Category Archives: News

Scams r us

After all these years, Reel Wamps finally figured it out. We have a bunch of people who hold very important jobs. Jobs where what they do or don’t do impact a lot of Tribal members. They keep bumping along doing a little two step in the Circle knowing they will never get fired no matter what they do.  No matter what kind of scandal they’re embroiled in, they keep getting that check.

So, the Weedens have a lock on the dominance as Co-Chairs of NWZ (No Work Zone) also share first place in OSS (Outrageously Stupid Scandals) where they have the nerve to walk around among the people like it’s all normal.  Shameless is the operative word here.  Brian has never apologized to the Tribe and has no intention of doing so. No one can name one project that he has initiated that’s worth mentioning. And yet he fails to attend critical meetings with tribal members or investors but continues traveling all over the place, spending badly needed money. He gives no report, nor does he bring back a single idea to make our lives better.  What he does is show his passion for vindictiveness and dictatorial behavior likening him to a Child King. That’s not a leader.

Now his uncle David, well he’s still in an $80,000.00 a year job where he is unqualified. Magpie is supposed to be the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, BUT….has no Bachelor’s degree, which is needed to get the Masters degree so you know the rest. If he started when we first brought this to light, it would take him at least 6 years to get the degrees. Now you know… He doesn’t need a degree to maintain and manage our historic buildings. But he can’t even do that! The man is insufferable.

But here’s the connecting thread for Uncle and Nephew.  They collect titles! Collect ’em and do absolutely nothing with them or for the people they

Brian seems to be taking up space on the School Committee. Instead of educating on our remarkable history, he’s interested in adding to his very diverse resume….ahem.

represent.  Brian: MWT Chairman, National Council of American Indians Vice Chair, and the Mashpee School Committee. Okay let’s ask an obvious question here; If you (Tribal member) were on the Mashpee School Committee, wouldn’t you push to implement Wampanoag history in the curriculum? Like, a no brainer, right? It would stop a lot of disrespect and insults to our children.  That’s called real leadership that would restore self-esteem to our children.  Besides.  Mashpee is our homeland.  It is outrageous that our history and legacy is relegated to a Centennial report, like we were never here or died out altogether. Isn’t that our motto?

” We’re Still Here.” What kind of traditionalist is he?

David is double trouble.  He’s on the Tribal Council and the Mashpee Board of Selectman.  A man completely

David has gotten so ridiculous he’s become a prankster masquerading as a Council member. Time to hand him off to the Board of Selectmen, full throttle. It’s a movement.

conflicted out.  Once again, he does little more that talk and does nothing for the Tribe.  So why do we keep paying him? His disinterest in the most rudimentary elements of his responsibilities is astounding.  We won’t review them. He needs to pack up all that incompetent baggage and take it to the Board of Selectman so they can deal with him on a full-time basis. No offense to the Board, but David is a lot.  We can’t take it. We’re talking to the Creator in a big way.

Another thing to keep an eye on is eliminating zoom council meetings.  You know whose big idea that was. But it’s political suicide.  If you’re doing the right thing why do you need to do it under cover? Tribal members have right to see what’s going on whenever they can.  The Tribe needs to have open government 100% but one step at a time.  Just because they don’t get on the zoom doesn’t mean you should cut off all access. Apparently, the Council is working on this and hopefully resolve the zoom access issue.

The other thing is that there should be a report on Council votes and actions in the Mittark.  Right now, no one reads the thing, it’s full of press releases.  There are informative articles, calendars and profiles that are important. But Tribal members need to know what issues are being voted on and how members are voting. It helps at election time! Daisa’s a journalist, she would do a good job.

There are positive things happening.  Serious movement on finance, and economic development which are not initiatives of the aforementioned. We need to start taking into account who is working for us and who is  about getting check.  There are others too. And trust us, it’s a struggle for the good guys to break through, so eyes open Wamps!

The Tribal election is a year away but guess what? New and old candidates are running.  Some of the newbees are getting mixed reviews. News on that next time

The most serious failure of leadership is the failure to serve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You’re kidding right?

No we’re not. We didn’t talk about the chairman’s probation because we thought m a y b e he would go to trial.  You may recall that he said he would go to trial and would not take a plea deal.  Well sources say the state refused to reduce the

Brian is trapped in the “NO WORK” zone. He has no understanding of the philosophy to “take care of home first.” Tribal members sneer at his NCAI post based on his lack of leadership record.

charges or offer a deal (he’s on video tape for Christ sakes). So a week after his December 12 (7th) hearing, he was immediately scheduled for a ” probable disposition” hearing which signaled probation.  Yup. The judge said this had gone on for ” too long.” Really? Putting him on probation for a year is the most severe sentence that could be administered because it punishes the Tribe! 

Despite the fact that the felony charges are still in place, he has not been convicted, so he does not face constitutional mandate of automatic removal.  And with that, Brian went on to show us his natural _ss.  He was conspicuously absent from the recent community meeting to discuss critical issues facing the Tribe. The big headliner was security at the cemetery, a very very important discussion. The Chief, Medicine Man, Vice Chairman Hendricks, Council members, Roxanne Mills Brown, Nelson Andrews and even Magpie were there to face Tribal members and be accountable….but Brian never showed. He doesn’t show up to deal with anything. But the meeting was very productive with dialogue involving tribal youth, elders and tribal leaders that resulted in a fix that everyone thinks will help.  It’s a good first step.  But more importantly, the Tribal members and it’s leaders worked together for solutions.

Brian is still in charge of Operations, even though he tried to act like he wasn’t during 2 real public comment blow outs a couple of council meetings ago..another mess that never should have happened.  First, we are in dead of winter and the homeless shelter is unable to open for a million reasons.  One reason is no one can work with Robin Tobey.  She proved that with yet another performance of outrageous personal attacks and threats that Brian refused to stop.  But getting the resources to get the shelter open to capacity is stalled because Brian doesn’t give a damn and has no interest in actually helping tribal members.

That means the Tribe is on the merry-go-round of missed opportunities. The federal government recently gave the state $25 million for homeless shelters. As head of Operations, ya think he is going after some of that money? Course not. Is Brian asking anyone to go after that money? No to that too. Again we’re on the merry-go-round of missed opportunities because Brian thrives on chaos. Some managers utilize that strategy that inspires some level of competitiveness. In this instance it’s nothing like that.  A leader he is not.

Back to Magpie for a minute.  We told you about his failure to get BIA

What happened to you David? Your lack of certification disqualifies you as a THPO officer. You can’t certify grants. Why continue to embarrass the Tribe?

certification as a Tribal Historic Preservation Officer. Come to find out, it’s not about filling out the paperwork, he doesn’t have the Masters degree needed to even qualify for the certification.  Matter of fact, he does not have a bachelors degree.

So Magpie is the only paid Council member ($80 k) who is a director who is uniquely unqualified for the job.

Over the next year by the time the next election rolls around on Feb 16, 2025, we will have spent $140k on Brian and $90k on his uncle.

Over their 4 year terms its $845k for The Weedens.  Quite a hustle.

Ain’t it awful Mable?

 

 

 

“Representing Wampanoag on a National Level”..Ahem

 

Brian made NCAI history alright, as the first officer facing felony charges. NEWS ALERT-he also claims membership in the “Eel Clan”. How about none of this nonsense improves your life.

Brian Weeden’s image enhancement plan backfired. Before he stepped off the plane in Boston, Mashpee Tribal members got the word and were grousing about him becoming First Vice President of the National Council of American Indians. Established in 1944, NCAI is a prestigious organization that develops policy, governance and lobbying strategies benefiting tribal nations. Clearly, the Weeden aversion to work of any kind, defies that whole concept. It’s another title for a Tribal Chairman who’s done nothing but ignore huge problems. He has failed to live up to the legacy of landmark achievements by Mashpee Wampanoag “on a national level.” You know the real Tribal leaders past and present. There are many!

National level? How about doing the work of a tribal chairman? That amounts to a (Dunkin) Donut. What they left out was that he’s the first NCAI officer to be facing felony charges of grand larceny. And there were arguments against his nomination by members of the Aquinnah Tribe.  So, $370,000.00 later the

Members don’t accept clans as part of our culture. But the chairman does. He chose the delicious but revolting eel as his family moniker… like picking a web domain name. Anyhow, we went further and for clan fans, here’s what’s available: Scrod, Blue Fish, Herring Roe, Mussels, Lobster and Quahog. Grab one!    MMMMMMM good.

member of the self-anointed “Eel Clan” (Never heard of it.  Maybe because we don’t have animal or fish clans) has done nothing to move us forward. He does get that check regularly. When the scramble for money got tight, there was talk of cutting officers pay, he said, “You ain’t cuttin’ mine.”

With the continued postponements of Brian’s pretrial hearing (#7 scheduled for December 13) we will have paid him (some kinda way) $505,000.00 salary by the February 2025 election. Ya, stuck in crisis mode.  You have to wonder if Plymouth County is punishing us! Brian was constantly screwing with Plymouth Plantation.  Maybe this is payback.

SOME GOOD NEWS 

The Department of Interior/ Bureau of Indian Affairs helped us defeat the Littlefield’s lawsuit to take our land out of trust.  That was excellent.  But those people are relentless. Let’s pray the Creator holds them at bay. We need all the help we can get.

The restoration of the Parsonage is finally underway which is another important project we complained about. No word on the museum rodent eradication, but Anita Peters tendered her resignation from her job there. So somethings going on.

THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY, 

Remains an enormous problem. The efforts to coverup in this Tribe are pretty futile.  Everyone knows what’s going on. Brian took over operations and continues on his junkets across country.  There was bad behavior in New Orleans, the housing mess was escalating unchecked, we have no budget, but the

David is expert at self-promotion and a failure at doing his job. And guess what? He doesn’t give a damn if you like it or not.

spending goes on. They are still paying two directors who have no grant resources and ignoring the continuing crises stalled by Brian’s inability to run the government.  Thus, the very low member attendance at Council and Sunday meetings.  The people have given up.  At Reel Wamps, we keep waiting for good news and progress that rarely comes under this chairman. To all our detractors, be reminded that your own family and so-called friends rat you out at a steady clip. We do not tell all because it doesn’t help matters and the stuff is awfully cruel detailed stories.

THE BACKSTORY TO AN ONGOING SAGA

Again, David Weeden, AKA Da Magpie has added a new route to his struggle bus tour. A couple of months ago the Middleboro historical society was alerted to some tribal remains in what appeared to be at two burial grounds. They wanted authentication.  Well, they called a tribal member who referred them to the Chief. And when the Chief said he was referring it to Magpie, well, there was silence on the other end of the line. The Chief was following the proper protocol being that Magpie is the historic preservation director. And the Chief probably thought Magpie had reformed his ways since he had chewed his _ss out about the museum, the Meeting House and other maintenance negligence (that have plagued his image reboot). So, somebody went over to Middleboro to check things out, but it wasn’t anyone fitting the description of Magpie. Here’s why. Magpie is the Director of Historic Preservation soooooo he’s supposed to be certified by the Department of Interior, wait for it….as a Tribal Historic Preservation Officer. You know the rest. He has the job, the $80 k salary and had no intention of doing the work. He never did the training or paperwork to get the certification which means he delayed the release of grants for years. That was probably behind his thinly veiled plan to derail the HACCP oyster farm facility. He threw a temper tantrum in council because the Vice Chairman wanted to remove a dilapidated building without consulting him as “the historic preservation officer.” He couldn’t verify a damned thing if he wanted to. In the end his worthless research amounted to the name of a family of Johnson’s who lived there in the 1800’s. So he insisted that the VC get the town to make the determination. The raggedy building was not on the state or federal historic registers but it was blocking the project. Magpie was stalling the project and covering up his lack of credentials.

Magpie is chained to the struggle bus. But he’s all over the place playing Indian in our name representing us in a fictitious way, never following through or delivering.

BACK TO CLANS

This clan business has everyone talking.  Most members say for us, there’s no such thing. That’s true. The Elders say it’s fabricated, annoying and inappropriate. Okay, so the next question is how did we distinguish ourselves from each other? Simple.  By family. We still do it today. Each family has distinguishing features that have transcended time. Whenever someone is trying to remember one of us they start with the tribal family, the parent, brothers sisters and so on. Anyway in the picture below are some substantial Mashpee Wampanoag who were pretty extraordinary in their day and are responsible for our existence. If you’re not related to them or the names on the list below, you’re probably not Mashpee.

 

Standing: Nelson Simmons, Priscilla Pells, Dorcus Coombs Gardener, Eben Queppish, Annie Pocknett, Alex Pocknett, Rhoda Sturgis, Sarah Amos Pocknett (daughter of Blind Joe Amos), Selena Coombs (child), Mattie Edwards, Cyrus Edwards, William Simons. Seated: Elizabeth Mills Coombs, Charles Peters.

Mashpee Wampanoag families: Amos, Apes, Attaquin, Bearse, Combs, Cowett (Couet),DeGrass, Edwards, Hicks, Hendricks, James, Mills, MIngo, Mye, Oakley, Pells, Peters, Pocknett, Queppish, Simmons, Sturgis, Webquish

Read more about our people and heritage start with The Wampanoags of Mashpee by Russell M Peters (you will see all your relatives there) and The Mashpee Indians Tribe on Trial by Jack Campisi. There are many more books published by tribal members who offer a diverse perspective on our rich heritage.

We should be teaching our children our tribal history.  It would make a big difference in their lives.

 

The old “hide and seek” hustle

There’s spending going on that we don’t know about.  That’s because we have not had an approved budget for 15 months.  Certain council members keep asking for the budget, but nothing happens.  There’s no explanation for how certain directors are being paid or source of those revenues.  In fact nobody knows what money goes where unless it’s grant driven.

And the Chairman and the Treasurer won’t allow Tribal members take a look at the sources of payment.  They’re not exactly masters of work ethic or have offered any revenue generating ideas. But they are experts at doing absolutely nothing and collecting their checks. The chairman has made $197,904.00 since taking office and will be memorialized for facing charges of grand larceny in the alleged Plymouth episode. That has been delayed for the 5th time until October 27th. No trial means no potential felony conviction which would constitute an automatic removal from office. And….no more pay checks.

Bobby “The Floater” and patriarch of the infamous Fryebal Council weaseled his way into the Treasurer’s seat never accounting for tens of thousands of dollars missing from the 2008 Pow Wow. His mother, uncle, aunts and cousins seeped back into the government center now making up nearly half the staff. Count ’em yourself!

 

Bobby has to be the only Jaguar driving government treasurer anywhere with a -100 credit rating. We can’t even imagine what our bond rating is ….if we have one cause his financial status craters any semblance of ranking for us. As treasurer he’s made about $53,000.00 so far.  That doesn’t count the money he made as public works director.  His term there was sketchy, you know… good and bad days. Right now, the prediction is that we will be out of money in 3 months. Here’s the rub. There are two projects that are funded by grants that lapsed long ago, but two directors are still getting paid big money. Without a budget, there’s no telling where it’s coming from. One of them is

David’s on the “Struggle Bus from Hell” trying to get some elusive cred. With an 0-4 score card, the Tribe would do better if he got outta the game. Phew bird ! Phew!

Historic Preservation lead by the insatiable Councilman David Weeden, better known as Da Magpie. Actually, we have it on good authority that he’s getting paid out of whatever is left in the COVID money and rumor has it that he got a raise. So is that a reward for his incompetence? Cause Magpie has screwed up so many important tribal historic assets it’s dizzying!

  1. Failed to re-up the Historic Preservation grant.
  2. Failed to eradicate the racoons from the museum. The place is still infested.
  3. Failed to maintenance the Meeting House
  4. Failed to start the $1.6 million historic renovation of the Parsonage!

About the suspected arson of the Parsonage. Well, we all know that abandoned property is a prime target for vagrants and arsonists.  So let’s just add that it could have been avoided if Magpie at least started the project. Or even pretended to start the project would have been a deterrent. The money was available, but once again, the mandated audits are incomplete for the release of the money. Let’s go back to 2019 when the Tribe had $400k from the Town of Mashpee to work on

Jackson & Hendricks got Congressman Keating to successfully get the federal appropriation to restore the Parsonage. The Chairman took over operations shortly after the money came in. The project has been frozen for 8 months. Or is it? We really don’t know do we?

the Parsonage. There were certain requirements the Tribe needed to meet to draw the money down. But didn’t and it’s unclear if the money is still there or reverted back to town coffers. It all points back to Magpie who is all chatter and disaster. Failures come to the tribe at a high price. He moves from project to project.  Now it’s the Wind Farm where the Tribe gets nickel and dime benefits like a clambake/lobster dinner as opposed to something meaningful and long term. He’s trying to portray himself as the big advocate for the Tribe, when he didn’t even know what was in the agreement…too lazy to even scan the damn MOA. Course nerdy Nelson did and brought up the fact that we should get more out of the deal than $4 million over 30 years. So David appears, takes over negotiations guaranteeing it’ll tank.

Some new council members are turning a blind eye to the mismanagement and coverup the same way the Weeden’s did with Cedric. David was in so deep, right to the end he kept talking about ” Where’s the proof?” when Cedric was indicted.  Clinging to power at any cost doesn’t end well.

“Silence is a lie that screams at the truth.”

Ask Donald Trump

Is it true? That “It’s not the crime it’s the coverup?” The insidious 45th President wears a famous idiom around

Delay, delay, delay…the ultimate desperate measure.

his neck like an uncomfortable shirt collar. So, Trump is in such bad shape his only option is trial delays because of the overwhelming evidence against him.  And he’s taking all of his conspirators down with him. The parallels are similar surrounding the Plymouth Episode. The hearing in Plymouth has been “rescheduled” 4 times. Let’s see what happens today on September 19 because the charges are hard to ignore. There have been many efforts to try to make it appear that the Tribe supports what allegedly happened that November night in Plymouth….  which is a stretch to say the least. Topline here: Trump can’t rally people to publicly defend him and likewise, Tribal members are not endorsing bad behavior. Course our Tribe is feeling the pinch that is actually impacting our ability to find investors for the casino mostly. Economic development that is desperately needed is also taking a hit because some view us negatively.

LATE TO THE POW WOWS 

Tribal members have started getting more email notices about the Council meetings and the reason is obvious. Attendance on the Zoom calls have dropped dramatically. While summer has a lot to do with it, rumors abound. And word is out about all the operations management failures and financial issues. The last Council meeting revealed some good results by Councilwoman Rita Pocknett’s department, Indian Health Services. Course Rita’s programs are totally independent of the Tribe. She answers to the federal government only. Early drafts of a permanent building were unveiled.  They were impressive.

Once again Magpie missed an opportunity to score benefits for the Tribe because he won’t do the work. Thus the collapse of the Tribes’ Historic Preservation program under his direction.

Next came what turned out to be a dog and pony show and it was very interesting because of the MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) concerning Vineyard Wind 1 (the controversial windfarm off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard) was front and center.  David Weeden went into Magpie mode with a full throttled (20 minutes) lecture to government officials. Those poor people looked like they were going to their execution. He droned on about government-to-government relations, sovereignty and our sacred relationship with the ocean and all nature, at nauseum. It was embarrassing. This project is described as the nation’s first commercial scale offshore wind farm. It’s a monster.  About 15 miles south of the Vineyard 62 turbines will go up in federal waters and through underground cables connect with the Cape’s Cod’s center south shore in Barnstable. This was a 10-year battle with everyone. The Aquinnah, Barnstable and we were against it but not really players in the discussion. A major PR program that spent a lot of money pushed the deal through.

Barnstable got the best end of the deal of course, $16 million. The tribes’ benefits were negligible. Course Magpie kept talking about wanting more out of the deal. So, he went on about scholarships….over and over and over. We certainly need to expand our scholarship programs. But that’s all he had. Course that’s because he never even scanned the 500-page document. But Councilman Nelson Andrews did, pointing out that the Tribe should receive $4 million or more annually instead of over a 30-year period as is stated in the MOA. This is Magpie’s wheelhouse and as usual, he’s late to the pow wow or absent altogether. So they’re back to the negotiation table, thanks to Nelson. But sitting through Magpies nonsensical lecture was killer.

Mimicking the Trump Management Style

So in March, Chairman Brian Weeden took over Tribal Operations by making his

Greendeer in Boston, in full regalia having his own pow wow,  in the middle of the work week. Wow! That’s not what we pay him to do. So, did he take a vacation day? No need.

buddy, Tribal Administrator David Greendeer report to him. And the rapid disintegration of finances, programs and governing essentials is scary. First, you have a TA of questionable character and ability who does not come to work and ignores the problems. He’s spotted all over the country hanging out and still getting paid $125 K a year…but who knows. They give out raises freely! Supposed to have been fired but he’s staying right by Brian’s side just long enough. Still hanging out, grinning, chilling, and drumming.  Throw a damn dart at a map of the United States…his behind is probably there. Anywhere but at the Council. His hire, the comptroller can’t put a budget together, ain’t put a budget together. That guy makes $150k a year. Crisis mode is constant without resolution. The answer to the homeless crisis was a task force that went absolutely nowhere. Committees and commissions try to function and get no support or guidance from the management. We all know the other huge problems that Greendeer ignored and that’s why we are in this mess.

And for those who don’t want to talk about this chaos or cover it up…. everyone knows about it! Unless you live in a cave you have to know that you can’t hide what’s in plain sight.

 

 

 

Get in touch with the man

Herrin’: “You always gotta say something.”

Roe: “Well everyone keeps complaining about that Cujo guy.  He don’t come to work, but he gets paid. He ain’t got no plans for jobs.  He gets paid. Don’t manage the staff or bring the investors or contacts he promised he gets paid. His wife has a baby he’s off then comes back still working less than 15 hours a week. His misbehavior with women alone is disgusting and has gone unchecked. He gets paid and damn well too. $2,403 a week and only works 9 months outta the year.”

Like other tribal members, Roe is tired of paying for a Tribal Administrator who does nothing.

Herrin’: “That can’t be right.”

Roe: “It is…just the perks of getting off to visit his kids in Wisconsin every month. That’s 12 weeks off.

Still gettin’ paid. Still chillin,’ and trying to stay till Christmas. Because of a technicality, he’s been reporting to the chairman for about 5 months. Operations have been goin’ sideways. Every week there’s a new crisis or coverup. It’s like he’s givin’ us the finger.

But the chairman wants to keep an eye on him.”

Herrin’: “Ya,you know why…. rememba Novemba.”

Roe: “Rememba Novemba.”

Herrin’: “Betta call White Jesus.”

Roe: “You got his numba?”

Herrin’: “Close your eyes and pray Gooch.”

 

 

 

TURMOIL that trickles down

If you think we’re “going off the rails” again…..you’re right. But we can’t leave out the good that happened resulting from the February election. Cromwell holdovers were reduced to a three-member minority on the Council …Winnona, the only one elected out of 6 candidates, Bobby who became treasurer on a technicality and David who is up for election in February 2025 with the officers. It appeared the chairman was not happy about that at all. That’s because the Council is all powerful.  Nothing happens unless the Council votes to make it happen. Firing, hiring, committee appointments, contracts, budgets, grant approvals, anything

Brian has worked hard to empower himself at the expense of a Tribe weary of standing still and languishing.

involving tribal governance. That’s according to the Tribal Constitution, that also spells out the duties of the Tribal Chairman.  Most people don’t know it, but the chairman does not vote, unless there’s a tie. And he signs contracts (even that’s tenuous now). That’s the extent of his power. It’s a perception thing and Brian has exploited that.

The influence of the chairman is another thing. The Chairman has always empowered himself as a leader that develops strategies to move the Tribe forward. He’s the face of the Tribe as spokesman and our emissary to the world.  Now, like them or not, Russell Peters, Glenn Marshall and even Cedric (early on) were leaders with ideas. Russell and Glenn had a passion to serve tribal members. Our current chairman has his priorities.  They are mostly traditional in nature and getting our land back. We’re prohibited from doing the later and neither put food on the table or get us help of any kind.

Let’s rewind for a minute.  So, the chairman’s alleged episode in November 2022 and the resulting Council action caused him to throw a lot of tantrums. Ironically, he turned to Paula Peters (Smoke Signals) and her son Steve to defend him against the nationwide avalanche of embarrassing negative press. Just months earlier, he wanted to fire them.  By January 2023 he made security march a qualified new employee out of the building, ordered important projects stopped (without authority) as he ranted through the building. That was just a few bad actions. So, by February 2023 when the new Council was elected, he was convinced they would remove him. So, he stalled swearing them in for weeks, went on vacation. He made moves to usurp administrative authority from the Vice Chair based on an illegal resolution used by Cedric under the guise of a non-existent “Executive Order.”  Well, the Council stopped him by voting to rescind the resolution. But now we’re back here again.

STATE OF EMERGENCY

Indeed. The homeless problem is huge. The Del Sol facility should be able to provide substantial relief, by

Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. That’s what they say.

housing 40 people.  But a bunch of problems create the “State of Emergency.” First, the renovations have been slowed dramatically by the red tape coming from TERO (Tribal Enforcement Rights) officer Ellen Frye Sharp. TERO is an enforcement mechanism designed to ensure that qualified Tribal contractors get the jobs. It appears that she’s complicating the process rather than expediting it, on large or small simple jobs (under 25K) that do not need to be bid out. Tribal contractors had to ask Council members to intercede to get the work going again.

Meanwhile, there’s an ongoing struggle to get the necessary staff, security and community partnerships to run the facility properly. Right now, one person oversees the operation.  That’s Robyn Sweeting. It’s been that way for a while. And, for a while we’ve been waiting for policies and procedures, let alone the badly needed staff. When a state declares a State of Emergency, it is usually an appeal to the Federal Government for money. For now, a task force was appointed. That’s it. This is not the best way to accommodate the homeless. Because we can’t get out of our own way,

Robin can’t run the shelter alone. Ahem.

things are mismanaged.

The bright spots over the last 5 months have been the Sober House, the shellfish farm project and the homeless shelter. Also added to the list is the $9.3 million federal Broadband grant that Ellen also oversees. This is where it gets very dicey or funky.  Back around 2006, Ellen was in charge of a project that provided funding to pave the old council parking lot.  It was a sizable amount of money that was never accounted for. So, the Council stipulated that Ellen would never be allowed to work for the Tribe again. But here we are. Again.

Best management practices need not be applied.

The TRIBAL ADMINISTRTOR HAS A PROBLEM and it is OURS

The guy doesn’t hide his impropriety or his lack of professional integrity. We have paid a heavy price with the failure to correct violations in many areas.

Back to mismanagement. On a technicality, the chairman reversed the Council vote by having Tribal Administrator report to him. Well, that did it because Greendeer who manages the tribal staff and departments became even more trifling. Staff call him “The Ho Chunk Ghost” who is under the chairman’s protection. They’re literally in it together. He answers only to him. All Greendeer’s indiscretions are ignored. Greendeer promised to use his “connections” to bring major deals to the tribe.  Nothing happened. He philandering was outrageous and went unchecked.  Even a vulgar sexually explicit text to a female council member was ignored by the chairman. Any other tribe or corporation would have fired the Ghost a long time ago. When it looked like he was about to get canned he said he was looking for a job. So are we his employment agency? Who’s going to hire him? He was supposed to resign at the end of July. Then he said he was only staying through December.

 

By the way, the November episode has had a chilling effect on investors that is stalling the (half dead) casino project. That serves to remind us that the TA and the Chairman make a lot a money… $125k each a year and no one can tell you what they do to earn it.

But The Ho Chunk Ghost gets his job evaluation August 9. It’s time to stop paying for nothing.

There are few things more dangerous than a mixture of power, arrogance and incompetence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Behind the screen

Well, the last Sunday Meeting exploded over the infestation in the Museum and Meeting House maintenance, and you know why. Racoons and varmints run amuck in the Avant house. And you also know that the smell was horrific. Those facilities are under the purview of Historic Preservation….that would be David Weeden. Now, if Da Magpie would stop

Sticking to the Cromwell mantra, travel like hell, do as little as possible and let the Tribe pick up the tab.

blocking economic development projects with flaky demands and attend to his own very real responsibilities, he may not get so many eye rolls. But what does he care? He was on the Bermuda junket with the Photo Op Wamps.

Tribal Members want answers and he was on the beach in Bermuda. Within days of Weeden’s return, the Secretary of the Department of Interior was scheduled to visit the museum. The scramble to clean the place up, move the mashoon canoes, and make it presentable was done by tribal members. Magpie was nowhere to be found. The man is just unconscionable.

A lot was going on for Magpie… after his humiliating defeat in his bid to be chair of the Mashpee Board of Selectman, he probably needed a break….a respite.

That effort to hold on to the post for a full term was brutal. First the Tribal Chairman spoke on his uncle’s behalf. That was pretty hostile and didn’t move the needle. After one of Magpie’s supporters stopped shouting from the back of the room, about a staff matter…. they began the vote process,

A selectwoman nominated Weeden, without a second.  She noted that Roberts Rules of Order allowed that.  But it was a bad sign.

He got the Selectwoman’s vote, 2 neas,  and 2 abstentions, one of which was Weeden’s. So John Cotton won 3 – 2 abstentions…you know who that was.  Wow So impolitic.

His relationship with most of the board is not good…but recognized protocol dictates that the looser motions for a unanimous vote of support for the winner. To show unity and good sportsmanship. Not David. And it’s not like Weeden’s work ethic is any better on the Board of Selectman.  He has a real aversion to actually doing something. Lotta talk.

But he’s still making moves.  Jim Peters, who is fast approaching 75 is planning to retire as the Massachusetts Commissioner of Indian Affairs.  Guess who plans to assume the position?  David Weeden. So despite his lack of any kind of work ethic he’s serious.

The bad part is that he thinks it’s ok. Think again.

“Work like you’ve never won. Win like you’ve never lost.

The good things that make us proud

Chiefie can counsel us as we face new problems. That’s the best news in a long time.

There were several proud moments for the Tribe recently. We came together to unify and strengthen the community by selecting Earl Mills, Jr. as Chief. Known to us as “Chiefie” he is steeped in Wampanoag traditions under the tutelage of his father Chief Earl Mills Sr, a preeminent scholar of our ways. It’s a comfort to know that treasured knowledge will be passed on. But he also brings much needed balance to many of the protocols that were abandoned by the Cromwell regime.  Tribal members have commented on the calming affect he has had on Council meetings, giving the membership a reprieve from the petty nit picking and personal attacks by certain Council members.  Moreover, some of the ridiculous excuses and solutions to obvious negligence is quickly slapped down. The Chief has the ability to apply the “old ways” and decency in a way that helps solve our problems. That’s a good thing.

Sherry Pocknett, another Mashpee triumphant in realizing her dreams.

Chef Sherry Pocknett won the prestigious James Beard Award as the Best Chef Northeast.

The well deserved James Beard Award

She received the metal as the first Indigenous woman to do so at the Chicago ceremony June 5. The award acknowledges talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality and food media. Sherry’s lifelong cooking experience resulted in her fulfilling a dream to own her own restaurant featuring game and fish fare. “We lived by the seasons. I grew up in the ’60s and my dad was a hunter and a fisherman so we always had stuff from the wild in the refrigerator.”

In 2021 she opened Sly Fox Den Too In Charlestown, Rhode Island. The menu offers everything from venison to eel.  It’s well worth the visit. An inspiration to all Tribal members who have dreams to fulfill.

More Mashpee Wampanoag children graduated from Mashpee High School ….another victory for us.  Many of them starting their journey in life and the next level of higher education. Congratulations to your families!

 

                       Tribal grads 2023

 

 

From the heart

Pocknett has fought non-stop for aboriginal rights. It has been a 20 year struggle that brought  progress but not enough.

The historic visit to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal lands by US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland was highlighted by a moving experience at Punkhorn. Buddy Pocknett, chair of the Game and Fish Committee told the story of our struggle to exercise aboriginal rights. Our right to harvest and sustain the fishing methods that keep us alive for thousands of years has been denied. Buddy has been the center of the struggle with state officials over the law. It has literally been a 20 year battle.  A battle for Pocknett that included numerous fines, arrests and beatings by commercial fisherman.

But the positive part of the story was the jump start of the shellfish farm that was funded by the Biden administration.  The program collapsed under the Cromwell administration and remained dormant until Pocknett, his committee and Vice Chairman Carlton Hendricks, Jr had it up and running.

It was proof that we can take care of ourselves when given the resources. Haaland was reportedly very touched by our story. Thank you, Buddy, for telling our story from the heart.