Note: This ongoing issue of revoking reservations is a crisis to say the least. It is critical that you understand what is happening across the U.S. Please read the latest move in The Guardian. The Podcast, This Land, is posted on our MAIA site and discusses what is in jeopardy for five tribes on nearly half the land in Oklahoma.

A tribe is losing reservation status for its more than 300 acres in Massachusetts, raising fears among Native American groups that other tribes could face the same fate under the Trump administration.

The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, which traces its ancestry to the Native Americans that shared a fall harvest meal with the Pilgrims in 1621, was notified late on Friday by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs that it will be rescinding its reservation designation and removing the land from federal trust, according to Cedric Cromwell, the tribe’s chairman.

He said the move is “cruel” and “unnecessary” as the tribe and others across the nation are struggling to respond to the coronavirus pandemic within their sovereign lands.