WBUR Radio - Boston - March 28, 2020
The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs told the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe on Friday that the tribe's reservation will be "disestablished" and its land taken out of trust, per an order from Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, tribe Chairman Cedric Cromwell announced in a post on the tribe's website.
"Today's action was cruel and it was unnecessary. The Secretary is under no court order to take our land out of trust. He is fully aware that litigation to uphold our status as a tribe eligible for the benefits of the Indian Reorganization Act is ongoing," Cromwell wrote. "It begs the question, what is driving our federal trustee's crusade against our reservation?...
..."The secretary walked away from us, and it's never happened before in the history of this country," he said. "They did nothing to help support us at all."
"My tribe [is] just gonna continue to fight for our land, including going through proper channels like the courts. This isn't the end for us," Cromwell said."
