Today a sovereign people came together to formally raise a new leader after the recent passing of the last. No, not talking about the British. Today, Mashpee Wampanoag raised a new chief. Congratulations to Earl “Chiefy” Mills Jr. 🏹🏹🏹☀️ “Chiefy” is the son of Earl Mills Sr who was formally a chief. Earl Mills Sr. (still living) is pictured on the far left with other Wampanoag chiefs and leaders in this photo from circa 1958.

I’m old enough to remember before some tribes in Southern New England were federally recognized and yes we were and sometimes are still called “fakes” today. A thread about why weaponizing federal acknowledgment as an arbiter of authenticity is a failing measurement 1 Out of the dozens of Wampanoag bands that have existed, only 2 currently are federally recognized Aquinnah (1987) and Mashpee (2007). This does not mean these are the only two authentic bands of Wampanoag that remain. 2

Last month (November 2022) for the first time in "postcolonial" Boston history, the Massachusett tribe hosted a mishoon camp with allies from neighboring Nipmuc and Wampanoag tribes. What is a mishoon and why is this so important? Keep reading... /1 A mishoon is a canoe made out of a controlled burn from a single fallen tree. It is how we traditionally traveled our land and met with other tribes. The actual burning process is a sacred one, a balance of fire & water, in which the fire must be attended to 24/7 for weeks. /2

🧵 - A Northeastern tribal perspective on the ethnic fraud and harm caused by Professor Elizabeth (Liz) Hoover who has falsely claimed a Mohawk and Mi'kmaw identity. #lizhoover #elizabethhoover Hoover rose through the academic ranks at New England's most elite institutions, BA at Williams College, MA and PhD at Brown and held an Assistant Professor position at Brown for 10 years, while also heading the NAIS program.

A thread: about "the List". I have read and studied the list. According to the author, the list names people who do not have any Native ancestors. Like none. Zero. She claims it's not simply about enrollment but people who claim a completely fabricated Native identity for profit However a close examination of the genealogies and identities of people on the list shows that this is not true at all. But first, "pretendians". I'm sure most of us have encountered someone who has lied about being Native and it hurts. We feel duped, taken advantage of and more.

A thread: The dangers and irresponsibility of using reported race on census and vital records to determine Indigenous identity in the age of "Pretendian" allegations. The woman in my profile picture is a Wamapanoag woman named Zerviah Gould Mitchell (1807-1898). She is a direct lineal descendant of Osamequin (Massasoit who "greeted" the Pilgrims) and published a book about her genealogy in 1878. However save for the 1870 and 1880 U.S. federal censuses, and her death record, she wasn't recorded as "Indian" on census/vital records.