23 April 2020, 4:45 pm - In Which Indigenous Futurisms Are Considered

The pandemic is providing a chance for the government to commit colonization crimes against indigenous peoples. It is no secret that the Trump administration has no love for reservation lands or the people who occupy them. The Trump administration took 312 acres of Mashpee Wampanoag land out of federal trust, thus the tribe will no longer have sovereign control. Cedric Cromwell, Masphee Wampanoag chair, said they felt blindsided by the decision (Cannon & McDougal, The Crimson).

“Our land is sacred. It’s where our people receive health services. It’s where our children attend our language immersion school ... Taking our land is a direct attack on our culture and our way of living,” Mashpee Wampanoag chair Cedric Cromwell said after the decision.” (Taylor, Vox).

See: Trump administration revokes reservation status for Mashpee Wampanoag tribe among coronavirus crisis

Since we just completed a partial reading of Daniel Heath Justice’s The Way of Thorn and Thunder, this current event feels familiar. In the novel, the Folk of the Everland are “asked” (more like threatened) to leave the Everland as Humans encroach on it. The Folk deny the request, and choose to fight for their lands. Unfortunately, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe must fight this battle in the midst of the pandemic.

See: The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s Crisis Within A Crisis

Unlike the Folk in The Way of Thorn and Thunder, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe was not consulted, but rather told that their native land was no longer theirs. They must now fight for their right to their native lands, and try to provide resources for their people who are affected by COVID-19.

How does this topic relate to my blog, in which the main focus is relationship maintenance? Well, the relationships we make with all people should be considered. The relationship between Indigenous people and the U.S. government is tenuous at best. When our (and yes, admittedly my own) predecessors came to America, a type of apocalypse happened to the people who lived here first. We should focus on restoring the relationship, rather than taking more from them. We cannot build a more positive future if we do not at least try to right the wrongs of the past.

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Works Cited:

Cannon, Anna Kate E. & McDougall, Maya H. “The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s Crisis Within A Crisis.” The Harvard Crimson, 17 Apr 2020, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/4/17/mashpee-wampanoag-scrutiny/. Accessed 23 Apr 2020.

Justice, Daniel Heath. The Way of Thorn and Thunder: The Kynship Chronicles. University of New Mexico Press. 2011.

Taylor, Rory. “Trump administration revokes reservation status for Mashpee Wampanoag tribe amid coronavirus crisis.” Vox, 2 Apr 2020, https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/4/2/21204113/mashpee-wampanoag-tribe-trump-reservation-native-land. Accessed 23 Apr 2020.