Taunton residents file second lawsuit challenging Wampanoag land rights
A group of Taunton residents has filed a lawsuit in response to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s decision in December to reaffirm the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s right to 321 acres of reservation land in Taunton and Mashpee.
In its lawsuit, the residents say if the tribe goes through with its plans to construct a casino in East Taunton, it would alter and dominate the neighborhood. The group also argues that because the tribe was not federally recognized in 1934, it does not comply with the federal government's definition of “Indian.”
Because of those reasons, the plaintiffs argue that the Interior Department's decision to reaffirm the Wampanoag’s land is unlawful.
This is the second lawsuit that David and Michelle Littlefield have pursued over Wampanoag land rights. They previously brought a lawsuit against the Department of Interior in 2016.
Chairman Brian Weeden, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council, said the tribe is not cowed by the most recent lawsuit.
“We’ve been at war with the federal government and the colonists for over 400 years, the fact that the Littlefields (two of the plaintiffs in the case) and their counterparts are attacking us doesn’t frighten us, we’ve been fighting our whole lives and will continue to fight for what’s rightfully ours,” Weeden said.
'This news is so welcome': Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe can retain reservation land
As far as the assertion that the proposed casino would alter the neighborhood, Weeden said that it was indigenous land before it was the plaintiffs’ neighborhood.
“Our ancestors paid the ultimate sacrifice so they (residents of Taunton) could be here,” said Weeden.
Legal battles over Wampanoag lands
In 2015, the tribe was granted the right to 321 acres of reservation land in Taunton and Mashpee by the Department of Interior. That land has remained in trust since then, though the department’s decision in December reaffirmed the tribe’s right to it amid several legal challenges.
After the land was put into trust for the tribe in 2015, the “Littlefields,” a group of residents from Taunton, challenged the department’s decision by arguing that the tribe did not fall under the federal government’s definition of “Indian,” and therefore land could not be put into trust on their behalf, according to the Department of the Interior.
The definition of “Indian” under the Indian Reorganization Act is: "[1] all persons of Indian descent who are members of any recognized Indian tribe now under Federal jurisdiction, and [2] all persons who are descendants of such members who were, on June 1, 1934, residing within the present boundaries of any Indian reservation, and shall further include [3] all other persons of one-half or more Indian blood," according to the department.
Then, a Massachusetts federal court ruled that the Department could not put land into trust since the tribe was not federally recognized in 1934.
Later, under the Trump Administration, the department in September 2018 said that the tribe was not under federal jurisdiction in 1934, and could not have land put into trust by the federal government. However, this decision was sent back to the Department of Interior by the federal District Court in the District of Columbia, which found it to be unlawful.
Timeline: Land and tribal history of the Mashpee Wampanoag
The appeal by the department was then withdrawn under the Biden administration.
Attorneys for the Taunton residents did not return a phone message or an email requesting comment.
Named as defendants in the lawsuit are Department of the Interior Secretary Debra Haaland, and Bureau of Indian Affairs Bryan Newland.
Contact Asad Junt at ajung@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter: @asadjungcct.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Taunton residents fight proposed Wampanoag casino and reservation land
