In The News

A community-based effort to build a database of enslaved and unfree Indigenous people throughout time all across the Americas to promote greater understanding of the historical circumstances and ongoing trauma of settler colonialism.

March 10, 2025
by Alex Brown

A coalition of tribal nations and students is suing the federal government over major cuts to a pair of colleges and a federal agency serving Native American students.

March 14, 2025 (Mashpee Enterprise)
by Aimee Rothman

The event was hosted by the local nonprofit organization Linking Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Knowledge, which is dedicated to amplifying Indigenous voices across the Cape and fostering connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. 

March 7 2025 (Mashpee Enterprise)
by Lauren Surbey

This initiative seeks to enhance broadband access for underserved households in Mashpee, benefiting both Tribal and non-Tribal residents who currently lack sufficient connectivity,” Tribal Employee Rights Officer (TERO) Ellen Sharpe

Jan 20, 2025 (Associated Press)
by Colleen Long, Zeke Miller, John Hanna, and Steve Karnowski

Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier will return home nearly half a century after he was imprisoned for the 1975 killings of two FBI agents.

January 19, 2025 (NPR News)
by Kirk Siegler

At a farewell speech in Washington, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland reflected on President Biden's formal apology last October for the U.S. government's historic assimilation policies and its Indian boarding school system.

January 10, 2025 (Mashpee Enterprise)
by Aimee Rothman

Association to Preserve Cape Cod receives multi-million dollar grant from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to restore fish habitats along the Mashpee River and empower the Mashpee Wampanoag community.

December 28, 2024 (Substack)
by Heather Cox Richardson

December 28th was the 51st anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre. One of the curses of history is that we cannot go back. But it is never too late to change the future.

December 26, 2024 (Mashpee Enterprise)
by Lauren Surbey

Mashpee Assistant Conservation Agent and Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council chairman are working together to establish a focus group for the town and the Tribe’s co-stewardship of land in Mashpee.

October 24, 2024 (Vineyard Gazette)
by Gwyn Skiles

After strong public outcry, a Montgomery (Texas) County judge ordered that Linda Coombs’ history book  about Colonization and the Wampanoag Tribes be reinstated as non-fiction from its wrongful classification as fiction.

Sept.28, 2024 (Cape Cod Times)
Rachael Devaney

Article describes the history of the day and how the Mashpee Wampanoag Nation will celebrate the 3rd annual Orange Shirt Day, The National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. Along with gathering at the Mashpee Rotary and a social at the Wampanoag Government Center, all children in the Mashpee Schools will be given an orange shirt to wear to remember what happened so it never happens again.

A Federal Commission is needed to locate and analyze records from known Indian boarding Schools. Other tasks include investigating the impacts and ongoing effects, and discontinuing the removal of Native children.

This page lists resources for further information and actions needed for solutions going forward.

The 2023-2024 MA Indigenous Legislative Agenda includes 5 priorities: Remove Racist Mascots, Honor Indigenous People's Day, Celebrate and Teach Native American Cultures & History, Protect Native American Heritage, and Support the Education and Futures of Native Youth.

June 16 2023 (NYTimes)
by Abbie VanSickle

The Supreme Court upheld a 1978 law aimed at keeping Native American adoptees with their tribes and traditions, handing a victory to tribes.

History of the Seal and Flag of the State of Massachusetts. For decades, legislation has failed to replace the Massachusetts State Flag and Seal, seen by many Native people and other residents as offensive. Here is the historical background of the controversy.

In July, Governor Healey signed a budget amendment to change the state flag and seal of Massachusetts. She now appoints an advisory commission that has a year to present the legislature with a finished design for a new, aspirational flag and seal for the Commonwealth.

July 3 2024 (Bourne News)
Kelly Border

Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe chairwoman Melissa Ferretti, pictured here in front of Bourne Pond, is working to buy back land at Triangle Pond in Plymouth.