Kevin was telling his cousin Curtis to, “Get in there!“
Last night’s Council meeting was raucous to say the least. It was a live audience of about 30 while 72 viewed on Zoom. Tribal members watched a spectacle that was scary. Tribal Police Chief Kevin Frye was calling his security detail telling them to, “Get in there!”
Thanks to the Wamp Hotline, we don’t have to tell you anymore, because you already know.
Thirteen candidates qualified for the February 12 election. There are six open seats to be filled. The incumbents’filing is Nelson Andrews, Jr. Rita Gonsalves, Winnie Graham and Domingo Teixeira.
Challengers are Ed Avant, Steve Bingham, Jr., Roxanne Mills Brown, Marlon Graham, Natana Greendeer, Ce Ce Martinez, Susette Peters-Mathis, Winnona Pocknett, and Fenton Soliz.
Nine potential candidates pulled papers but did not file qualifying papers.
Good luck to all the candidates. Remember, elections have consequences. Vote.
Trouble with the state’s interpretation of Aboriginal Rights continues to plague Tribal fisherman. The state has directed Cape stores not to buy fish products from our fisherman. Claiming that the products are contaminated, which
Tribal fishermen continue to be harassed and beaten for exercising their legal right to fish.
of course, is not true….Further complicating the problem is the failure of the state to compromise on giving Tribal fisherman the right to fish for sustenance and sale, which is considered an Aboriginal Right. Vice Chairman Carlton Hendricks, Jr .and the Tribal Game and Fish Committee remain diligent in the fight to exercise Aboriginal Rights and are pressing forward with strategies that will not only elevate the Tribe’s business profile but put money in the pockets of Tribal fisherman.
Chef John launched a simple marketing strategy that buoyed the quaint cafes’ presence year-round.
When Tribal member John Marcellino took over the Falmouth Station in 2019, it was a newly renovated historic site paid for by a $1.4 million dollar grant from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The Mass DOT and Falmouth Economic Development and Industrial Corporation essentially made EDIC the landlord. EDIC operates as a non-profit functioning off grants and money raised by the Executive Director.
Marcellino, known as Chef John, brought the property to life with a consistent flow of cafe patrons and a diverse
Marcellino equates hard work with success. He never thought discriminatory practices would derail his dream.
menu of Cape Cod and Jamaican fare. Even during the winter and COVID Marcellino had a steady business because loyal patrons held their meetings and small gatherings at the “Station Grill.” He also enhanced the property’s curb appeal while handling the cleaning and ticket sales for Peter Pan. His marketing instinct meant he maintained a constant presence in the local newspapers and on TV…. more than any other restaurant in Falmouth. Marcellino was a Mashpee Wamp making it in Falmouth.
Lingafelter claimed he would work to connect with the community which hasn’t exactly worked out, meanwhile he’s sharing $140K (in salary) with his assistant to manage The Station Grill project. Great work if you can get it.
So Lingafelter jacks up John’s rent by about $2k a month. Lingafelter’s assistant tells John he “needs to hire more White people.” Marcellino alleges racism with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD). Why? The dramatic increase in rent, slow on maintenance and neglect in repairs. “It would be different if I were White, they need the money and they’re trying to force me out,” Marcellino says. And it spirals out. So they want to put a White vendor into the venue that “Johnny Wampanoag Built?” The attempt to put affordable housing in the area failed, so it seems plausible.
The MCAD is investigating, and they say the (under the radar) EDIC must conduct
Galasso it trying to find a compromise but graceful he is not.
diversity training for their staff which is Lingafelter and his assistant. Lingafelter pledged, “we very much want to continue our efforts to reach out to the community and understand the business community’s needs,” hasn’t exactly come to fruition. The newspapers have been all over the story and Lingafelter chastised John about “going to the newspapers.” So now Mike Galasso decides to insert himself, and he says in a text that he was going to rat him out to “Chief Earl Mills” about the accusations and that he’s friends with members of the ” Mills, Peters, Binghams and Hendricks families.”
The popular Jim Kalperis and beloved principal Russell Marshall were positive forces at LHS. They could have schooled Galasso on the art of diplomacy.
Well, while we don’t all look alike, most Mashpee are related to or are Peters. John Marcellino is a Peters (Anne) and his oldest sister (Gayle Marcellino) was in Mike Galasso’s graduating class at Lawrence High. So chances are that that his parents (if they were from Falmouth) were at Lawrence High School with John’s mother, uncles and aunts, Earl Mills (who was athletic director) and a host of their cousins who are Mashpee Wampanoag. At Lawrence High School we were truly a United Nations and prided ourselves with keeping our prejudices to ourselves. It makes you long for those high school days when James Kalperis or principal Russell Marshall would come in and straighten things out.
The Tribal candidate qualifying process was presented to the Tribal Council by the election committee Monday night. It allows candidates to pick up packets beginning December 11 (between 2-4). Packets can be picked up after that date. Contact the committee for the cutoff date.
There are 6 seats up in 2023: Domingo Texiera, Nelson Andrews, Jr., Winnie Graham, Yvonne Frye Avant, Aaron Tobey, and Rita Pocknett. The process has not changed. Affidavits for signatures on qualifying petition forms are required, if the signer gives verbal permission. The meeting attendance waiver will continue because of COVID. Voting is in person, no more drive through. The election is February 12, 2023. Call the election committee with questions.
The Tribal Court is taking its time reviewing Marie’s challenge to her removal as Treasurer by the Tribal Council. Seems pretty cut and dry.
It’s been four months since the Council asked the Tribal Court to confirm their removal of Treasurer Marie Stone. They were also asking whether they should have a special election or replace her with Bobby Foster who came in second. The foot dragging will seemingly answer the questions since we have come full circle and are on the heels of another election. The court is looking for a permanent public defender and asked the Council to memorialize it as a judicial ordinance. The Violence Against Women Act requires it. Currently the court has an interim Public Defender.
The Enrollment Committee has lifted the enrollment moratorium. Tribal members needing assistance should call the Enrollment Committee for guidance.
The oyster relay program is expected to generate $180K a year for the Tribe.
It’s a jump start to independence but the undermining of Tribal fisherman by outsiders continues.
The planting of 750,000 oyster seeds will generate the oysters and a new income stream that the Tribe has tried to crank up for decades. While the town and the Tribe have been working together for successful harvesting, other groups continue to thwart tribal fisherman efforts to gain economic footing in the fishing industry.
We will have more on that effort next time.
The judge in Cedric’s case didn’t have a lot of respect for us but it wasn’t anything new. While there was a lot of talk about our sovereign status, they were actually saying that Cedric was not a public figure. Not true at all. Try Googling the man. At least ten pages of just about everything. He’s wiped his profile of a lot of stuff because it is still pretty bad. But he’s a public figure alright. They kept winding around the federal governments lack of jurisdiction on sovereign land.
Let’s be clear. The Federal government does whatever it wants to do. Why do they “take OUR LAND into trust?” We are in a big FEDERAL TRUST LAND ACCOUNT with nearly 600 other tribes.
Correct. It’s our land why don’t they just give us a deed and call it a day? That would be too much like right. Our land is “entrusted” to the federal government. They have a lot to say about Indian America. They come on to reservations to arrest and prosecute Natives whenever they get ready.
The federal Marshals arrested Cedric, the US Justice Department prosecuted him in federal court and whatever his sentence ends up being, he will be sent to a federal prison. Just remember that.
On to the actual sentencing hearing. It was a time for victim impact statements. That would be from Tribal members because we were the victims.
Cedric Cromwell did more damage to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe than we can measure. Beyond the monetary illegalities, he methodically dismantled the ancient edicts that distinguish us from other races, tribes and the majority of Americans and that is tradition. Those traditions were one of the reasons we were federally recognized. We followed them consistently for centuries and we had a record of it.
Tradition is our foundation because in many instances it influences the crafting of the tribal laws that govern us.
The Tribal Elders are the moderators of our traditions. Core members of our Tribe can spot a Hendricks, a Peters, a Pocknett, a Hicks, a Mills and on and on. But the Elders knew their family line start to finish. They knew who moved away, who went to college how many kids they had…and so forth. They knew who was on the roll. They used to oversee everything we do. Because of casino prosects we had so many people claiming our ancestry we had to have specific criteria for membership. They used to determine whether those applying for enrollment met that criteria and they monitored our elections to keep unknown or non-enrolled members from voting. They were also the arbiters
Rhoda Fernandes, Natalie Costa and Anne Peters Brown at the 2008 Mashpee Wampanoag Powwow where they selected Talia Landry Powwow Princess among other duties.
of many other important decisions when it came to choosing our spiritual leaders and chiefs. They are counselors and advisors to Council members in particular. On the whole the Elders were not fond of Cedric. You can’t govern with impunity without the Elders approval.
The unraveling began when one of his protegees running the 2009 election removed the Elders from their oversight process. No one was there to question hundreds of the unknown “pending members” voting. People we had never seen before were in line voting. The voter lists had been reconstructed and Cedric Cromwell was ushered into office. Cromwell quickly became unpopular and dictatorial. Since the Elders disapproved of his heavy handedness, he also removed them from enrollment and Cromwell’s cousin added hundreds of members creating what many called a separate Tribe. Slowly, he fired Aunt Dart, Anne Peters, Rhoda and Aunt Eleanor to name a few. The Elders were disenfranchised from the Tribe which was pretty much as close to blaspheming as you can get.
While he tried desperately to be “Indian” with comical costumes (regalia), tradition meant nothing to Cedric Cromwell, and he saw the Elders as an impediment. He was a late comer to the Tribal community rarely seen but became a casino stalker with a growing ambition. He had no knowledge of our tribal history, recent or ancient, his lineage and had no idea how to enroll in order to remain on the Tribal Council. With a lot of help from Glen Marshall and Patty Oakley, he made it on to the roll in 2006. Just before federal recognition.
More disturbing was Cedric’s disrespect of Tribal women and Elder Tribal women. In a vicious harangue in front of Tribal staff, Cromwell cursed and condemned Tribal Treasurer Nellie Hicks Ramos (then in her late 70’s) because she wrote a letter to the Massachusetts Attorney General requesting an investigation of the 2009 election. That was after he threatened another Tribal woman in the Council parking lot because she was not part of his team. The Tribal Chairman witnessed that episode and was so disturbed be he kept asking “What the hell is wrong with you boy?” He threatened to hit the woman outside a Sunday General meeting because the Council approved a recommendation to video tape the council and Sunday meetings to keep certain Council members from disrupting the agenda. Tribal members ran into the meeting and got the Chairman and Vice Chairman to stop him.
Of course, they challenged him to “go outside “and as usual he refused. Tribal men were constantly calling him out and he was constantly saying no.
Cedric is appealing his sentence. We can’t appeal anything he has done. We live with his horrible legacy everyday.
The Tribal Elders were so concerned with the Cromwell Administration they met with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, DC on three separate occasions and successfully filed suit after exhausting all legal remedies. There are so many stories, such a sad slow walk of shame by a man who had no respect for us.
Cedric Cromwell’s 12-year reign destroyed what the colonists and an evolving America could not achieve, and that the hollowing out of our survival mechanism….Tradition.
That’s a terrifying legacy. Fifty years of progress, centuries of tradition wiped out by a man who trampled us in his lust for power and money.
A sad day for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.
Cedric was convicted in May of 3 counts of accepting bribes from contractors on the First Light Casino that was never built. The jury also found him guilty of extortion under the color of an official and conspiracy to commit extortion.
If you don’t know Mashpee history, you should check it out. Talk to your parents and grandparents. Identity builds strength.
Well, Genting is doing their thing….Their company RW BET MA, LLC (Resorts World Bet) is on the list of gaming companies vying for one of 7 lucrative online sports betting licenses from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. That’s right. Genting is going for the sports betting gaming license. So are a bunch of out of state Tribes…The Seminoles, the Sioux, the Mohegan, but not the Mashpee Wampanoag. If you don’t understand this neither do we.
But we do know. There is not a damned thing that happens in this Tribe that does not benefit Genting.
Even if Genting were fronting for us, all the money would go to ….wait for it….to them or to pay off the debt.
But supposedly there’s a “deal” brewing. But Genting is still in charge in the statehouse and the Congress. We are on a leash.
THE TA
The ole boy got called on the carpet for not doing his job, by a council officer and Tribal professionals keep asking ” what’s he doing?” So after 90 days without staff meetings…he has one that’s weird and unproductive with 30, 60 and 90 day staff production deadlines. He’s probably working on other things that could be helpful but hasn’t produced anything yet.
ALEX the Rodriquez may have weaseled his way on to the Tribal payroll after all. So much for transparency.
The Council meeting was productive, and Quahog Pie will give you his opinion.
Andrews seen in this FEMA cover photo, brings pride to the Tribe for his national role in the war on climate change. He is also the Co-Chair of the United South & Eastern Tribes Homeland Security & Emergency Services Committee.
Councilman and Tribal Emergency Management Director Nelson Andrews continues to play on the national stage in his work to help craft the Indian Country strategy via a federal government partnership to combat climate change. The effort comes on the heels of the passage of the Democrat’s massive Inflation Reduction Act legislation which includes the climate change regulations environmentalist and Democrats have struggled to pass for 30 years. Andrews represents Indian Country in drafting the plan for climate resilience. ” We are all part of the future of the planet’s climate through the whole of the community and hazard mitigation. A shared goal of resiliency can be achieved for a sustainable future for seven generations,” Andrews said.
Nelson and Talia Landry, the head of the CDC also launched the solar grant project which is impressive. They also incorporated the CDC which is another important step in the 8A realm, even though we have to wait 2 years to activate contracts. But the focus on tribal member enterprise is not where it needs to be. We have many tribal members who have talent that could make them a sizable income. A number of ladies and men in the tribe are excellent artists and craftsmen who could grow their businesses with the help of the millions of dollars made available by the Inflation Reduction Act legislation and resources at the BIA. Here’s some of the IRA allocations we can use.
We should have had a fish market years ago. Enhancing a hatchery would obviously be a great asset. Of
Tribal members must know what program resources are available to establish & grow their businesses.
course, Genting is still our DC lobbyist, and overseer and they aren’t interested in keeping us informed of opportunities. A simple evaluation of new revenue sources in a huge bill like this one is pretty standard. The Biden Administration and the Democrats continue to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into new businesses opportunities for Native America. The Indian Arts and Crafts Board at the BIA promotes American Indian and Alaska Natives (Indian) businesses through the expansion of the Indian arts and crafts market. One of these programs is the online Source Directory of American Indian and Alaska Native Owned and Operated Arts and Crafts Businesses, which is a great resource for people looking to buy authentic Indian art and for artists interested in a free business listing. Again, our craftsmen and women should be making their wares and selling them at the museum. It’s basic economics. The Tribe through the CDC should be helping them launch their businesses. With expertise comes more responsibility and sadly we grudgingly seek out the expertise of many Tribal members who can help expedite our economic development.
Harding’s wetu. Ahem. “Photo Op Wamps” cash in at the Sandwich Heritage Museum. They weren’t the only ones working the festival this summer.
Now there are also all the “Photo Op Wamps” scoffing up the doe all over the place cause they make a living doing it. That would be Mark Harding and his partner Paula Peters. Harding, the guy least likely to know anything about building a wetu got $50K to build a wetu and a longhouse at the Sandwich Heritage Museum. You can’t be mad at ’em…they know where to look and have the relationships with the Sandwich folks who have stolen our land and degraded us since time and memoriam. They were so treacherous, Mr. Eddie Amos used to say, ” If you’re going to Sandwich you betta bring your box.” The box was a coffin.
We have access to $100 m in reparations from Harvard that we have yet to access. It doesn’t make sense. Harvard acknowledges wronging us and we have done nothing to get the money for future generations.
The Good News
The Tribe got $1.6m in federal dollars to restore the Parsonage. Vice Chairman Carlton Hendricks, Jr. has worked for over 8 years to finish the project.
Foster could be Treasurer if the court validates Marie’s removal and denies a special election.
Marie Stone files in Tribal Court….delaying advisory opinion on Special Election
Marie Stone challenged her removal from office as Treasurer through a filing in Tribal Court. Prior to her challenge, the Tribal Council asked the court for an advisory opinion on the ability to hold a special election to fill the seat. The court denied the request until it resolves Stone’s challenge. If the court denies the special election action, Bobby Foster would become the Treasurer because he came in second. Ahem.
The Tribal Council has asked the Tribal Court for an advisory opinion on holding a special election to fill the potential Treasurer vacancy. Marie Stone requested documents from the Council hearing where she was removed three weeks ago. She has yet to file suit. The Council is not waiting for her to make up her mind.
Creative, cost saving, energy efficient, environmentally sound solar canopies part of the Trbes’ move forward. CDC gets the credit.
The Tribal Community Development Corporation presented a solar energy project that it has been working on for a while. It was well received and quite innovative in concept and design. The first to benefit are the residents in tribal housing. and tree based solar canopies would become part of the parking lots generating energy for the government center. There’s a little more to fine tune before the project is back next week.
Ojibwe Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan was the
Flanagan’s Republican opponent says she
“savaged” him by denouncing his position against abortion when a woman is raped.
target of a racial slur when her Republican opponent called her a “savage.” Matt Birk is the culprit. He was addressing a Right to Life group and commented that “two wrongs don’t make a right,” when justifying abortion in cases of rape. Flanagan said Birk’s position “denies survivors the choice to end their pregnancy and force them to live the lives their rapists chose for them rather than ones they wanted for themselves.” On Twitter Birk said Flanagan tried to ” “savage” him for his remarks. He reluctantly apologized later. Flanagan is a citizen of White Earth Band of Ojibwe.
Native nations are supporting legislation to legalize and decriminalize cannabis in the United States. The bill was introduced in the US Senate Finance Commitee by Majority Leader Chuck Shumer and other leaders. It is designed to bring uniformity to cannabis regulation nationwide. “The ultimate goal of this historic plant medicine legislation is the ability of our native people to choose their own path and thus their own future without interference by the states,” William Snell, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, said. The legislation provides extensive grants, and funding for enforcement, healthcare education and a long list of guidelines designed to regulate a huge new industry.
The 6 tribes of the Chippawa Nation will decide whether to stick with blood quantum enrollment.
Minnesota Chippawa removes blood quantum enrollment requirement. Since 1961, children had to have 1/4 Chippawa blood to be enrolled. The approval of the nonbinding referendum that allows the 6 tribes of that nation to decide if they want to lift that blood qualifier. Blood quantum tribal rolls are declining as is the Chippawa. They will now decide whether stick with blood quantum, go back to direct lineage to the original rolls were calculated after the passing of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.The federal government required the quantum measurement for tribes to receive services.
The Tribe is putting out a weekly newsletter which is good. So how do we get it to Elders? They don’t fool with the internet. They have their own news service. Second question. What is the Mittark good for? Slick and full of department reports compiled by department heads pretty much. They get paid nearly $100k a year to talk about those grants and a lot of stuff that doesn’t help anyone. No comments from tribal members who have concerns about our problems with a multitude of issues…, overdoses, housing, employment. Ignoring problems doesn’t make them go away.
ABOUT MARIE STONE
Marie Stone has requested documentation from the hearing resulting in her removal. It signals that she may file suit in Tribal Court. There is a short time frame for that. Meanwhile the Tribe must prepare for a special election which is up to the Elections Committee Chair Robin Tobey Stamps. She is out for a few more weeks and should be back to work soon.
Stay tuned.
