Who’s “Mashpee” and who’s not. has become very clear lately because the ones who ain’t keep saying they are. That’s not done. At the Sunday meeting Cedric (Tobey) Cromwell said ” I’m as much Mashpee as anyone.” Right …growing up in Dorchester, and getting on the rolls in 2006. Plus you lied on your campaign material saying you ” grew up in the tribal community.” Then he had his mother say she lived in Mashpee with her grandmother until she was a grown woman. Strangely enough, no one in Connie’s age group remembers her being in school with them in Mashpee or playing together whipping through Edmonds Dream. That’s because she was adopted out when she was 5 and never came back. Another point. No ” Mashpee” would even try to make their elder parent get on the stage and lie.
Of course if you’re not Mashpee then, you do all kinds of strange things. Strange things like allowing the Vice Chair, Aaron Tobey, who’s disappeared, to set up phoney Elders Council ( with a Tobey majority) to usurp the real Elders made up of people 55 or a little older….wearing bomber jackets, to identify themselves.. No real “Mashpee” came to the phoney Elder Council meetings. So now they have three members who sit in back of the real Elders meeting silent. Claiming to learn. Too late. No one respects them no matter how much food they truck into the meetings. Maybe they can get their cousins to return the Elders van or the $10,000 that disappeared.
Maybe they can get the bank statements that the Elders have been asking for and the audio tapes they have asked for for years. The Elders became the voice of the tribe when no one would stand up. Certain people just kept ordering people around but would not fight for the tribe. And the Tobey’s were allowed to kept over reaching in a world they have never had any respect for nor did they ever play a role….until now.
And the Mashpee agree that they have all but destroyed the tribe….on every level. Only two departments run correctly…Indian Health Services and Game and Fish.
Then Noni went off late last week.
It was a meltdown in the Council offices of grand proportions, but it had been brewing for months. One of the last 2 full time “Mashpee” left in the office, Noni brought reality to Shelly Tobey. As she told the co worker off she screamed”you’re not Mashpee” and she went further about Shelly’s lineage…that she has no Indian blood. Course it got pretty bad with all the truth spewing everywhere…And Noni proceeded to tell all about who was” Mashpee” and who was not in that office. It took a minute. She was only saying what “Mashpee” has been saying.
There are no secrets among the Mashpee…that is of course if you are Mashpee. If you’re not.. you’re the last to know. They know everything about you, your parents and grandparents. If they get tired of your foolishness they have a knack for bringing you back to the flume.
So Noni was fired, and the temp running the housing office ( another Lumbee they say…) he resigned Friday. He knows when it’s time to go. Reportedly both the Lumbee and the so called Tribal Administrator a guy making long cash named Leon, hit the door ahead of the women.
Once again…every Mashpee knows what to do to prevent this kind of thing…what family member or elder to call. But there was not a Mashpee there to help.
