Alexis Bunten and Danielle Hill — Mashpee Discussion

The US Government kneecapped the federally recognized Mashpee Wampanoag tribe by de-establishing their reservation trust land in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This decision is especially poignant because 2020 marks the 400 year anniversary of the arrival of the pilgrims, who settled on top of an empty Wampanoag village, abandoned because up to 90% of the tribe had died of a similar epidemic introduced by European traders that ravaged the community from 1616–1620.

Despite this devastating loss, the Wampanoag still helped the Pilgrims to survive, and they still remain on their ancestral homelands, now threatened by the US Department of the Interior.

Listen in on a fascinating conversation with Alexis Bunten, Co-Director of Indigeneity for Bioneers and Danielle Hill, co-founder of Wisconsin’s Singing Trees Farm Collective and Mashpee Wampanoag tribal citizen. In this 35 minute conversation, Alexis and Danielle discuss how this decision connects to a broader legacy of tribal termination, how capitalism and racism figure into this tragic decision, and much more.