Opponents say the Cowlitz Tribe, which was only reaffirmed by federal authorities in 2000 and established a reservation in 2010, say the Indian Reorganization Act mandates that tribes can only have newly acquired land deemed sovereign by federal authorities if they were recognized prior to 1934. Federal courts have struggled over which side is correct.
Tribes petitioning the DOI to classify recently purchased land as sovereign property often argue that their people have been in the area for generations, and it s a mute point whether the US government properly recognized their communities.
Cowlitz said the land they bought seven years ago was part of their aboriginal community.
Taunting TauntonWhile the high court s dismissal is good news for Cowlitz, it might signal bad news to come for the . The tribe there is trying to build a $1 billion casino resort in Taunton on 151 sovereign acres.
However, a district judge has ruled that the DOI didn t posses the right to classify the property as reservation land in 2015. Similarly to the Cowlitz, the Mashpee tribe was only recognized by the US government in 2007.
Last fall, Massachusetts District Judge William Young dismissed the Indians appeal. The tribe said that was actually a good thing, as it freed the case to move to the US Supreme Court. But with the top federal judicial branch not willing to call the Washington State case, the odds have presumably shrunk for the Mashpee people.
The ongoing trial has held up the Massachusetts Gaming Commission from awarding the third commercial casino license designated for the southeastern part of the state. Should the Taunton project be allowed to progress, the state gaming regulator feels the area would become oversaturated with gambling.
