Feds Drop Appeal That Threatened Mashpee Wampanoag's Reservation

MASHPEE, MA — The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe scored a major victory for its tribal recognition.

The U.S. Department of the Interior withdrew its federal court appeal which threatened to disestablish the tribe's reservation.

In 2018, the department under President Donald Trump tried removing the tribe's reservation status, but Paul Friedman, a federal district judge in Washington D.C., overruled the decision last year calling it "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and contrary to law." The department under President Joe Biden, signaled Friday they will drop the lawsuit, according to CAI, Cape Cod's local NPR affiliate.

Jess Little Doe Baird, the vice chair of the tribe, told the Cape Cod Times the appeal drop was a triumphant victory for the people of the Mashpee Wampanoag. She said she looks forward to closing a painful chapter in the tribe's history.

"Today is sakôhsuwôk, a triumph," Baird told the newspaper. "The decision was a win "for the citizens of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and our Ancestors who have fought and died to ensure our Land and sovereign rights are respected."