'Rest easy.' Mashpee tribe praises Supreme Court action preserving 321 acres in trust
Since 2021, a group of Taunton residents has been seeking to reverse a decision allowing the federal government to take 321 acres into trust for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.
On Monday, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Chairman Brian Weeden said tribal members can "rest easy," after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a petition to overturn a First Circuit Court of Appeals decision. The petition was filed Jan. 26 by David and Michelle Littlefield of Taunton, according to a court document.
"We have been fighting for too long to win back what was stolen from us generations ago," said Weeden in a statement by the Mashpee tribe. "Now the Supreme Court has affirmed our rights in a way that cannot be further challenged or questioned."
The decision is a "good thing," said Steven Peters, a tribe spokesman, on Monday. "It means the fight over our Tribe's ancestral homelands is done."
U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts, said he's proud to celebrate the decision, which he called a "victory against unjust attempts by the Trump administration to strip the Tribe of land they've stewarded for about 10,000 years."
Attorney David Tennant, who presented David and Michelle Littlefield, said Wednesday he did not have a comment.
Opposition to a hotel and casino plan in Taunton
Since at least 2016, the David and Michelle Littlefield and a handful of Taunton residents have opposed the tribe's plans for a hotel and casino, which is slated to be built in Taunton.
Despite the tribe winning federal recognition in 2015, the Littlefield family successfully sued the U.S. Department of Interior in 2016. Their lawsuit questioned whether Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe members could be defined as "Indians," which is the requirement to qualify the tribe for trust lands.
A federal judge ruled that the tribe was not under federal jurisdiction when the Indian Reorganization Act was passed in 1934. The Interior Department then considered whether Massachusetts' authority over the tribe could be considered a surrogate for the federal jurisdiction, ultimately siding against the tribe and reversing the decision to take the land into trust.
There were court decisions in 2015, 2018, and 2021, said Heather Sibbison, an attorney for the tribe said previously. While the courts sided with the tribe in 2015 and 2021, in 2018 the Trump administration rejected the Department of the Interior's interpretation of the word "Indian," said Sibbison.
The case would go back and forth through 2022 when a U.S. District Court decision asserted that the Interior Department Bureau of Indian Affairs could hold land in trust for the tribe.
On Feb. 10, 2023, Judge Angel Kelley issued a 31-page decision affirming the decision by the Secretary of the Interior to confirm the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's right to 321 acres of reservation land in Taunton and Mashpee.
Forward motion
The tribe will continue to develop options for economic development on sovereign land, including a hotel and casino. For Wampanoag people, the projects will represent growth, progression, and opportunity, Weeden said.
"We can now exercise our sovereignty and preserve our culture and traditions on our tribal lands for generations to come," he said.
Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.
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We can now rest easy that we can exercise our sovereignty and preserve our culture and traditions on our tribal lands for generations to come!
Ahâpây,Chairman Weeden
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Supreme Court decides not to hear appeal of Mashpee tribe trust land
