The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts hopes federal recognition will improve health care for its elders, Chairman Glenn Marshall said.

Marshall and his tribe will finally get an answer on their federal status. An agreement approved by a federal judge on Monday requires the Bureau of Indian Affairs to issue a proposed finding by March 31, 2006, and a final determination by March 30, 2007.

The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe is the state's only federally recognized tribe. The BIA has rejected two Nipmuc tribes but they have appealed the decision.

Get the Story:
US to act quickly on tribe's recognition bid (The Boston Globe 7/27)
Tribe awaits ruling in 2007 (The Cape Cod Times 7/26)

Relevant Documents:
Summary of Acknowledgment Cases | R. Lee Fleming Declaration

Only on Indianz.Com:
Federal Recognition Database V2.0 (May 2005)

Relevant Links:
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe - http://mashpeewampanoagtribe.com

Related Stories:
Bureau of Indian Affairs federal recognition update (7/26)
Judge approves timeline for Mashpee recognition (7/26)
BIA proposes timeline for Mashpee recognition (7/19)
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe steers clear of Abramoff (05/23)
Judge blasts BIA for delays in recognition case (02/15)
Wampanoag tribe back to court on recognition bid (2/14)
BIA opposes Pombo's federal recognition bill (2/11)
Bill addresses slow-moving recognition process (02/07)
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe presses recognition bid (09/03)
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe rubs elbows at RNC (9/1)
House panel sympathetic to tribes on recognition (04/01)
Federal recognition process subject of two hearings (03/31)
BIA delaying decision on Mass. tribe (12/20)
Mass. town accused of hindering recognition (10/30)
Jump in recognition petitions noted (06/12)
BIA recognition staff fails pressure test (05/31)
Wampanoag leader remembered (03/08)