{"id":101698,"date":"2019-03-29T10:50:39","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T17:50:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=101698"},"modified":"2019-03-29T15:00:27","modified_gmt":"2019-03-29T22:00:27","slug":"elizabeth-warren-out-as-mashpee-wampanoag-federal-land-bill-backer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/elizabeth-warren-out-as-mashpee-wampanoag-federal-land-bill-backer\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Warren Out as Mashpee Wampanoag Federal Land Bill Backer"},"content":{"rendered":"

A federal bill that would restore the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe\u2019s right to call land in Massachusetts to its sovereign reservation — and build a $1 billion casino on it — is due to get its first hearing in Congress next Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\"\"
US Senator Elizabeth Warren is anything between 1\/64th and 1\/1,024th Native American \u2013 a fact that does not appear to have impressed the Mashpee who want her to have nothing to do with their casino bill. (Image: Win McNamee\/Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren<\/a>\u00a0(D-Mass) will not be allowed anywhere near the bill, because her much-derided insinuation into Native American identity politics has turned her into a liability.<\/p>\n

No Love for Warren<\/h2>\n

The US House Committee on Natural Resources on Wednesday could rescue the troubled Mashpee Wampanoag reservation and its planned tribal casino in Taunton, Massachusetts — if members approve a supportive bill.<\/p>\n

But according to sources who spoke to news site\u00a0Inside Sources<\/em> this week, Warren is out.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone knows it\u2019s her bill, but they [the Mashpee] don\u2019t want her anywhere near it,\u201d said IS<\/em>\u2019s source, who is described as an \u201cindustry insider.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite being a co-sponsor of the bill last year, Warren has not endorsed or supported it since the latest Congressional session began. IS<\/em> claims this is part of a strategy by the Democratic leadership of the House to push the controversial legislation through Congress with as little fanfare as possible.<\/p>\n

Last week, Democrats had planned to bypass the committee process entirely and railroad the bill to the House floor for a vote, but opponents — not just in the GOP, but also among Rhode Island Democrats who are against another casino in Massachusetts — caught wind of the plan.<\/p>\n

DOI Flip-Flopping<\/h2>\n

The committee will hold a hearing on HR 312 — the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act — that gives federal recognition of the Mashpee\u2019s land, located some 36 miles west of Cape Cod — and would \u201cpromptly\u201d dismiss pending legal action.<\/p>\n

Last September, the Department of the Interior (DOI) reversed its 2015 decision to take 321 acres of land into trust to turn it into sovereign territory.\u00a0That move not only put the planned $1 billion gaming venue at risk, but potentially strips the tribe of its reservations in both Mashpee and Taunton.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The court action was brought by neighbors of the property — who are bankrolled by rival casino developer Neil Bluhm — and resulted in Boston federal Judge William G. Young\u00a0ruling in 2016 that the DOI had inappropriately recognized the tribe and never should have accepted its land in trust.<\/p>\n

Key in the decision was the argument that the tribe was not under federal jurisdiction in 1934, when the Indian Reorganization Act was approved, and that it did not meet the legal definition of \u201cIndian\u201d as used by the DOI. The federal government did not recognize the tribe until 2007.<\/p>\n

In response, the tribe filed its own lawsuit against the DOI.<\/p>\n

The reservation land remains in trust until a final judge\u2019s order is issued.<\/p>\n

A congressional source told Casino.org <\/em>that\u00a0this marks the first time in the last 50 years that a federally recognized tribe has had trust land revoked.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Committee Chair Rep. Raul Manuel Grijalva (D-Arizona), does not believe the issue is about gaming, but rather about the federal government maintaining its obligations.<\/p>\n

Tribal Future at Risk<\/h2>\n

Last December, Cedric Cromwell, chairman of the tribal council warned, \u201cUnless Congress enacts legislation now \u2026 in 2019 we will have to close programs, shutter our school, lay off our governmental employees, and witness the dissolution of all that we have achieved since our federal recognition\u2026.,\u201d according to the Mashpee Enterprise<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Casino operator Genting Malaysia<\/a> initially had given financial backing for the casino proposal, but the tribe\u2019s debt was estimated at over $500 million and much of that was owed to the company.<\/p>\n

As the debate continues over the gaming venue, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has experienced its own infighting. In January,\u00a0Cromwell became the focus of a no-confidence vote<\/a> by the tribal council, but that vote was rescinded in February, even as three members of its tribal council facied possible removal from office stemming from questions raised over tribal finances and other issues.<\/p>\n

As envisioned, the First Light Resort & Casino would include: three hotels, 3,000 slot machines, 40 poker tables and 150 game tables, as well as an outdoor water park and two restaurants.<\/p>\n

\n

Warren\u2019s Deleterious DNA<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The tribe\u2019s only hope is an Act of Congress, but Mashpee now believe Warren\u2019s involvement could torpedo the bill\u2019s chances.<\/span><\/p>\n

The US Senator has been widely mocked for her claims to Native American heritage since the Wall Street Journal<\/em> discovered she had listed herself as a racial minority in the Association of American Law Schools Directory of Law Teachers<\/em> from 1986 to 1995.<\/span><\/p>\n

Soon after co-sponsoring the Mashpee bill, Warren released the results of a DNA test, which did in fact prove she had Native American blood — although it dated back six to ten generations, which made her anything between 1\/64th and 1\/1,024th Native American.<\/span><\/p>\n

Actual Native Americans were not impressed. Secretary of State of the Cherokee Nation Chuck Hoskin Jr summed up the mood when he described Warren\u2019s flaunting of the test as \u201cinappropriate and wrong,\u201d adding that it \u201cdishonored legitimate tribal governments and their citizens, whose ancestors are well documented and whose heritage is proven.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Casino.org Senior Reporter Philip Conneller contributed to this story.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A federal bill that would restore the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe\u2019s right to call land in Massachusetts to its sovereign reservation — and build a $1 billion casino on it — is due to get its first hearing in Congress next Wednesday. But presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren\u00a0(D-Mass) will not be allowed anywhere near the bill, because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":101722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,18456],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nElizabeth Warren Out as Mashpee Wampanoag Federal Land Bill Backer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"US Senator Elizabeth Warren support of a federal bill to restore land in trust to the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe is no longer desirable because it could sink the bill, according to sources.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/elizabeth-warren-out-as-mashpee-wampanoag-federal-land-bill-backer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" 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