I know the community has this idea of who the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is, because of what people read in the paper. But that is individuals, not all of us as a whole. Those individuals do not represent who we are.

What the majority of us are is strong, loving, traditional, hardworking people who just want what our ancestors wanted. We want our children to be able to live on the land where their people come from. We want to be able to freely fish and hunt in the oceans/rivers and woods our ancestors did. We want to practice our traditions without interruption. We want to house our homeless and feed our hungry. Most important, we want our land back!

What we are not is greedy, self-indulgent, power hungry, or money hungry people. Never have been! Never will be! This tribe never had money and did just fine. We were not rich financially, but we were rich in every other way.

Do not lump this entire tribe in with the actions of a few. They do not represent who we are, and they do not speak for us. We speak for ourselves!

Finally, no matter how dim our future may seem to others, Mashpee will shine!

Crystal Maddox

Mashpee