
- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
WASHINGTON— Both Democratic Party presidential candidates, former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), released statements in support of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s fight to retain its trust land.
The statements were issued in response to a call made last Friday to Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Chairman Cedric Cromwell from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. During the conversation, the bureau informed Cromwell that the U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt was ordering him to disestablish the tribe’s reservation. Former Vice President Joe Biden released this statement Tuesday:
“This past weekend, in the midst of a pandemic, the Trump Administration chose to expend effort and resources to attempt to remove land that the Obama-Biden Administration put into trust for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and disestablish the Tribe’s reservation — before the Tribe had exhausted its ability to appeal in the courts. This is unacceptable and betrays an incredible disrespect for Mashpee rights.
U.S. policy has for too long broken trust with tribal nations. It’s time to choose a different path. One of the most important roles the federal government plays in rebuilding the nation-to-nation relationship is taking land into trust on behalf of tribes. It is critical for tribal sovereignty and self-determination. It preserves tribal histories and culture for future generations. It allows for economic development and helps support the well-being of tribal citizens. It helps to right the wrongs of past policy, including the dispossession by the U.S. government of 90 million acres of tribal land, nearly two-thirds of all tribal land. The Obama-Biden Administration recognized this vital responsibility and took more than half a million acres of land into trust for tribes — including for Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.
The Supreme Court’s Carcieri decision made fulfilling that responsibility harder by restricting the federal government’s ability to put land into trust. When I served as Vice President, our Administration asked Congress to enact a clean fix of the Carcieri decision. We also included language in our budgets to make clear that addressing this decision was a priority. Our Department of Interior developed a post-Carcieri framework to determine if tribes were under federal jurisdiction before 1934, and our Department of Justice used this framework to defend the process of taking land into trust. Indeed, courts that reviewed decisions under that framework embraced Interior’s analysis. But the Trump Administration has callously reversed the Obama-Biden policies, and abandoned our nation’s treaty obligations to tribal nations.
Upholding tribal self-governance and sovereignty, respecting tribal reserved rights in treaties, and supporting the federal trust responsibility to tribal nations should be the cornerstones of our federal tribal policy. That’s why, as president, I will support a clean Carcieri fix.
I stand with Mashpee — and with all of Indian Country.”
The following is Sen. Sanders statement:
“I stand with the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe in their fight to restore lands that belong to them, and I oppose the disgraceful decision by the Trump Administration to disestablish their lands held in trust by the Department of Interior.
For far too long, the federal government has adopted policies that take land away from tribes, ignore treaty rights and interfere with tribal management of their own resources. We must reset the partnership between the federal government and Tribal Nations by putting land – and control of that land – back in the hands of tribes.
Sen. Bernie Sanders speaking at Calder Plaza in Grand Rapids, Mich. Native News Online photograph by Levi Rickert
We need a clean Carcieri fix to reaffirm the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for all federally recognized Indian tribes. A Sanders administration will prioritize that.”
More Stories Like This
50 Years of Self-Determination: How a Landmark Act Empowered Tribal Sovereignty and Transformed Federal-Tribal RelationsMuscogee Nation Marks Fifth Anniversary of McGirt Ruling with Sovereignty Day Celebration
Navajo Nation Appoints Associate Justice Eleanor Shirley as Interim Chief Justice
Suquamish Tribe Remains a Major Economic Driver in Kitsap County and Beyond, New Study Finds
Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules Muscogee Citizen Must Pay State Income Taxes Despite Living on Reservation
Help us tell the stories that could save Native languages and food traditions
At a critical moment for Indian Country, Native News Online is embarking on our most ambitious reporting project yet: "Cultivating Culture," a three-year investigation into two forces shaping Native community survival—food sovereignty and language revitalization.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 accelerated the loss of Native elders and with them, irreplaceable cultural knowledge. Yet across tribal communities, innovative leaders are fighting back, reclaiming traditional food systems and breathing new life into Native languages. These aren't just cultural preservation efforts—they're powerful pathways to community health, healing, and resilience.
Our dedicated reporting team will spend three years documenting these stories through on-the-ground reporting in 18 tribal communities, producing over 200 in-depth stories, 18 podcast episodes, and multimedia content that amplifies Indigenous voices. We'll show policymakers, funders, and allies how cultural restoration directly impacts physical and mental wellness while celebrating successful models of sovereignty and self-determination.
This isn't corporate media parachuting into Indian Country for a quick story. This is sustained, relationship-based journalism by Native reporters who understand these communities. It's "Warrior Journalism"—fearless reporting that serves the 5.5 million readers who depend on us for news that mainstream media often ignores.
We need your help right now. While we've secured partial funding, we're still $450,000 short of our three-year budget. Our immediate goal is $25,000 this month to keep this critical work moving forward—funding reporter salaries, travel to remote communities, photography, and the deep reporting these stories deserve.
Every dollar directly supports Indigenous journalists telling Indigenous stories. Whether it's $5 or $50, your contribution ensures these vital narratives of resilience, innovation, and hope don't disappear into silence.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.
Support independent Native journalism. Fund the stories that matter.
Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher