The recently revived Mattakeeset Massachuset Tribe of Massachusetts is claiming that the land in Taunton the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe purchased and wants to put into trust for its $1 billion First Light Casino is actually part of its ancestral homeland.
The newly revived tribe demands recognition from the Mashpees, the state of Massachusetts and municipal governments to recognize their claim, which they base on documents from before the founding of the United States.
A spokesman for the Mattakeeset, Chief Sachem Larry Fisher declared, “They blatantly fooled the whole entire country about this land belonging to them. We just want the truth to be told. It belongs to us. The Mattakeesets.”
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, one of the most written-about tribes of the last 20 years, is recognized by most historians as the tribe that greeted the Pilgrims when they landed at Plymouth Rock and helped them gather food for the first Thanksgiving 400 years ago.
The Mashpees counter that Fisher’s group is a splinter group within their tribe, not an actual separate group. And that all lived in Massachusetts for thousands of years.
The Mattakeesets have several hundred members, says Fisher, but lacks federal recognition or a land base. The Mashpees have about 3,000 members and federal recognition.
A spokesman for the Mashpees, Steven Peters, countered “Larry is well-meaning but very confused.”
The Mashpees, a tribe based on Cape Cod, were granted trust status by the Department of the Interior as the Obama administration was winding down four years ago. That status was challenged in federal court and after an adverse court ruling the Trump administration withdraw the trust status of 300 acres. Another judge ordered a stay on that action and the department has appealed.
Last month the longtime leader of the Mashpees, Cedric Cromwell, was arrested on corruption charges by the U.S. Attorney. This led to Cromwell’s removal as chairman.
Fisher argues that while the Mashpees do have a basis for a claim to the part of their reservation that is on Martha’s Vineyard that they have no connection to Taunton, where the other part of the reservation is located.
He cites a book recently published in the Netherlands by Jeremy Bangs, founder of the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum which refers to a 1664 deed that indicates it was set aside for the Mattakeesets.
Other Bay State tribes have accused the Mashpees of inflating their ancestral homelands in lawsuits in federal court.
John Peters, executive director of the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs is skeptical of Fisher’s claims. “To give credibility to a self-proclaimed chief of a tribe that hasn’t been heard of in several hundred years demeans the integrity of our culture,” he declared.
Bangs countered, “Some of the Wampanoags have tried to pretend the Mattakeesets never existed, and that goes against hundreds of years of history. They don’t call the state Massachuset for nothing.”
He claims the books that can prove the claim are registered as deeds in Plymouth.
Fisher declared, “At this time, we are looking to move on all efforts of sustainable and cultural development on our tribal lands,” Fisher said. “With or without state or federal support.”
