MASHPEE – Members of the Cape’s legislative delegation have sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, expressing their disappointment in the decision to disestablish and take land out of trust for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs last month was ordered to disestablish over 300 acres of land that was put into trust for the tribe.

The letter, which included state representatives and senators across the Commonwealth, stated the fact that the decision was made in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic “demonstrates a callous disregard for human decency.”

“This outrageous decision comes as we mark 400 years since the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620 and recognize the People of the First Light who inhabited these shores for centuries before contact. The Department’s capricious action brings shame to your office and to our nation,” said the statement.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe last week asked the U.S. District Court in D.C. to issue an emergency restraining order to prevent the Secretary of the Interior from taking the tribe’s land out of trust.

The move would delay the decision by Secretary David Bernhardt to terminate the tribe’s land in trust.