City Council adopts resolution in support of Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

A recent move by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior would dis-establish the reservation of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and take their 300 acres of land out of federal trust.

The Mashpee Wampanoag, the People of the First Light, have occupied the same region for over 12,000 years and have protected their homelands from colonization since 1620, but a recent move by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior would dis-establish the reservation of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and take their 300 acres of land out of federal trust, undermining Tribal sovereignty and the future and sustainability of the tribal nation.

H.R. 312 "Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act”, filed by Representative William Richard Keating, and supported by the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation, reaffirms the Mashpee Wampanoag reservation as protected trust land. H.R. 312 was passed in the US House of Representatives, but the US Senate has yet to vote on this legislation.

The Council adopted a resolution standing in support of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and called on the US Senate to pass H.R. 312.