MASHPEE WAMPANOAG TRIBE v. ZINKE et al

  1. July 30, 2020

    Biggest Native American Rulings From The 1st Half Of 2020

    The Muscogee (Creek) Nation scored a landmark victory with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that the tribe's Oklahoma reservation endures, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and others earned an order to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline, and a Washington tribe beat BNSF in a Ninth Circuit oil shipping dispute.

  2. June 08, 2020

    DOI Must Redo Mashpee Ruling, Leave Land In Trust

    A D.C. federal judge has halted the U.S. Department of the Interior's plan to take out of trust the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's land intended for a casino project, saying the Trump administration didn't properly weigh the tribe's evidence when deciding to undo an Obama-era decision to acquire the land.

  3. May 29, 2020

    Lawmakers Say DOI's Trust Decision 'Infringed' On Congress

    The U.S. Department of the Interior exceeded its lawful powers when it revoked trust land from a Massachusetts tribe in March, a bipartisan group of members of Congress have written in an amicus brief filed in D.C. federal court.

  4. May 27, 2020

    Tribal Group Calls DOI's Rule Swap 'Egregious' In Trust Suit

    The federal government "egregiously" failed to consult tribes before changing its standard for how it takes land into trust, an organization representing 30 federally recognized tribes said in an amicus brief filed in D.C. federal court.

  5. May 20, 2020

    DOI Tribal Land-Into-Trust Guidance 'A Joke,' DC Judge Says

    A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday slammed the U.S. Department of the Interior's guidance for deciding when a tribe qualifies to have its land taken into trust, calling it "a joke" and blasting the government's contention that the guidance should apply to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's land-into-trust application if it's sent back to the agency.

  6. May 19, 2020

    DOI Says It Properly Rejected Mashpee Tribe's Trust Land Bid

    The U.S. Department of the Interior has told a D.C. federal court that it correctly updated a test to decide when tribes qualify to have land taken into trust, saying it did not surreptitiously apply 2020 guidance to a 2018 decision, as the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe claims.

  7. May 12, 2020

    Mass. Tribe Says DOI Illegally Swapped In Land-Into-Trust Test

    A Massachusetts tribe has urged a D.C. federal court to ignore the U.S. government's interpretation of an Obama-era standard for determining when a tribe qualifies to have land taken into trust, saying a new standard based on the old one seeks to hinder its planned casino.

  8. May 05, 2020

    Tribe Spars With DOI Over Quiet Rule Swap In Land Trust Suit

    A Massachusetts tribe told a D.C. federal judge that a federal agency's recent withdrawal of an opinion supporting its defense in a dispute over a planned casino is grounds for blocking the agency's plans to take the tribe's land out of trust.

  9. May 01, 2020

    Judge 'Shocked' DOI Didn't Flag Rule Swap In Tribe Land Suit

    A D.C. federal judge lambasted the U.S. Department of the Interior on Friday for quietly withdrawing the very opinion that the agency relied on in its defense of its plans to disallow a casino on Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe reservation land, and for failing to mention that withdrawal in the tribe's suit over the issue.

  10. April 07, 2020

    DOI Will Hold Off On Taking Mashpee Land Out Of Trust

    A D.C. federal court has put on hold the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's bid to block the federal government from taking the tribe's reservation lands out of trust after the U.S. Department of the Interior agreed not to take any steps to do so in the next 45 days.