Appeal set in First Circuit Court, February 5 in Boston – Tribal Transportation Available

The Tribe’s appeal of the Massachusetts federal court decision that the Government could not take the Tribe’s land into trust will be heard by the First Circuit on February 5, 2020 at 9:30 AM in the En Banc Courtroom on the 7th floor of the federal courthouse. The case is “David Littlefield, et al. v. Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribe,”  Docket #16-2484. 

Tribal Transportation will be available with limited seating for Tribal Members. The Tribal vehicle(s) will depart the MWT C&G Building on Wednesday, Feb. 5 by 7 a.m. sharp and will return to the Tribal building directly following the close of the court proceedings in Boston.

 Please call or email Trish at Trish.Keliinui@mwtribe-nsn.gov or 508.477.0208 ext. 167 no later than Tuesday, Feb. 4 by 10 a.m., if interested in reserving a seat on the van.

The courthouse is located at 1 Courthouse Way, Boston, MA 02110.

Through this appeal, the Tribe hopes to uphold the original Record of Decision accepting the Tribe’s land into trust.

This appeal concerns the question of whether the Department of the Interior was authoritto take the Tribe’s land into trust.

The argument of this appeal will consist of 15 minutes of arguing for each side. The Court will not reach a decision on February 5, 2020, but will likely do so within the next several months. 

We welcome and encourage all Tribal members and supporters to attend. If you do attend, please bring a photo ID.