of varying scope for New Bedford, Fall River, Raynham, Plainville, Milford and Palmer.
Kathryn Quoted on Compact Politics in Cape Cod Times
Feb
2
2010
Kathryn's quoted in this Cape Cod Times article on the politics of compact negotiations and tribal-state relations. In Massachusetts, as the Mashpee Wampanoag continue to pursue Class III gaming, the tribe and the governor are on different sides of another issue -- a wind farm in Nantucket Sound.A wind farm, of course, is not related to gaming, and under IGRA should not be an issue that enters into compact negotiations. But politics, unlike law, is not easily compartmentalized into relevant and irrelevant considerations. Here's what Kathryn said about the possible impact of the tribe's and governor's difference of opinion:
More from Massachusetts
Jan
29
2010
The Cape Cod Times reports that the Mashpee Wampanoag may be looking at a new community partner for an off-reservation casino: Fall River, a community hard hit by unemployment.Senate Upset in Massachusetts
Jan
21
2010
To follow up on our last post, Tuesday's surprise was that Republican Scott Brown was elected to fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in Massachusetts. Brown took 52 percent of the vote in an overwhelmingly Democratic state, an upset over Democrat Martha Coakley. Brown, a state senator, became known for driving around in a pickup truck and cast himself as the "people's" candidate, especially on issues related to the economy. The election, of course, speaks to public satisfaction with the Obama administration, but from where we sit, it eventually will speak to the status of tribes and tribal sovereignty in Massachusetts and across the country. Kathryn Quoted on Massachusetts Senate Race
Jan
19
2010
Voters in Massachusetts will elect a new senator today to fill the remaining term of Ted Kennedy, which expires in November 2012. Most commentators have cast the election as about national health care reform, but folks in Massachusetts know that the outcome will affect a host of other issues. One of those issues is intergovernmental relations with tribes, including Indian gaming. Here's what Kathryn had to say:"Typically our officials have known very little about tribes, about the law that relates to tribes, and about good policy that relates to Indian gaming. Much of the controversy about Indian gaming reflects that lack of understanding."
