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Appeals court rules in favor of Narragansetts in land dispute

Thursday, Sept. 15, 2005 | 9:56 a.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A federal appeals court has sided with the Narragansett Indian Tribe in a long-running dispute in which the state, worried about the possible development of a casino, challenged whether the tribe could place land in Charlestown into a federal trust.

The Narragansetts asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs to put the 31-acre parcel into a trust after the state stalled their plans to put housing there. The bureau approved the Narragansetts' application in 1998.

The state and town sued the BIA, saying they would have no power to control development or tax the property if the land was put into a trust. It alleged the government did not have authority under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 to put the land into trust for the Narragansetts' benefit.

They also charged that the tribe's true aim was to develop gambling facilities.

A three-judge panel with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston disagreed in a decision on Tuesday.

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