MA Tribe Call On Trump To Honor Commitment To Native Americans

MASHPEE, MA — The Massachusetts tribe that broke bread with the Pilgrims is calling on President Donald Trump to honor his commitment to Native Americans.

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Chairman Cedric Cromwell said Wednesday the Republican administration needs to "do right" by his tribe and grant it the sovereign territory it has long sought for a resort casino.

President Barack Obama's administration placed 321 acres into trust for the tribe in 2015, but a federal judge sent the decision back to the administration for reconsideration after local residents sued. The 2016 ruling forced the tribe to halt construction of its casino in Taunton.

Ancestors of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe shared a fall harvest meal with the Pilgrims in 1621, helping form the basis for the country's Thanksgiving tradition.

The Trump administration didn't immediately comment.

In this Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017 photo Jessie "Little Doe" Baird, front right, vice chairwoman of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, hugs a member of the audience following the "We Gather Together" celebration at the Old Indian Meeting House, in Mashpee, Mass. For more than two decades, linguists, including Baird, have struggled to reclaim the ancient language of the Wampanoags, the tribe that helped the Pilgrims survive nearly 400 years ago. Now the tribe is in its second year of operating a preschool immersion program and has launched language classes for high school students, tribal elders and tribal families. (AP Photo/Steven Senne