A Fight for Homelands: The Mashpee Wampanoag

Author: Allison Baker

          The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe currently resides in present day Massachusetts as well as Eastern parts of Rhode Island. The tribe has claimed this area as their home for more than 12,000 years. In 2007 they were recently re-granted federal recognition. The tribe consists of roughly 2,600 enrolled members. As of 2015, they have roughly 320 acres between the Mashpee and the Taunton to call their reservation. On these grounds, the tribe is allowed to practice full sovereignty. Recently, “The federal government has ruled that the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe does not qualify for a reservation” (“Mashpee Wampanoag Confront…”). The tribal leaders and members state that they are losing their self-governance, which makes them feel like it’s the General Allotment Act all over again. Without self-governance, there is no way to for the tribe to allow for their program that enhance the liveliness of their culture. Part of one quote in an article from WBUR states that “The loss of self-governance is a way to destroy tribes. Whether it's civil action or civil activities like the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe's language immersion school, or criminal jurisdiction, both of those things are essential powers of self-governance.” (“Mashpee Wampanoag Confront…”).

            It was on Thanksgiving eve when the Mashpee land was withdrawn from trust status. The tribe speaks on how they welcomed Pilgrims into their lands hundreds of years ago, but now those same people are depriving them of their resources on that very same day. The initial land was put into trust status under an Obama-era decision. Many place blame on Trump's administration and have every right to do so. The Federal court in Washington D.C. claims that “the tribe could not follow the land-into-trust process because it wasn't "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934” (“Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Faces…”), and is using this as their platform to retract the status of their land trust.

This issue not only takes away valuable tribal lands, but it also negatively impacts those within the tribal community. The tribe has been in the area for more than 12,000 years. They are the native people that are mentioned when we discuss the stories of the Thanksgiving dinner. By taking the land away from the people, this means that they will lose their ties with the land. In Native American culture, a vast amount of spiritual importance and connection is placed upon their homelands. Without the land, they will lose much of their ancestral ties, ceremonial grounds, and more. This also makes it hard for the tribe to enforce education to keep their languages alive. Going back to the loss of self-governance and sovereignty, it is so vital for Native American communities to be enabled to keep their cultures alive. Without these aspects, Native American culture would be forced to assimilate with the melting pot of cultures around them. The only thing that is keeping Native American culture seperated is the reservations in which they reside, allowing those within to teach what needs to be taught. So many Native American languages are dying out, and this is due to non-natives working so hard to eradicate them. This process began with Indian boarding schools, and still continues after the erasal of these institutions. Now, non-natives are simply trying to take away anything that separates the Native community from the non-native community. Taking away the land takes away a huge portion of what is still surviving of the Native American culture.

There has been no solution to this issue yet. The tribe is protesting the lawsuit against them, but it is a long battle still ahead. They have a movement that they have cleverly titled “S.O.S.” or “Save Our Sovereignty”. If you go to their tribal website, there is a vast amount of information regarding what the tribe is doing to protect their lands as well as how others can help. They regularly peacefully protest in Washington D.C., which provides good coverage of the injustices enacted towards their community. This is a prime example of a lack of cultural relativism. All cultures should be viewed as valid and important, unique to others around them. People feeling the need to erase reservations shows just how much Americans want to push Western culture onto the Native people. In my opinion, it is a very ethnocentric in mindset. Native American culture should not be compared to Western culture in any way. There is no higher importance that should be placed on one culture over the other. Deep down, the removal of trust status on Native lands is a prime examples of racism and bias’ towards the culture.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act is what might save the lands for the tribes reservation. The lawsuit is still ongoing, but there will hopefully be a positive outcome. If the process gets enough support from non-tribal individuals as well as those within the judicial system, there might be hope.

Author Bio: Allison Baker is currently a senior enrolled at IUPUI in the Anthropology department where she is focusing on Museum Studies and Archaeology. 

Sources

“Mashpee Wampanoag Confront ‘Loss Of Self-Governance’ After Interior Department Reversal.” Accessed February 23, 2019. https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/09/17/mashpee-wampanoag-tribe-lands.

“Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.” Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. Accessed February 23, 2019. https://mashpeewampanoagtribe-nsn.gov/.

 

“Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Faces New Obstacle in Bid to Protect Homelands.” Indianz. Accessed February 23, 2019. https://www.indianz.com/IndianGaming/2019/02/18/mashpee-wampanoag-tribe-faces-new-obstac.asp.

 

“Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Welcomed Pilgrims, but Loses Land on Eve of Thanksgiving • Lakota People’s Law Project.” Lakota People’s Law Project. Accessed February 23, 2019. https://www.lakotalaw.org/news/2018-11-20/stand-with-mashpee.