Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
This bill allows two Massachusetts-based Native American tribes to enter into land leases that last up to 99 years, matching privileges already granted to other tribes. The bill makes a simple change to existing federal law by adding these two Wampanoag tribes to a list of tribes with extended leasing authority.
Longer land leases give these two tribes a practical tool to attract businesses, housing projects, and other major investments on their land , developments that require decades of stability to justify the upfront cost. Without 99-year leases, developers often avoid tribal land because shorter terms make large projects financially risky.