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Hey John,
A week ago we celebrated Earth Day. In the middle of a pandemic, universal calls to lift up the earth and its offerings brought to light the intersection of pollution, disease, and injustice. For many Black, Indigenous, and vulnerable communities, it’s a connection too well-known. For so many of us, first-hand experiences would shift our understanding of land beyond profit motives to a connection of family, soil, and self. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe lives this. The Mashpee people, much like Black people in America, have a long history of fighting for their land. Known as the People of the First Light, the Mashpee inhabited present-day Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island and have possessed the land for more than 12,000 years. Last month, Trump revoked their protected reservation status, removing over 300 acres from federal trust protection because he feared emerging developments on the Mashpee reservation would interfere with his business interests. We cannot let this happen. There’s still time to undo this decision by his administration, so we’re calling on Congress to protect the trusted land of the Mashpee Tribe.
The Mashpee fight for their land is not just about possession but sovereignty. As a free and dignified people, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe sought their economic security through business ownership and were undermined and delegitimized for doing so. Similarly, the land Black people would come to reclaim after emancipation-territories of indigenous people-fell victim to theft and holds memories of widespread terror. From economic exploitation by way of false deeds, stiff property taxes, and heirs property, land has perhaps been a reluctant character in the traumatic and violent fragments of Black history, but it remains fundamental to the identity and way of life for many Black and Indigenous people.
Led by David Bernhardt, the Department of Interior roped itself into a years-long battle of land, rights, and legitimacy to further invalidate the Mashpee and did so at the behest of Trump. Trump disestablishing the protected land of 2,600 people after years of bureaucracy to avoid the competition of his business interests is not only as equally heinous as his Ukraine involvement and COVID-19 inaction but speaks to the strains of his racism. For years, he has sought to delegitimize tribal casinos, other ventures, and essential infrastructure. He notably stated in reference to the Mashpee Tribe that they “don’t look like Natives.”1 What’s unfolding by way of federal agencies is a vindictive retaliation of indigenous sovereignty and serenity.
The declassifying of tribal land is too often the beginning of land erosion for protected people. As we have witnessed with the building of pipelines across the country, the depletion of resources allows for corporate influence and affects all marginalized communities. In my home state of South Carolina, Black coastal communities, farmers, and families have had to defend and protect their land ownership for generations. My early organizing years began in these communities. Having played with my siblings and cousins where my grandparents and their parents grew and planted crops, my earliest memories are linked to the land.
Black and Indigenous folks have always understood that connection to the land is a connection to one another. As Earth Day reminds us that what sustains can be lost, it is my hope that we remember that connections are movements. And in the spirit of movements, we must show up for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. With a fast-approaching court date, the decision to take the Mashpee land out of the trust has ramifications for other first and Native people throughout the country and can set a precedent for how this country treats vulnerable communities. Now more than ever we must #StandWithMashpee.
Until justice is real,
-Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Amanda, Evan, Johnny, Eesha, Jade, Marcus, Samantha, FolaSade, and the rest of the Color Of Change team
References: .“Tribe That Drew Trump's Fire Over Casino Plan Loses Its Reservation Status,” Yahoo, April 29, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/245170?t=9&akid=42170%2E4731121%2E9bhSXEE.
Black people continue to be disproportionately harmed by COVID-19. We created The Black Response to ensure Black people survive this pandemic and thrive in its aftermath. Visit theblackresponse.org to take action on the issues impacting our communities the most during the pandemic, and join our upcoming events, including LIVE conversations with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, and actors Kerry Washington and Marsai Martin on @colorofchange’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
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