Department of Interior Drops Appeal Signaling Major Victory for Tribe and its Ancestral Homelands

In a big victory for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the US Department of Interior and a group of residents from Taunton both motioned on Friday, February 19 to dismiss voluntarily their appeals of a ruling last summer that had protected the tribal reservation lands from being disestablished by the Trump Administration.

“This is sakôhsuwôk, a triumph,” said vice chairwoman Jessie “Little Doe” Baird. “The decision was a win “for the citizens of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and our Ancestors who have fought and died to ensure our Land and sovereign rights are respected,” she said.

The case was part of a long battle for tribal sovereignty.

U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Mass., also hailed the decision. “The claim that the Tribe of the First Light, the Tribe of the First Thanksgiving was not an original Native American Tribe has always been disingenuous,” he said. “And the Trump Administration’s sudden attempt to remove their land from trust last March — in the midst of a pandemic — was heartless. We’re reassured that the Biden Administration’s action today clearly reflects the best interest of justice ...”

In June 2020, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman found that the 2018 decision by the Trump Administration was “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and contrary to law.” He sent the case back to the Department of the Interior for “thorough reconsideration and reevaluation of the evidence.”

“We look forward to being able to close the book on this painful chapter in our history,” Baird said. “The decision not to pursue the appeal allows us to continue fulfilling our commitment to being good stewards and protecting our Land and the future of our young ones and providing for our citizens.”