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.

Here is a timeline of key events in efforts by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to offer gambling in Massachusetts:

1870 – Massachusetts incorporates the town of Gay Head over the objections of the Wampanoags.

Dec. 1974 – Tribe sues town in U.S. District Court, asserting its rights to tribal land under the 1790 Non-Intercourse Act.

Construction has begun on a large bingo hall planned by the tribe in Aquinnah — and tribal leaders have issued a stern warning to the town and the Martha’s Vineyard Commission to not interfere.

Chilmark selectmen Tuesday evening discussed asking the Martha’s Vineyard Commission to review plans by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to build a bingo hall on tribal land in neighboring Aquinnah.

An Aquinnah selectman met with the chairman of the Wampanoag tribe to discuss the current status of the bingo hall project. But there were few new details.

An exchange of correspondence has begun between Aquinnah selectmen and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) over the tribe’s planned class II gambling facility in the town.

With a festive panoply of traditional songs, dance, food — and one marriage proposal — the Wampanoag Tribe hosted its annual powwow this weekend.

Aquinnah selectmen sent a letter to the chairman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) this week requesting a meeting to discuss the bingo hall.

The gaming arm of the Wampanoag Tribe announced Wednesday that it will partner with an Oklahoma tribe to open a bingo hall in Aquinnah.