Wunee keesuq Tribal family,

I want to applaud all of our tribal members, friends, family and community members that showed up at the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston to support our efforts to protect our homeland.

We were represented well by those in attendance and by our legal team led by Benjamin Wish. Attorney Wish understood the issues and did a great job laying out our case in a logical way.

We know we are the indigenous people that have always lived on this land. Everyone knows this. This really is a no brainer, but our opposition wants to hold us to a different standard. That’s not something we will let go. We will stand tall and demand to be counted.

There’s no question that the decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold Judge Young’s decision is a grave injustice. Our land remains in trust and we will continue to fight in the D.C. Court and our work to get Congress to take action. We will never stop fighting for the sovereign rights of our tribe.

While we are standing up and demanding to be counted in both the D.C. District Court and Congress, it’s also imperative that we are counted in the 2020 census accurately. This will have far reaching implications on our programs, services and we want to make sure every tribal household completes the form correctly.

We have a number of programs, services from education and healthcare to housing and nutrition that we rely on to keep our tribe and our families healthy. These programs all rely on a piece of the $900 billion dollars that the federal government will be allocating out largely in accordance with census data. 

It’s crucial that Native American are counted this year. There’s roughly 600,000 Native Americans on tribal reservations. In the 2010 count, nearly 1 in 7 Native Americans living on a reservation was missed. That’s like skipping the entire towns of Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth, and Mashpee. 

On top of this, budget cuts have forced the Census Bureau to reduce staff and field testing. The Government Accountability Office has deemed the agency at “high” risk of fraud and mismanagement.

If our Tribe is not accurately or fairly counted, we don’t get our fair share of the federal funds that will be doled out.

To combat this trend of undercounting among Native Americans, I will be leading a campaign to overcommunicate the importance of completing the 2020 Census and sharing the different ways that you may complete the census.

There are a number of opportunities for tribal members to work for the 2020 Census. These positions are critical and having tribal members filing those roles will significantly improve our ability to reach tribal households that otherwise may have gone uncounted.

There’s also going to be an online form. This move will make it easier for some households to quickly access and complete their census form.

I’m going to work hard to ensure our tribe is not forgotten in the census. I’m going to work hard to ensure we receive our fair share.

Our land is sacred. Our unity is sacred. Mashpee above everything!

Kutâputunumuw;
Chairman Cedric Cromwell
Qaqeemasq (Running Bear)