Tribe's claim to casino land supported

TAUNTON, MASS. (AP) - A report prepared for the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe finds historical evidence of the tribe's links to land on which it hopes to build a $500 million casino.

The tribe has no reservation lands of its own and has asked the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs for approval to put the 146-acre site in Taunton into federal trust. To win the designation, they must prove both historic and modern ties to the land.

The report, obtained by the Cape Cod Times, says the Mashpee tribe is what's left of a larger tribe that once dominated southeastern Massachusetts, but was decimated in the 17th century King Philip's War. The report includes maps and documents linking the tribe to Cohannut, the Indian name for Taunton.

The report was prepared by anthropologist Kathleen Bragdon from the College of William and Mary.