Mashpee land claim????

The Mashpee Wampanoag Application filed with the BIA has yet to be received or reviewed, so there can only be specualtion about its content.

Does it indicate a Gambling Facility in Mashpee?

Are questions being raised about a future LAND CLAIM suit that would resurrect that Cape Cod chaos of the past?

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has had Agreements in the past that were uneforceable and dismissed by the Tribe. Have they paid their real estate taxes yet?

Will the Town of Mashpee figure it out?

Rumor has it that the Mashpee Wampanoag fully intend to pursue the land claim again.



Wampanoag Tribe defends their right to Mashpee land during federal public hearing

Emotional pleas fill land in trust hearing Thursday night
Speakers emphasize Tribe members as longtime stewards of the land
By Rob Duca

The message was clear from members of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe Thursday night at a public hearing on their proposal to place 170 acres in Mashpee into trust. With scant opposition, they pleaded with officials to restore the territory that is their ancestral homeland.

"While we are forced to stand here, hat in hand, and ask for this tiny fraction of our own territory to be returned, I ask you gentlemen, if your land was taken away, how many years would pass before it was no longer your land?" asked Jessie "little doe" Baird.

Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell speaks at the public hearing Thursday night. Photo by Rob Duca.The meeting at Mashpee High School followed a similar one the previous evening in Taunton, where the tribe has proposed building a $500 million casino, three hotels, restaurants, retail shops and an indoor water park. Included in the 11 parcels on the Mashpee land are a museum, a cemetery, a meeting house, tribal housing and its government center. Under the National Environmental Policy Act, a review of the proposals must be conducted to determine a range of environmental issues.

Thursday’s meeting was run by Chet McGhee, regional environmental scientist for the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. Joining him on stage was David Hewett of Episilon Associates, the tribe’s environmental engineer. The BIA is in the process of gathering information to prepare an Environmental Impact Study, with the two meetings held to gather public input. Written comments on both proposals will be accepted through July 2.

Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell opened with a defense of his tribe’s right to the Mashpee land.

"Mashpee is our home, we have long defended it and conserved its natural resources, and we will continue to do so," he said. "This land will be used to provide government services for our community. Our responsible, sustainable plan to construct facilities that will provide services for our land here in Mashpee will fulfill our responsibility to provide for our citizens."

Unlike the previous evening’s meeting that stretched four hours, Thursday’s was over in less than one hour, with only six speakers.

"Mashpee is our home, we have long defended it and conserved its natural resources, and we will continue to do so." - Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell

Paula Peters expressed frustration at a battle that has lasted decades. "I was 15-years-old when this process started," she said. "I’m 53 and I just had my first grandchild. It wasn’t about casinos then, although it was about being able to establish ourselves and stay in our ancestral homeland. But what it’s really about is preservation.

"We have for many years advocated for the forests and our rivers," she said. "We will do nothing but care for the land once it’s restored to us. That isn’t even a question."

Baird described what the Mashpee land means to the tribe. After reciting the names of seven generations of family members, she said, "All of these women have come from the land upon which we now stand. This land is a physical representation of my body, my blood and my bones." She said that without trust land, the Wampanoag "will get beaten down for who we are. Nobody wanted to be Wampanoag when David Hendricks got shot (in 1988) just for being Wampanoag. Now everyone wants to be Wampanoag."

David Pocknet, a former tribal council member, pointed out that the tribe has a long history of protecting their land.

"We have for many years advocated for the forests and our rivers." - Paula Peters

Although the meeting centered largely on the Mashpee proposal, Amelia Bingham, a tribal elder, was outspoken against the Taunton casino plans. She was also critical of Wampanoag leaders for not supporting her in two previous suits that attempted to restore to the tribe all 16,000 acres of land in Mashpee.








"Here we are, delving into a casino situation when our tribe can’t afford it," she said. "They do not have the money to put into this operation. It’s not really going to serve my people. The money isn’t coming back to us, the jobs will not be that great. Here we are in Mashpee worrying about a casino in Taunton on land that we don’t own, land that has to be purchased, and we have to pass that bill on to our children in the future. This is not serving the people of my tribe."

Rob Duca is a freelance writer living in Plymouth.He was a reporter and columnist for the Cape Cod Times for 25 years. He has also written for the Boston Globe, the Baltimore Sun, Sports Illustrated, the MetroWest Daily News, Cape Cod Life and Yankee. He is currently managing editor of Golf & Leisure Cape Cod magazine. His stories have earned more than 30 awards in national and regional contests. He can be reached at robaduca@gmail.com.