Wampanoag, who helped Pilgrims survive, win rights to tribal lands
Four hundred years after the Mashpee Wampanoag in Plymouth, Mass., helped the Pilgrims from the Mayflower survive, they have been fighting to get their ancestral homeland back. Last week, they won a major victory in a ruling from the U.S. Department of the Interior that will give them substantial control of roughly 320 acres around Cape Cod.
The decision opens the door for the Wampanoag tribe to move forward on economic development projects — such as a casino resort or housing — that tribal leaders say will bring much-needed revenue to their community of roughly 2,800 members.
“This is a momentous day for the Mashpee Wampanoag, for Indigenous communities across the country and for defenders of justice,” said Brian Weeden, the tribe’s chairman. He said it will allow his tribe to “reclaim and protect our cherished land.”
The Wampanoag’s fight to keep their land is long and complicated.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/12/31/wampanoag-tribe-interior-department-reservation-land/
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