Trump administration revokes tribe’s reservation status in ‘power grab’

Sign of willingness to use discretionary powers to attempt to take lands away from Native American tribes, advocacy group says

A tribe is losing reservation status for its more than 300 acres in Massachusetts, raising fears among Native American groups that other tribes could face the same fate under the Trump administration.

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, which traces its ancestry to the Native Americans that shared a fall harvest meal with the Pilgrims in 1621, was notified late on Friday by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs that it will be rescinding its reservation designation and removing the land from federal trust, according to Cedric Cromwell, the tribe’s chairman.

In the midst of a pandemic, the Trump Administration chose to expend effort to attempt to disestablish the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s reservation. #IStandwithMashpee and with all of Indian Country. https://t.co/5Z6nZjClAf

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