Last March, Mashpee Wampanoag’s tribal leaders began to suspect the Mashpee local government of colluding with Justice Department officials after the department delayed the tribe’s request for federal recognition. Tribal attorneys responded in May by sending Freedom of Information requests to the Justice Department and the BIA, asking to see records of correspondence between them, the town of Mashpee, and Mashpee’s law firm Hale & Dorr. As of July 11, the tribe has still received no response and is now considering further legal action.
