June 06, 2020

Senators Warren and Markey Release Statement on the Mashpee Wampanoag Reservation

Boston, MA - Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey released the following joint statement after the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in the case Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe v. Bernhardt that the Department of Interior's 2018 Record of Decision regarding the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe was "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and contrary to law," ordering the Department to reconsider and reevaluate its decision, and preserving the Tribe's reservation pending that reevaluation. 

"This is an important victory for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, and for justice. The Mashpee Wampanoag have a right to their ancestral homeland no matter what political games the Trump administration tries to play. We are glad that the Court acknowledged the importance of the arguments we made in the bicameral, bipartisan amicus brief we filed with our colleagues opposing the U.S. Department of the Interior's cruel actions. The fight is not yet finished, though. We continue to stand with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, and we will continue to hold this administration accountable."

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