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Land Rights and Pipelines

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Mashpee

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What is Happening?

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe on Cape Cod in Massachusetts are facing threats to their land rights and sovereignty despite ongoing litigation. They have occupied the Cape for thousands of years and are one of two federally acknowledged Wampanoag tribes there. On March 27th, 2020, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe was notified by the Secretary of the Interior that he had ordered the disestablishment of the tribe’s reservation, supporting his argument with the fact that the Mashpee Wampanoag were not federally recognized during the passing of the Indian Reorganization Act* in 1934. The disestablishment order directly violates the federal government’s responsibility to safeguard tribal nations and place land under trust, as well as opens up the space for development.
*An act that was meant to decrease federal control of indigenous communities and promote self-governance

Threats to Sovereignty Across the US

Tribal leaders are stepping in to address threats to sovereignty, but many tribes are losing authority and land, which means the loss of tradition, heritage, and culture. The loss of land rights have been an issue all over the US, such as with the destruction of the sacred sites of the Tohono O’odham along the southern border, that of the Apache and Yavapai peoples at Oak Flat in Arizona, the endangerment of Bears Ears and Chaco Canyon, and the inability of many Alaskan Tribes to take land into trust.

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