WASHINGTON D.C. – The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is calling on supporters to stand with them as they continue to fight against the federal government for sovereign reservation rights.
Numerous tribal officials will be in Washington D.C. Wednesday for a walk and rally to raise awareness of its ongoing battle with the Interior Department.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Land Sovereignty Walk and Rally will begin at about 10am at the National Museum of the American Indian, located inside the National Mall before wrapping up at Capitol Hill.
In a statement about the event, the tribe says, “As the nation celebrates Native American Heritage Month, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the historic tribe at the center of our Thanksgiving tradition and the indigenous community who helped the Pilgrims survive and provided the land for Plymouth Colony, is sending out an S.O.S. (Save Our Sovereignty)”.
Wampanoag officials and supporters will be joined by tribal leaders from across Indian Country for the approximately 10 minute walk to the U.S. Capitol Building. Once there, they will take part in a rally calling on Congress to pass the Mashpee Wampanoag Reservation Reaffirmation Act.
Wampanoag Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell called the government’s decision to revoke the tribe’s land-in-trust an injustice.
“It’s about justice and restoration,” he explained.
“And this is a sign of our people coming out to walk requesting justice. We’re still here, we still remain here, and I really believe as American’s tribe it’s inherent on the face of American policy that our country would you know turn their back on us.”
The tribe is trying to restore its land into trust in Mashpee and Taunton.
Plans for a billion dollar casino resort in Taunton have been thrown into limbo since the federal government revoked a previous grant of land into trust.
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