PHOTO BY CRAIG F. WALKER/THE BOSTON GLOBE VIA GETTY IMAGES Research All sidesThe other day, I was scrolling through my newsfeed when I saw an article entitled "Trump administration fights to snatch land held by Native Americans for 12,000 years" by Jacob Geanous for the Metro. The article was about the continuous struggle between the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe of Eastern Massachusetts & Rhode Island. Also known as the People of the First Light, the Mashpee Wampanoag have inhabited these lands for more than 12,000 years. Now, the federal government is trying to take back those lands and the Mashpee Wampanoag's sovereign rights. Appalled, I sent the article to my father for his opinion; like me, he considers himself an Independent on the political spectrum, but tends to lean more conservatively. He always encourages me to research all aspects of news, a skill everyone on any aisle of politics should do. So research I did. And more appalled I became. What's The Government's Argument?In case you didn't know, the United States federal government has not forcibly removed a tribe's sovereignty nor taken its reservation lands since the mid-1900s. So what possible reason could the government have to retract these sacred acres from the Mashpee Wampanoag? The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 was the turning point widely considered to be the start of tribal sovereignty. Essentially, this means that tribes, rather than the US government, are what give a Native American tribe legitimacy. This also means that Native American lands/reservations are put into trusts by the United States government so that the tribe has sovereign authority over its sacred homelands. This is where the US government has gotten sneaky with their wording when dealing with the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe. Verbatim, here is the logic of stripping the tribe's sovereign rights: "The courts have concluded that since the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe wasn't federally recognized when the Indian Reorganization Act was passed in 1934, the Native American group doesn't meet the definitions of 'Indian'." That's it. The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, despite having lived on their lands since mammoths roamed the earth, are not considered to be "Indians" by the United States government and therefore, their rights as a sovereign people can be taken away instantly. This is ridiculous. Native Americans have been persecuted, decimated, stripped of rights and dignity, and face continuous disparities to this day, all thanks to the United States government and its history of "manifest destiny". Now, the U.S. courts believe that a ruling over the wording of a 1934 act can tell a group of Natives whether or not they are "Native Americans"... I'm sorry, whether or not they are "Indians". The only people who can decide whether or not they are Native American... get this... are Native Americans. It gets better (I'm being sarcastic; it gets worse). Apparently, because part of the 312 acres occupied by the Mashpee Wampanoag was where the pilgrims settled, the Interior Department claims the government couldn't have placed the land under trust for Native Americans in the first place. That's right- because of the PILGRIMS. A group of people who helped start the entire cycle of colonialism and decimation of Native Americans. Are the pilgrims still living there? No. Are the Mashpee Wampanoag? YES. You could argue the ruling makes sense if the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe is the only federally recognized tribe to be recognized since 1934... except they aren't. Not by a long shot. The Mashpee Wampanoag gained federal tribal sovereignty in 2015 (after thirty years of struggle), but many upon many upon many tribes gained tribal sovereignty after 1934. In 2019, the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians gained recognition. The argument simply does not hold up. Greed: The Root of All EvilUnsurprisingly, there is an ulterior motive to all of this, and it didn't take me long to find out what that was. The Mashpee Wampanoag had been trying to build a casino in order to accumulate funds for the tribe, like many other federally recognized tribes do. This is their sovereign right as an independent governing body. In 2019, H.R. 312 was introduced into the House, which would "confirm the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe's sovereignty over 321 acres of land-- including the Taunton, Mass. site eyed for the casino project" (Washington Post). But you see, the Mashpee Wampanoag's planned casino would bring unwanted competition for the adjacent Rhode Island casinos. Matthew Schlapp, a Trump ally and American Conservative Union chairman, lobbied against the bill for Twin River Management groups, which ran both Rhode Island casinos. Did I mention that his wife, Mercedes Schlapp, is the White House strategic communications director? And did I mention that one of Trump's former opponents for the 2020 election, Senator Elizabeth Warren, co-sponsored H.R. 312? You might see where this is going. At the suggestion of Mercedes, Trump tweeted: "Republicans shouldn't vote for H.R. 312, a special interest casino Bill, backed by Elizabeth (Pocahontas) Warren. It is unfair and doesn't treat Native Americans right." I'll skip over the rant about the nickname "Pocahontas" being super racist, and also skip over the ludicrousness that a bill literally advocating for the sovereign rights of a Native American tribe is "not treating them right". What's plain to see here is that greed is at play here, and greed is what ultimately is stripping the Mashpee Wampanoag of their sovereign lands. Less than 2 hours after Trump sent that tweet, H.R. 312 was stalled. I might be quick to point fingers at Trump and the GOP, but let me mention two parties: the Rhode Island Senators (all of whom are Democrats) and Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who is a Republican and advocate of Native American affairs. The Democratic Rhode Island senators voted against H.R. 312- because they wanted no casino competition from the Native Americans. Republican Tom Cole vehemently advocated for H.R. 312. He also stated that Republicans shouldn't be against H.R. 312 just because Senator Warren was a co-sponsor, a reflective moment of the division of our current party system. Cole said, "The communities in the area want it. The state is on record wanting it. Every member of the Massachusetts delegation wants it. Why should be we be intervening in a state like that when there is unanimity? The real conflict here is between private gaming interests that don't want Native American competition". Remember folks: every politician, whether Democrat of Republican, has an agenda. And that agenda is run on greed. Stripped of Rights in the Midst of a PandemicWhat does this mean for the Mashpee Wampanoag? Well first of all, kudos to the government for being sneaky about their timing. In the midst of a pandemic, with everyone worrying about themselves or the number of toilet paper rolls needed for the week, headlines about a barely-over 2,000 membered Native American tribe losing their sovereignty goes right under the radar. Even though, as I mentioned, the US hasn't forcibly removed a tribe's reservation since the mid-1900s. Normally, this would be blowing up... well blowing up at least a little more, considering Native American issues don't usually get "big" (they should). But the loss of sovereignty means that the Mashpee Wampanoag will lose their police force and other governing bodies. During a pandemic, this is catastrophic. This also has, rightly so, made other tribes extremely concerned about the outcome for their sovereignty. To me, this issue is not Democratic or Republican. This issue is not pro-Trump or anti-Trump. Really, the entire fallout of the Mashpee Wampanoag crisis proves more than ever that political parties and lawmakers stick to the status quo only so long as they get something out of it. It proves that the centuries of history during which Native Americans had to fight for their freedom, rights, and survival have not vanished with history: they continue to this very day. How to HelpSign this petition, "Land is Sacred: Stand with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe". As I write this, about 255,000 signatures of the needed 300,000 have been added. Please add your name to the list. You can also visit the #StandwithMashpee website , run by the tribe, for more information.
27 Comments
Mark Hines
4/15/2020 12:00:21 am
This administration is destroying this country... it's people... it's wildlife... it's natural resources... the air we breathe... it has to stop... but it won't unless we all stand up... and stand against it...
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Cathy Mckinney
6/12/2020 03:40:12 pm
Please leave native land alone
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