Mashpee Wampanoag History

Some might find the information provided in the links interersting:

What is a tribe? by: Bob
Wed Oct 17, 2007 at 13:39:02 PM EDT
This may particularly interest those of you focused on the recent casino gambling vote. The Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities reminds us that on this day in 1978, a trial began on Cape Cod to determine whether the Mashpee Indians met the legal definition of a tribe.

If they did, they could sue for the return of land granted to them in 1685. With huge amounts of undeveloped land at stake, Mashpee's non-Indian residents hired lawyers. The defense argued that the Mashpee Wampanoag had intermarried with so many different groups over the years that they were no longer genetically the same people as the original Mashpee. The lawyers also claimed that the Mashpee had not maintained their traditions. After a 40-day trial, the judge declared that the Mashpee Wampanoag did not meet the legal definition of a tribe and therefore had no standing to sue. The case was dismissed.
Native Americans screwed again, it sounds like to me. In any event, the story continues:


The Mashpee lost the case but did not abandon the effort to reclaim their land. In 1990 they petitioned the U.S. government for recognition as a tribe. On March 31, 2006, after a 31-year struggle, the 1,468-member tribe finally won preliminary recognition. The Globe reported that the announcement "was greeted with tears, howls of jubilation, and the beating of drums by tribal members. 'We've been waiting so long,'" one 89-year-old Wampanoag sobbed.
Click here for the full story, from the Foundation. It is interesting reading.

http://bluemassgroup.com/frontPage.do