ICWA asks community members and businesses to make the holidays memorable for our tribal youth by sponsoring a child in foster care with supplemental Christmas gifts this year (similar to how we have done the ICWA Giving Tree in the past).

The Thanksgiving holiday is a bitter reminder of a history that attempted to extinguish our culture and broken promises that have inflicted a tremendous amount of damage on our Tribal Nation. Today, we continue to feel the harm of federal policies that have fallen short of the promise to protect our land.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Health Service Unit / IHS is hosting a Vaccination Event on December 1, 2021, for the Tribal Community. The event will be held at IHS offices located at 483 Great Neck Road South Mashpee, MA 02649. Incentives to be provided to all vaccination patients.

From 12 – 3 PM, the drive-through is open to individuals 12 years of age and older. All three vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and J&J Janssen, are available. If you are eligible for a 2nd dose or your booster shot, then please join us. If you have not received any COVID-19 vaccination, you can receive your first dose at this time too.

While I listened in intently to the White House Tribal Nations Summit this week, I was reminded of a statement that President Biden made during his campaign days after the Trump administration ordered the disestablishment of the Mashpee Wampanoag reservation.

“An administration’s commitment to trust and treaty obligations to tribal nations is measured by action."

During the campaign President Biden said all the right things, beginning with a clear declaration—“I stand with Mashpee.” He called the Trump administration’s action “an incredible disrespect for Mashpee rights” and pledged to “reverse the harsh tribal policies of this administration and work to implement the priorities of tribal nations rather than work against them.”

The MWT Food Pantry will be distributing $25 gift cards to enrolled tribal members for holiday food shopping. The gift cards will first be distributed to elders on Friday, November 19 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Beginning on Friday, November 19 at 2:00 PM and continuing on Monday, November 22 and Tuesday, November 23 all tribal members, including elders, may pick up their gift card. One gift card per tribal household. Gift cards may be picked up during the hours below at the MWT Food Pantry located at the Community and Government Center.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Emergency Management Department (MWTEMD), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the Mashpee Health Service Unit (IHS), have sent out two separate vaccination surveys.

One survey is for individuals 12 years and older (General Vaccination Survey), and the other survey is specifically for parents and guardians with children 5 – 11 years of age (Pediatric).