In the latest volley between the town and tribe over the future bingo hall in Aquinnah, tribal leaders agreed this week to halt work on the site until legal issues can be resolved.
In a stunning turn, a federal district judge in Boston issued a ruling that holds the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) must obtain building permits before constructing a bingo hall on tribal lands.
In a motion filed in U.S. District Court on April 4, attorneys for the town asked the court to clarify the scope of the court rulings that gave the tribe the right to build a gambling facility.
Members of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission met with Wampanoag tribal leaders at a private summit in Aquinnah this week to discuss fallout from the recent start of construction on a long-planned bingo hall.
Aquinnah selectmen voted Wednesday to send a letter to the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), requesting a public meeting to discuss the bingo hall now under construction.
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has officially broken ground on a long-promised gambling facility in the small up-Island town, unleashing a flurry of concern.
The Wampanoag Tribal Council, the Gay Head Taxpayers Association, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the town of Gay Head signed formal settlement papers in the Indian land claim suit last weekend.
The signings represent a major step toward final accord in the suit that has divided the town for nine years.
The Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head approved a plan last night that could lead to settlement of the seven-year-old suit claiming Indian ownership of Gay Head town lands.
The 115 to 60 margin in favor of settlement of the suit is being contested by a party within the tribe that favors suing for the entire town. But tribe leaders say they will move toward settlement.
By one vote short of a two-thirds majority, Gay Head voters last night ordered their selectmen to move forward toward turning the town Common Lands over to the Tribal Council.
The matter is far from an end, still. Ahead lie negotiation, General Court legislation, more town meeting votes, and possibly, countersuits.
But once the common land is transferred, the pending suit by the Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head against the Town of Gay Head will be mooted.
