After filing a complaint in US District Court, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal members pressed the Election Committee and the Cromwell administration to voluntarily implement election reforms to ensure a fair election on Sunday.
When the Committee failed to post the voter list, the group sent a memo to the Department of Interior and the Regional office of the BIA updating government officials of the continued breach of the tribal election process. The list was finally posted 10 days late, yet another violation of Tribal law.
On January 16, the attorney for the group, Johnathan Polloni wrote Cromwell asking for a meeting to agree upon certain safeguards and explicit monitoring on election day. Cromwell never responded to the request, but angry Council members blasted the embattled chairman for keeping the request secret last Friday.
The Mashpee 9 have also question the blatant conflict of Kimberly Frye serving as Election Committee chair. Council member Carlton Hendricks Jr. said he had evidence that Frye was serving without authority because her term that expired in 2012.
The Council has Election Committee appointments on tonight’s agenda.
Meanwhile the group challenged nearly 50 new members on the voter list. The committee will have to show that the members challenged meet the criteria for membership set by tribal law. The list was just a random review but showed a pattern of loading the rolls.
Kimberly Frye, Chairman
Election Committee
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
483 Great Neck Road South
Mashpee, MA 02649
February 4, 2013
Dear Chairman Frye,
This letter is to bring to your attention certain names subject to challenge under Section 2(5) of the Election Ordinance of Responsibilities of the Election Committee. For your convenience, the given reason for each challenge is listed next to the individual name being challenged. These allegations are based on my personal knowledge as a Tribal member with a long history and association with the Tribe.
Mostly, these names are challenged on the basis that there is no relationship (NR) of the individual with the Tribe. This means that the individual named is not within the requirements of Article III, Section 1(a) and 1(b) of the Constitution of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (“Constitution”). Specifically, this means that for the individual named there is no proof of “direct lineal descent (1) to a Mashpee Indian identified in the Report to the Governor and Council…(also known as the 1859 Milton Earle Report)…or (2) to the union of Georgina Palmer and Charles Peters or Leander Peters and Lydia DeGrasse” or has not demonstrated sufficient tribal community involvement. Tribal community involvement is further defined by the Enrollment Ordinance, 2012-ORD-006, to “have and continue to contribute to the spiritual, traditional, social, and overall well-being of the Tribe.”[1]
The second basis for challenge is abandonment (A) under Article III, Section 1(c) and 1(d) of the Constitution. Abandonment is considered to have occurred when an individual has “publicly denounced Mashpee tribal existence” and “publicly denounced their [own] affiliation to the Tribe”, or have not “lived in or near Mashpee, Massachusetts or have had family members actively involved in tribal community affairs who have lived in or near Mashpee, Massachusetts for at least the preceding 20 years.”
The following names are listed below as found on the Election Committee voter list: [2]
NAME Reason for Challenge
- Abraham, Ashr Ben NR or A
- Bacon, Brianna A
- Bacon, Brad A
- Bacon, Denise A
- Bacon, Joshua A
- Bacon, Kelli A
- Bacon, Stephen A
- Borges, Carlton A
- Broyles, Craig A
- Broyles, Mark A
- Bullock, Clarence NR
- Bullock, Kyle NR
- Bullock, Shantel NR
- Charron, Katie Rose A
- Charron, Lindsay A
- Charron, Russell A
- Coyse, Amy NR
- Dashiell, Emma A
- Dashiell, Neliea A
- Dowling, Keith NR
- Fray, Pamela NR
- Friedrickson, Corey NR
- Gilkey, Janet NR
- Hightower, Shirley Ann Nightingal Bullock NR
- Kinsler, Phyliss NR
- Lammers, Cheryl NR
- Lammers, Edith NR
- Lammers, Harvey NR
- Livingston, Amos NR
- McDermott, James A
- McDermott, John A
- McDermott, Paul A
- McDermott, Scott A
- McDermott, Stephen A
- McDermott, Thomas A
- McDermott, William A
- Medeiros, Elizabeth A
- Medeiros, Richard A
- Mello, Christopher NR
- Ormsby, Sharon NR
- Sylvia, Angela A
- Thompson, Nigel NR
- Tobey, Gail A
- Tobey, Harold A
- Tobey, Pamela A
- Walters, Sharon NR
- Zangao, Julian NR
- Zaragoza, Stephanie Lee NR
Because these individuals cannot satisfy the requirements of membership with the Tribe under Article III of the Constitution due to No Relation or Abandonment, it is requested that you remove their names from the voter list in accordance with Tribal law.
Respectfully,
Patricia Oakley
[1] Ordinance 2012-ORD-006 is referenced solely for the purpose of supplying some definition of tribal community involvement and petitioner specifically reserves the right to challenge whether or not the ordinance was lawfully adopted.
[2] This list is not comprehensive and should in no way impair future challenges based on improper enrollment with the Tribe.
