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Tribal members and allies press legislature to block sale of Native funerary items and restore easements to historic Indian lots
Summary
Speakers representing tribal communities and allied faith and civic organizations urged the Joint Committee to move two sets of measures: bills to prohibit sale of Native American funerary and sacred objects held by governments or nonprofits, and legislation to restore access/easement rights for historically allotted Indian lots that were created
Speakers representing Indigenous communities and allied organizations urged the committee on Oct. 21 to act on two related matters: statutory protection for Native funerary and sacred objects and legislative relief for historic Indian lots whose owners lack access because easements were not reserved in nineteenth‑century parceling.
Claire Miller (Unitarian Universalist Mass Action; Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda) testified in favor of the Act to Protect Native Heritage, saying the bill "ensures that Native American funerary objects, sacred objects, objects of cultural importance that are held in governmental or nonprofit collections are not sold for profit." Miller said many objects were taken from tribes and should be returned rather than considered assets held for auction.
Mark Harding (citizen of the Commonwealth and member of the Mashpee Wampanoag) described a multi‑decade family struggle over access and taxation on allotted lots first conveyed in the late 19th century. He said his family lost holdings after tax takings and that the value of lots was raised prior to the Supreme Judicial Court decision in Kitras (as discussed in testimony) without restoring practical access. Harding requested that House Bill 3599 (as he referenced it) be moved to alleviate burdens on original lot owners.
James Tacullos, a civil engineer who represented Wampanoag interests in litigation, summarized the legislative history behind 1869 acts (chapter 463 of the Acts of 1869) and told the committee that commissioners who severed district lands in the 1870s did not reserve access easements. Tacullos said the land‑court and Supreme Judicial Court rulings in recent years have been criticized by legal scholars and that the legislature can clarify that original Indian lots are entitled to easements by necessity.
Craig Simpson (Mass Peace Action) and other allied witnesses supported the Protect Native Heritage bills as a matter of justice and reparation, urging statutory protection and return of remains and sacred objects to tribal nations. Witnesses asked the committee for prompt favorable reports and for legislative relief to restore access and preserve tribal cultural property.
