The Mashpee Wampanoag people know what it means to have our rights questioned, delayed, ignored, and challenged. It's happening again and I wanted to make our Tribe aware of what's truly at stake.
Since first contact, and through every generation that followed, our ancestors had to remind governments that our sovereignty is not a gift. It is not something that can be honored when convenient and set aside when powerful interests want something different. It is inherent to who we are as a Tribal Nation.
Our people have been making that argument for centuries. We made it through early petitions. We made it when our ancestors stood up for Mashpee’s right to govern itself. We made it in our fight for federal recognition. We made it in our fight to protect our reservation lands. And we are making it again today.
The so-called Historical Horse Racing proposal now being considered on Beacon Hill is not a small change to horse racing. It is a major gaming expansion being pushed through in a way that avoids the public scrutiny, regulatory oversight, and government-to-government consultation that a decision of this size requires.
These machines may be called something different, but we should be honest about what they are. They are slot-style gaming machines. Allowing them to move forward outside the Commonwealth’s existing gaming framework would undercut the laws Massachusetts already created, the protections put in place for the public, and the commitments made to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.
The Commonwealth made promises to our Tribe. Those promises were not ceremonial. They were negotiated government-to-government and tied directly to our ability to build a Tribal economy that supports our people.
For the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, gaming is not just another business opportunity. It is one of the few economic tools available to us after generations of land loss, exclusion, and broken promises. Revenue from Tribal gaming helps fund the basic responsibilities of our government, including housing, health care, education, elder services, public safety, language, culture, and programs that keep our people connected to our ancestral homeland.
When the Commonwealth opens a back door for others to enter that same market without the same rules, without the same oversight, and without meaningful consultation with the Tribe, it threatens our sovereignty and breaks faith with the promises made to our people.
We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for fair treatment. We are asking Massachusetts to keep its word.
If the Legislature wants to revisit gaming in Massachusetts, that conversation must happen openly, honestly, and directly with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe at the table. It should not happen through last-minute language that benefits private interests at the expense of a sovereign Tribal Nation.
Our ancestors fought so that we could remain a people, govern ourselves, protect our homelands, and provide for the generations coming after us. That responsibility is still ours today.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe urges the Conference Committee and the Legislature to reject the Historical Horse Racing language, honor the Commonwealth’s commitments, and respect Tribal sovereignty.
