Tribe wants former U.S. Navy property in Rhode Island
The Newport, Rhode Island area has hundreds of acres of land up for grabs. The U.S. Navy used to own 260 acres of land on Aquidneck Island, and developers are interested in the economic possibilities. The Narragansett Indian Tribe, however, is making a bid for the land, claiming that it falls under its ancestral footprint. The tribe is the only federally recognized Native American tribe in Rhode Island. With the land, it wants to expand beyond its existing reservation to introduce a new hotel complex, a shopping area, park space, a cultural center and public housing. In the past, the state has rejected the tribe’s proposals for a tax-free smoke shop and a casino.
Local officials are unhappy with the tribe’s bid for the land, stating that it wasn’t submitted until after years of work and planning had gone into potential development on the property. They had hoped the property could become home to mixed-use projects that might include housing, office space, a hotel and a marina.
The Narragansett tribe has asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs to intervene and acquire the land on their behalf, since federal agencies get first refusal on former Navy property. The bureau has requested to obtain the land for free and to waive the requirement that the one who gets the property pays for its environmental cleanup. The U.S. Navy has determined that the property is at least partially contaminated with asbestos, lead paint and other hazardous substances. Naval officials are in the process of responding to the bureau’s request.
Though an exact figure has not been settled upon for the value of the acreage, the former naval hospital complex alone is worth several million dollars, and the waterfront property is undoubtedly desirable.
For the full story, go to Native Times.
