Excerpt: Between 1977 and 1979, the Wampanoag Mashpee of Massachusetts attempted to reclaim ancestral lands as a source of geographical unity, cultural heritage, and economic support. The Mashpee alleged that in violation of the Indian Nonintercourse Act (1790), “tribal land was taken from [the Mashpee tribe] between 1834 and 1870 without the required federal consent.” The jury, however, found that “what was a tribe in 1842 had voluntarily assimilated into the general society by 1869” and denied the Mashpee land claim in the initial trial (28 February 1977). The First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the original ruling (13 February 1979).
