Nearly ten years ago a small shed went up on the Cook Lands in Aquinnah fronting Menemsha Pond, property owned by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). It seemed an innocuous enough little building, but there was one glitch: the tribe had not obtained a building permit for it. When the tribe did not comply with a request from the town building inspector to obtain a permit, elected leaders in Aquinnah took the tribe to court. That small shed proved to be the test of a larger issue, calling into question for the first time the legal strength of a historic 1986 land claims settlement agreement signed by the tribe and the town. The agreement, also approved by the Massachusetts legislature, said the tribe would abide by state and local zoning laws. Execution of that settlement agreement paved the way for federal recognition in 1988 for the Vineyard Wampanoags, who forever hold the distinction of becoming the first federally-recognized Indian tribe in the commonwealth. (Five years ago the Mashpee Wampanoags became the second federally recognized tribe.)

The court case over the shed ended in 2004 with a landmark ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that found the Vineyard Wampanoags had waived their sovereignty, at least on the subject of land use, when they signed the settlement agreement. The tribe was bound to follow state and local zoning laws for development projects, the state’s highest court found. This applied to building permits for small sheds and it also meant any large development projects by the tribe would need to go to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for review.

The context for all this history is of course the announcement by the Vineyard Wampanoag tribal chairman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais last week that the tribe might consider some kind of casino on land the tribe owns on the Vineyard. The disclosure made headlines throughout the state and caused a small stir of reader comments online on the Gazette Web site, which reported the news.

But the truth is that the tribe cannot build a casino on the Vineyard without going through the same permitting process as any other developer. And it may not even get that far. The Aquinnah town counsel is writing an opinion this week at the request of the selectmen that is expected to say that casinos are prohibited under zoning rules.

Casinos make for quick headline news, but there should be and are far deeper conversations going on inside the tribe these days about how best to govern and care for this community of indigenous Islanders known as the People of the First Light. And Vineyarders no doubt would prefer to read something with substance about the developing Wampanoag nation within the weft and warp of this constantly evolving Island.

In a visit to the Gazette last month, Mrs. Andrews-Maltais, graciously took the time to begin just such a conversation. The tribal chairman, who is leading a complicated, high-stakes effort to win a license for her tribe to operate a casino on the mainland in Southeastern Massachusetts, acknowledged that the tribe was also considering a smaller casino operation on the Vineyard. She admitted past mistakes of the tribe, which lost millions on a failed casino venture some 20 years ago, but insisted they had learned from these.

But she also spoke at length about a wide range of topics, demonstrating an intelligent and sophisticated grasp of the complex social and economic factors that affect Indian tribes through the country. Her responsibility, she said, was not only to represent the several hundred Wampanoags who live on the Vineyard, but the larger number who live in Massachusetts and elsewhere.

Finally, she demonstrated sensitivity about the role of the tribe on a small Island and the need to bring down barriers that may divide tribal members from their Island neighbors.

“When we say our Island, it’s our Island. We take that literally. We share our Island with everybody else . . . we’re a very small community, the Island community as a whole. And we know whatever benefits our tribe will ultimately benefit this Island community and that’s what we look at. We have to live here, too,” she said.

It is hard to believe that the tribe could honestly conclude that operating a casino on the Vineyard would ever be acceptable to the Island community. More to the point, legal history suggests that it is highly unlikely to happen, even if the tribe wished it so.

Behind the public grandstanding over casinos is a much more interesting story: the struggle for self definition of an ancient tribe that is in another way very young — marking its first quarter-century anniversary of federal recognition.

Mrs. Andrews-Maltais clearly understands the complexity of the issues facing the tribe and has the brains and connections to make a difference. And as she herself noted: “Twenty five years underneath this structure is really very new. We’re still adapting to what it is to have a tribal government.”

Focusing on casinos does a disservice to the tribe. We hope the tribal chairman can find a way to engage her people and lead them on issues that really matter.