Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 7608 - a package of appropriations bills - that also includes an amendment that protects the land of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.
H.R. 7608 provides funding for a number of federal agencies for the next federal fiscal year (FY21), and includes a key amendment introduced by Congressman Joe Kennedy III and Congressman Bill Keating and signed by Congresswoman Deb Haaland and Congresswoman Lori Trahan. The amendment was presented last night and approved by the full House of Representatives.
Today the bill, with the Tribe amendment, was brought to the House floor for a vote and was approved by a vote of 224-189.
The language of the amendment prevents the Interior Department from taking any action that would dispose of the Tribe's land and reservation. It would also protect the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe from endless litigation and fully recognize their tribal lands without interference from the federal government. The legislation is now headed to the Senate.
Chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Cedric Cromwell thanked the legislators for their support of the Tribe.
"This amendment is a major step toward the preservation of our culture, our traditions and our way of life. The support we've received – locally, by our lawmakers in DC and across Turtle Island – has been tremendous. The threat of disestablishment was real, but the action taken today will help to ensure our ancestral homeland is forever protected."
"Four hundred years ago, the Pilgrims settled on the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's land and they have been forced to fight for their sovereignty and survival ever since," said Congressman Kennedy. "In recent months, the Trump Administration has used the COVID-19 pandemic as cover to try to steal the Tribe's land and define their people out of existence. This amendment will put an immediate stop to those dangerous efforts."
"The fact that the Tribe of the First Thanksgiving is fighting for federal, tribal recognition should astound everyone," said Congressman Keating. "This amendment will limit the Trump Administration's constant efforts to undermine the Tribe's rights. We all know that for the President, this is about his casino lobbyist friends, but for us and the Tribe, this is about people, their rights, their health, their education, and their livelihoods."
Keating and Kennedy originally introduced the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act, which passed the House in 2019. Last month, Congresswoman Haaland and Congressman Kennedy introduced the Tribal Reservation Pandemic Protection Act to protect tribal reservation lands after filing an amicus brief on behalf of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. The work to approve those legislative proposals is still ongoing.
