The continuous struggle for land and sovereignty – The case of the Mashpee tribe

Résumé

The article aims to analyze the Mashpee Wampanoag Nation’s fight for recognition as a tribe and the recent attempts by the US federal government to take their land out of trust. Mashpee’s 1977-1978 lost court case was famously described by James Clifford in a chapter of his book, The Predicament of Culture (1988). The article looks at the continuation of their legal struggle, their recognition as a tribe under the Code of Federal Regulations in 2007 and their recent legal battle to keep their lands. Mashpee’s case is illustrative of the changes in the general perspective of tribal nations’ identities and histories which have taken place in the United States since the 1970s, as reflected in the legal documents analyzed. It also shows that the change in perspective and law itself does not necessarily guarantee sovereignty. Thus, the article takes a legal anthropological approach to the subject.