#Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts

[macabremiss]

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts stands in solidarity with Palestine during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.

[littlefeather-wolf]

Mashpee Wampanoag Origine ...

Mashpee Indian, Cape Cod - 1929

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, also known as the People of the First Light, has inhabited present day Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island for more than 12,000 years.

[fls-international]

Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day from FLS Boston Commons

~Learn about Massachusetts Indigenous People~

Culture of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band

History of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)

[beardedmrbean]

The New England-based Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe issued a statement after an unexpected demonstration involving a Palestinian flag took place on their float during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City on Thanksgiving morning.

In a still image shared by the tribe, someone in the background can be seen holding a small red, black, white, and green flag above their head.

The tribe didn’t identify who held up the flag but made it clear in a statement that they didn’t endorse the actions.

“It’s unfortunate that we are not focused on the beautiful display of our culture and history at the Macy’s Day Parade but rather on the actions of an individual tribal citizen. We want to make it very clear that the Tribe takes no stance on the conflicts overseas,” the statement read.

The tribe added, “Our Tribal Nation remains focused on the issues we face on our ancestral homeland. While we cannot speak for an individual’s actions, his actions were not a Tribal decision. Our governing tribal body, along with the other tribal citizens on the float, were not involved with his actions.”

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, also known as the People of the First Light, has inhabited present day Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island for more than 12,000 years, according to their website.

In 2015, the federal government declared 150 acres of land in Mashpee and 170 acres of land in Taunton as the Tribe’s initial reservation, on which the Tribe can exercise its full tribal sovereignty rights.

The Mashpee tribe currently has approximately 3,200 enrolled citizens.

[jcmarchi]

MIT welcomes nine MLK Scholars for 2024-25

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/mit-welcomes-nine-mlk-scholars-for-2024-25/

MIT welcomes nine MLK Scholars for 2024-25

Every year since 1991, MIT has welcomed outstanding visiting scholars to campus through the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Professors and Scholars Program. The Institute aspires to attract candidates who are, in King’s words, “trailblazers in human, academic, scientific and religious freedom.”

MLK Scholars enhance the intellectual and cultural life of the Institute through teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels, and through active research collaborations with faculty. They work within MIT’s academic departments, but also across fields such as medicine, the arts, law, and public service. The program honors King’s life and legacy by expanding and extending the reach of our community.

“The MLK Scholars program is a jewel — a source of deep pride for the Institute,” says Karl Reid ’84, SM ’85, MIT’s vice president for equity and inclusion. “Scholars who come to us broaden the perspectives of our students in the classroom, and they help power innovations in our labs. Overall, they make us better. It is an honor to advance this program through partnerships with faculty and students across the Institute.”

Headquartered in the Institute Community and Equity Office, the MLK Scholars Program is also working closely with MIT’s new Vice Provost for Faculty, Institute Professor Paula Hammond. “These individuals bring so much strength to us. We want to expand the program’s reach and engagement,” she says. “We want to cast a wide net when we recruit new scholars, and we want to make the most of our time together when they are here with us on campus.”

This year’s cohort of MLK Scholars joins a group of more than 160 professors, practitioners, and experts — all of whom are featured on the program’s new website: https://mlkscholars.mit.edu/. 

The 2024-2025 MLK Scholars:

Janine Dawkins serves as the chief technical director for Jamaica’s Ministry of Transport and Mining. She holds an MS in civil engineering and PhD in philosophy, both from Georgia Tech. Hosted by professor of cities and transportation planning Jinhua Zhao, Dawkins brings a wealth of experience in transportation engineering and planning, government administration, and public policy. One of her areas of focus is identifying a balanced approach to traffic compliance.

Joining MIT in January 2025, Leslie Jonas, an elder member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, is an Indigenous land and water conservationist with a focus on weaving traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM). She is a founding board member of Native Land Conservancy Inc. in Mashpee, Massachusetts, and earned a MS in community economic development from Southern New Hampshire University. Her work is focused on involving and educating communities about environmental justice, cultural respect, responsible stewardship and land-management practices, as well as the impact of climate change on coastal areas and Indigenous communities. Her faculty hosts are Christine Walley and Bettina Stoetzer, both from MIT Anthropology. In addition to her ongoing collaboration on an MIT Sea Grant project, “Sustainable Solutions for Climate Change Adaptation: Weaving Traditional Ecological Knowledge and STEAM,” she will help foster relationships between MIT and local Indigenous communities.

Meleko Mokgosi is an associate professor and director of graduate studies in painting and printmaking at the Yale University School of Art. He is hosted by Danielle Wood, an associate professor with joint appointments in the Media Lab and Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Mokgosi will join Wood’s Space Enabled Research Group in the MIT Media Lab. His expertise in post-colonial studies and critical theory align with the group’s mission to “advance justice in Earth’s complex systems using designs enabled by space.” In collaboration with Wood, Mokgosi will use art to explore the meaning of African space activities. He earned his MFA in interdisciplinary studio program from University of California in Los Angeles.

Donna Nelson, a 2010-2011 MLK visiting professor previously hosted in the Department of Chemical Engineering, returns to the program sponsored by Wesley Harris, the Charles Stark Draper Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, as her faculty host. She is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Oklahoma. Her two areas of focus are on fentanyl data standardization and dissemination and using mindset and personality surveys as performance predictors in her work in STEM education research. Her visiting appointment begins in January 2025. Nelson earned her PhD in chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin.

Justin Wilkerson is currently a tenured associate professor and the Sallie and Don Davis ’61 Career Development Professor in the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University. His research interests include micromechanics and multiscale modeling. He brings to MIT a specialized knowledge in the thermomechanical behavior of materials subject to extreme environments as a function of their composition and microstructure. Zachary Cordero and Raul Radovitzky, both from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, are his faculty hosts. Wilkerson earned his PhD in mechanical engineering from Johns Hopkins University and received the 2023 National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

Four members of the 2023–24 MLK Visiting Scholars cohort are extending their visit with MIT for an additional year:

Morgane Konig continues her visiting appointment within MIT’s Center for Theoretical Physics (CTP). Her faculty hosts are David Kaiser, the Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science and professor of physics, and Alan Guth, the Victor F. Weisskopf Professor of Physics, both from the Department of Physics. Konig will build on the substantial progress she has achieved in various research projects, including those on early-universe inflation and late-universe signatures. These efforts could offer valuable insights to the scientific community regarding the enigmatic nature of dark matter and dark energy. Konig will organize a series of workshops to connect African physicists with the global scientific community to provide a platform for collaboration and intellectual exchange.

Angelica Mayolo-Obregon returns for a second year co-hosted by John Fernandez, a professor of building technology in the Department of Architecture and director of MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative, and by J. Phillip Thompson, an associate professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (and former MLK Scholar). Mayolo-Obregon will continue to lead the Afro-Interamerican Forum on Climate Change (AIFCC), a forum that elevates the voices of Afro-descendant peoples in addressing climate action and biodiversity conservation and expand its network.

Jean-Luc Pierite, a member of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana and the president of the board of directors of North American Indian Center of Boston, is hosted by Janelle Knox-Hayes, a professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and director of the Resilient Communities Lab. Along with Leslie Jonas, Pierite will continue his work on the ongoing project, “Sustainable Solutions for Climate Change Adaptation: Weaving Traditional Ecological Knowledge and STEAM.” He will lead two full practica projects on the integration of Indigenous knowledge in restoration projects along Mill Creek with the City of Chelsea and creating an urban greenhouse model that partners with Indigenous communities.

Christine Taylor-Butler ’81 will build on her existing partnerships on campus and in the local communities in promoting STEAM literacy for children. Hosted by Graham Jones, associate professor in MIT Anthropology, she will complete The Lost Tribes series and explore opportunities to create augmented experiences for the book series. Building on a successful Independent Activities Period (IAP) workshop in January 2024, she will develop a more comprehensive IAP course in 2025 that will equip students to simplify complex material and make it accessible to a wider range of reading levels. 

For questions and more information about the MLK Scholars program, please contact Beatriz Cantada or visit the program website.

[asteroidtroglodyte]

Some folks have pointed out (correctly) that my link above doesn’t cut very deep; it’s mostly a manifesto and some old news. Unfortunately, I don’t really have a central authority on the movement to link to. A core element of the idea behind LandBack is that the individual surviving tribes get economic and political control of their individual ancestral territories, so that they may once again apply their individual cultural lenses to the enormous task of Correct Land Management. This is about decentralization of authority.

If you want to cut deeper into the subject, I suggest you look up which tribe is closest to you and see what sorts of priorities local leadership has in mind.

For specific examples of LandBack action in practice, here’s a short list of accomplishments that qualify:

The Wiyot people have lived for thousands of years on Duluwat Island, in Humboldt Bay on California's northern coast. In 2004 the Eureka City Council transferred land back to the Wiyot tribe, to add to land the Wiyot had purchased. The council transferred another 60 acres in 2006.

The Mashpee Wampanoag have lived in Massachusetts and eastern Rhode Island for thousands of years. In 2007, about 300 acres of Massachusetts land was put into trust as a reservation for the tribe. Since then, a legal battle has left the tribe's status—and claim to the land—in limbo.

In October 2018, the city of Vancouver, British Columbia returned ancient burial site (the Great Marpole Midden) land back to the Musqueam people. The land is home to ancient remains of a Musqueam house site.

In July 2020, the Esselen tribe purchased a 1,200-acre ranch near Big Sur, California, as part of a larger $4.5m deal. This acquisition, in traditional lands, will protect old-growth forest and wildlife, and the Little Sur River.

Land on the Saanich Peninsula in British Columbia was returned to the Tsartlip First Nation in December 2020.

Management of the 18,800-acre National Bison Range was transferred from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service back to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in 2021.

In August 2022, the Red Cliff Chippewa in northern Wisconsin had 1,500 acres of land along the Lake Superior shoreline returned to them from the Bayfield County government. This came after the tribe signed a 2017 memorandum of understanding with the county, acknowledging the Red Cliff Chippewa's desire to see their reservation boundaries restored in full.

Link to Wikipedia page with sources

Look; if you don’t support LandBack, you probably don’t understand what is actually being proposed. Everything I have read and heard has been very reasonable and fair. The only folks talking about revenge campaigns are White Supremacists trying to drum up fears. The movement is co-axial with a lot of the ideas in the Ecological and Green movements. It’s a decolonizing measure. It has the potential to benefit lots of people, including non-Natives, given that many of the proposals would dramatically improve air and water quality and increase access to food across economic class lines. These folks have good ideas. I am asking you, politely, to just, take a look

[pashterlengkap]

Keep your Thanks: Here’s the justice queer Native Americans really hunger for

The “first Thanksgiving” of 1621 between the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and English Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts wasn’t as friendly as people think. In fact, many Native Americans feel that the occasion marked the start of 400 years of colonization and oppression. Some choose instead to observe the Friday after Thanksgiving as Native American Heritage Day, a day for recognizing Indigenous communities and their contributions to the nation. Many present-day queer and Two-Spirit Native American activists are working to reclaim Indigenous lands, rituals, culture, and mental health. While some public events have begun reciting “land acknowledgments” — defined by NPR as “formal statements recognizing Indigenous communities’ rights to territories seized by colonial powers” — some see such statements as a well-intentioned but empty gesture, while others see them as a necessary first step towards restorative justice. On that road to justice, however, here are some of the political goals sought by Indigenous activists: Related: Watch this adorable gay Native American couple break barriers with a pow wow dance The couple, who met on the pow wow circuit, have performed couples “sweetheart” dances, and are in awe of the warm responses they have received. Legal recognition by federal and state governments Get the Daily Brief The news you care about, reported on by the people who care about you: Subscribe to our Newsletter Some tribes were forced into reservation territory and allowed sovereignty to oversee its land, businesses, and governance. But other tribes haven’t been legally recognized at all — something that severely limits tribe members’ ability to claim ancestral lands and receive financial restitution. The federal government didn’t legally recognize the aforementioned Mashpee Wampanoag tribe until 2007, even though the tribe had existed for 12,000 years beforehand. Others continue to fight for legal recognition, even though their existence may already be well documented in historical records. Restoring ancestral lands Many tribes desire sovereignty over the lands that their ancestors once inhabited. This includes the Lakota Sioux, whose ancestors lived in the Black Hills, an area that now contains Mount Rushmore. The tribe oversaw the hills until the U.S. government violated a treaty, massacred their tribe members at Wounded Knee, and then carved the faces of four former U.S. presidents into the mountainside. Predictably, many state and federal governments oppose restoring tribal lands, but it can be done. In 2015, the federal government pledged to restore 300 acres to the aforementioned Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, though former President Donald Trump’s Department of the Interior reversed the decision in 2018. In 2009, the Wiyot people of California’s northern coast raised $106,000 to buy 1.5 acres on their ancestral land of Duluwat Island. The Eureka City Council voted to give the tribe 240 additional acres of island that the city had controlled. Around 2020, a United Methodist Church in Ohio also returned some land to the Wyandotte Nation. This restoration can neither completely restore the ecological damage nor the lost relationships the tribes once had to their lands. But for many, it’s an important way to ensure that tribe members have a home and community dedicated to preserving their culture. Preserving Indigenous knowledge Although Indigenous communities only comprise an estimated 5% of the world’s population, they safeguard an estimated 80% of the planet’s biodiversity, according to the World Wildlife Federation. This safeguarding includes centuries-old practices of hunting, agriculture, and preservation that foster a respectful, reciprocal relationship with the land while providing sustainable alternatives to widespread deforestation, fossil fuel use, industrial over-farming, and species’ extinction. These are particularly important considering the increased natural disasters that have… http://dlvr.it/SzHt8r

[henrythomsen-blog]

Exploring the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Museum (Article 6)

Amid the lush landscapes of Massachusetts, I was able to find a hidden gem on Cape Cod: the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Museum, a center of Native American art and heritage. I ventured into this cultural sanctuary to learn about the expressions of a non-majority culture that has deep roots in the region.

The museum's entrance invited me to step into a world that holds centuries of tradition. As I walked through, I was able to see things such as intricate beadwork, pottery, and vibrant textiles. You could tell that each piece had a story behind it and took time to be handcrafted in a quality manner.

The heart of the museum featured a gallery showing off contemporary Native American artwork. The pieces had many interesting ancient symbols that were an ode to Native American culture. Something that really stood out to me was a piece of art called "Honoring Our Ancestors," that was created by a local Wampanoag artist, which seamlessly blended traditional and contemporary elements, bridging the past and the present. This was cool to see as it combined the state of Native Americans now with their storied history.

As I explored the exhibits, I could easily see the deep reverence the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe holds for the natural world. Their baskets, woven from native materials, pointed to an intimate relationship with the environment. It was a reminder that art isn't just a product—it's a reflection of a way of life, a connection to the land, and a celebration of harmony.

Exiting the museum, I reflected on the significance of my visit. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Museum is more than a place of artifacts—it's a bridge that connects us to the rich heritage of the indigenous people who have called this land home for millennia. It's a reminder that acknowledging non-majority cultures isn't just an act of cultural preservation; it's an act of acknowledging the resilience, wisdom, and contributions of those who have been marginalized.

My encounter with the Native American art at the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Museum was an eye-opening experience that left me with a sense of admiration for the resilience of indigenous cultures.

[wyrmzier]

Shalom and happy Thanksgiving, please consider donating to the mashpee wampanoag tribe in Massachusetts, a tribe that was one of the first to be pushed out of their lands and are often in the fake folklore of the history of Thanksgiving. Currently Massachusetts does not recognize the mashpee wampanoag as a tribal nation and has been trying to steal even more of their land and destroying their culture

[beggars-opera]

I have not seen news of this traveling outside locals in Massachusetts, so if you have a minute, please, please read the following message from the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (yes, the one you learned about in elementary school for your Thanksgiving play), whose lands are being taken out of trust, under the radar, in the midst of a global crisis. We have reason to believe that this is directly related to Donald Trump’s personal grudges against casinos not run by his cronies.

I encourage everyone to sign this petition, contact your politicians, and spread the word to prevent this injustice.

More information available here, and at the official Mashpee Wampanoag site.

Thank you.

 --------------------------------------

At  4:00 pm today -- on the very day that the United States has reached a record 100,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and our Tribe is desperately struggling with responding to this devastating pandemic --  the Bureau of Indian Affairs informed me that the Secretary of the Interior has ordered that our reservation be disestablished and that our  land be taken out of trust.  Not since the termination era of the  mid-twentieth century has a Secretary taken action to disestablish a reservation.

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.

It begs the question, what is driving our federal trustee's crusade against our reservation?

Regardless of the answer, we the People of the First Light have lived here since before there was a Secretary of the Interior, since before there was a State of Massachusetts, since before the Pilgrims arrived 400 years  ago.  We have survived, we will continue to survive.  These are our lands, these are the lands of our ancestors, and these will be the lands of our grandchildren.  This Administration has come and it will go.  But we will be here, always.  And we will not rest until we are treated equally with other federally recognized tribes and the status of our reservation is confirmed.

I  will continue to provide updates on this important issue in the coming days as we take action to prevent the loss of our trust status.

Kutâputunumuw;

Chairman Cedric Cromwell Qaqeemasq (Running Bear)

[kissingcullens]

#StandwithMashpee against “disestablishing” the Mashpee Wampanoag reservation amid a pandemic. Fires are lit May 3rd, official hearing in D.C. is May 7th.

Light your candle or fire, let it burn 1-4 days, and post a picture with the hashtag #StandWithMashpee on twitter & other social media-

Sign the Petition: https://mashpeewampanoagtribe-nsn.gov/standwithmashpee

Call your Senator: Demand the passage of HR 312 (This bill reaffirms the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe reservation as trust land in Massachusetts.)

Donate directly: https://mashpeewampanoagtribe-nsn.gov/donations

[solarpunkwitchcraft]

For more than 150 years, the Wôpanâak language was silent. With no fluent speakers alive, the language of the Mashpee Wampanoag people existed only in historical documents. It was by all measures extinct. But a recently established language school on the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s reservation in Massachusetts is working to bring back the language. The threat of extinction that faces the Wôpanâak language is not uncommon for indigenous languages in the United States. Calculated federal policy, not happenstance, led to the destruction of Native American languages such as Wôpanâak. But today, Native language schools are working to change that by revitalizing languages that have been threatened with extinction.

[liber-legis]

At  4:00 pm today -- on the very day that the United States has reached a record 100,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and our Tribe is desperately struggling with responding to this devastating pandemic --  the Bureau of Indian Affairs informed me that the Secretary of the Interior has ordered that our reservation be disestablished and that our  land be taken out of trust.  Not since the termination era of the  mid-twentieth century has a Secretary taken action to disestablish a reservation.

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.

It begs the question, what is driving our federal trustee's crusade against our reservation?

Regardless of the answer, we the People of the First Light have lived here since before there was a Secretary of the Interior, since before there was a State of Massachusetts, since before the Pilgrims arrived 400 years  ago.  We have survived, we will continue to survive.  These are our lands, these are the lands of our ancestors, and these will be the lands of our grandchildren.  This Administration has come and it will go.  But we will be here, always.  And we will not rest until we are treated equally with other federally recognized tribes and the status of our reservation is confirmed.

I  will continue to provide updates on this important issue in the coming days as we take action to prevent the loss of our trust status.

Kutâputunumuw;

Chairman Cedric Cromwell Qaqeemasq (Running Bear)

new shock doctrine update

[quakerjoe]

On Friday afternoon, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced that they will be disestablishing the reservation of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and taking their Massachusetts tribal lands out of trust, just four years after 320 acres were placed in trust and 13 years after the tribe was finally recognized by the federal government.  

[shamandrummer]

Stand With the Mashpee Wampanoag

A Message from Chase Iron Eyes, Lead Counsel, The Lakota People's Law Project

Anpetu Waste (Good day)! I hope you are staying well, and I want you to know that we're praying for all our relations impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. One benefit of sheltering in place is that we're able to keep our eyes peeled for important news. In case you missed it, I wanted to highlight a recent attack on Indigenous sovereignty and ask for your solidarity for our Mashpee relatives.

At the end of last month, the Department of Interior announced that 321 acres of land will be taken out of trust, effectively revoking the reservation status of the Mashpee Wampanoag people of Massachusetts. For those who learned the Thanksgiving story in elementary school, the Wampanoag people broke bread with the Pilgrims in Plymouth colony, and it was Wampanoag land that the Pilgrims took. And now, in the middle of an unprecedented global pandemic, President Trump's cabinet is moving to rescind the sovereign status of these people.

President Obama placed the land in question into trust in 2015, but that decision has been reversed under Trump. A reinterpretation by our executive branch of a 2009 Supreme Court decision now only grants trust status to tribes recognized before 1934, when the Indian Reorganization Act was signed. Because the Mashpee weren't federally recognized until 2007, they've now lost their status. As Jessie Little Doe Baird, vice chair of the tribe, said "they came for our children and took them to Carlisle because we were 'too Indian.' Today, they tell us we are not Indian enough."

The Mashpee, who have lived in the Massachusetts area for over 12,000 years, are being denied their right to autonomy. With federal trust status comes the right to manage, develop, and tax a parcel of land. This "disestablishment" of the Mashpee reservation will likely force the closure of the tribal court and police department; it will cost Native people their livelihoods in an already barren economic landscape.

This blatant land-grab isn't even court-ordered — the directive came from Trump's Department of the Interior. Now, the Mashpee have asked a D.C. court to issue an emergency restraining order to prevent the dissolution of trust status, and Massachusetts senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey have vowed to combat this assault on the tribe's self-determination, saying "We will not allow the Mashpee Wampanoag to lose their homeland."

We Native people have struggled to retain less than 2.5 percent of our lands since European contact. The Indian Wars, in essence, have never truly ended. The United States' long history of systemically suppressing Native rights continues, and in 2020, land trust removal is the latest iteration of that same legacy of colonialism. We are disheartened, but as Indigenous people and allies, we have each others' backs in the face of adversity. You can stand for sovereignty by standing with the Mashpee people in their time of need.

Wopila -- thank you. Solidarity forever,

Chase Iron Eyes Lead Counsel The Lakota People's Law Project