The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe will accept sealed bids from qualified General Contractors for the Construction of its new Childcare Center located at Meetinghouse Road, Mashpee, Massachusetts 02649.

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. The amendment was presented last night and approved by the full House of Representatives.

Chairman Cedric Cromwell will join a panel of five tribal leaders from across Indian Country tomorrow at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) upcoming forum: Protecting Tribal Lands and Sacred Places: Current Threats across Indian Country. The forum will be held online Tuesday, June 23 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m EDT and will be moderated by Fawn Sharp, President, National Congress of American Indians and President, Quinault Indian Nation.

Congressman Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) and Congresswoman Deb Haaland (D-NM) today introduced the Tribal Reservation Pandemic Protection Act, which would prohibit the Trump Administration from threatening tribal reservation lands in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after the recent court victory for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the potential of a lengthy appeals process threatens the sovereignty and survival of the tribe. As the Department of Interior considers further dangerous actions against the Mashpee Wampanoag people, this legislation would give the tribe certainty and would ensure no other tribe in the country would face similar attacks.

We all share a profound belief in the importance of tribal sovereignty as a vehicle to preserve and protect our culture and traditions. This is what has driven our people to fight day in and day out to ensure our land remains in trust.

Today, the DC District Court righted what would have been a terrible and historic injustice by finding that the Department of the Interior broke the law in attempting to take our land out of trust. Judge Paul Friedman said in his opinion.

Our Tribe, the People of the First Light, is angered and saddened by the public lynching of George Floyd. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has and will continue to vehemently denounce racism! Systemic racism faced by all people of color across the United States has become all too familiar.

We face it every day we step out of our home to live the lives our creator intended. We must stand together to demand justice and work together to turn our pain into purpose. We must be true allies, standing shoulder to shoulder, asking the tough questions of those in a position of leadership.