A very good man left us today.  Dwight Peters has died.

Dwight was a Lawrence High School graduate. A true Mashpee man who changed very little.

Very sad news to those of us who knew him.  Dwight was a true Mashpee man.  He was a hard worker, a good husband and  son who cared for his mother and brother without fail. Dwight was an excellent hunter and fisherman and took many trips to Maine with other Mashpee men because that was his passion.

If you didn’t know Dwight, you knew where he was  from…. Mashpee. His sense of humor was his trademark and he kept our dialect alive no doubt! All true Mashpee know we have our own jargon that no one understands but us. Like his father “Sip,” Dwight loved nothing better than to give you a rapid fire comment that took you a few minutes to figure out !

He was the same guy all his life.

Our heartfelt condolences to his wife Grace, mother Edna, sister Anne Marie, brother Robert and family.

We will miss Dwight.

Tribal members have filed a Tribal court challenge to the February election.  The primary complaint centers on the fact that known tribal members were turned away because they dd not have ID. These tribal members were clearly disenfranchised from their constitutional right to vote.  Also known was the fact that those members (at least 15) were certain to vote against the Cromwell slate.  Those 15 votes would have ousted The First Lady (257votes) and her first cousin Yvonne Frye Avant (266 votes) pushing Laura Miranda  into the victory lane and Robrt Dias and Carlton Hendricks Jr ahead of Winnie Johnson and Winnona Pocknett. You can refresh your memory on the vote tallies in  our Feb 9 post.

It’s amazing how critical those15 votes were, and that was not lost on the Cromwell administration.   The entire political mood of the Council would have be changed with TFL and Mean Travel Queen bounced, Robert Dias added and Carlton Hendricks, Jr. re-elected.

Election Monitors officially doing nothing

Here’s another absurdity in the election process.  Members raised hell about the the secrecy of the process, the voting machine company’s record of questionable outcomes and most of all, the lack of integrity in the election process….the absence of Elders and independent oversight was always a huge concern because of the make up of the election committee itself.  You will recall it’s loaded with Cromwellian supporters.

Anyway, the administration consented to having a panel of “election monitors.”  A token concession in light of the fact that the monitors;

A-Did not know what they were looking for regarding voting irregularities

B-Did not know how to examine the voting machines to prevent tampering

C-Had no known process to utilize in the event of irregularities

D-Sat in the front of the polling place and did nothing (under the watchful eye of Navajo Joe)

The so called “election monitors” were useless when they did not stop the election officials from turning away known tribal members. And of course the Administration wanted it that way.  They saw Connie Cromwell get a brand new tribal ID on the spot…..while others were turned away. The idiocy of it all is that she too is a known tribal member and does not need an ID.

She, like her son did not get on the roll until 2006. Oh yah, and Glenn Marshall and Patty Oakley had to explain to Shovel Ready what the roll was and why he needed to be on it. SRC was the consummate Casino Stalker from the start. He has the nerve to try to spin positive media recently by giving people a video tour of our historic sites. The guy never spent more than a few days here during his formative years. He is Dorchester / Roxbury for sure. That is obvious.

Shovel Ready Ceddie knew what he was doing with this latest in a series of bad elections. And things heat up and the Land in Trust becomes a confirmed fantasy…. he is trying to hang on and do a better job of burying that money in the Arkana Sacred Burial Ground.

Aho Bro

Okay. What Tribal officer was spotted riding around with tribal young men  very “la la land”  and also walking the halls missing a front tooth….You have to look for the entertainment value in all this because we will otherwise all turn into manic depressives !.

See if your hunch is right…check back by 11pm

Yearning for the good old days !

Contrary to rumors we  have not closed up shop.  We were swamped with life and had to take a break from the really depressing realities of our people.  We see a trend occurring though…and it could be a good thing so we’ll talk about it in a minute…..

Stay tuned.  Reel Wamps ReBoot.

The Ratchett agony of defeat.

Danielle Hill was the lowest vote getter in a horse race of 11 candidates vying for 6 seats on the council.  Hill’s unresolved felony warrant in New York clearly undermined her efforts to become a council member. Incumbent Patricia Keliinui was the weakest link in the Cromwell incumbents commonly referred to as  ” The Woebegone Women” coming in 8th. Ironically Keliinui is responsible for failing to enforce tribal laws and election procedures during the chaotic 2009 election that ushered in the Cromwell regime.  Since then the election process has been dominated  by Cromwell and Frye family members and cronies who make up the rules and threaten members who question their actions.

Winnie Johnson Graham slipped under the radar of criticism which allowed her to be the top vote getter to the surprise of many.  If the election is clean, it shows that voters have clearly forgotten her illegal award of $50,000 from Housing.  Tribal member advocates say the money should be be repaid by garnishing  her pay check from the Tribal Health Department.

Robert Dias,a popular young town supervisor, came in second place and is expected to be a strong advocate for

Rob Dias, is popular and respected. A leader to watch.

core members.Carlton Hendricks, Jr.  a consistent vocal critic of the administration was re elected coming in ahead of Cheryl Frye Cromwell, wife of Chairman Cedric Cromwell. Cromwell barely made it back on to the

TFL & Ceddie during happier times. Plenty of purple and lobster.

Council edging out Laura Miranda.  Cromwell greatly exaggerated her 4 month stint in the Reserves.  In various documents, Frye Cromwell  says she served in the Army from 1981-1985. Military officials had no record of Frye Cromwell’s service. Both Frye Cromwell and her cousin Yvonne Frye Avant, who has no record of accomplishment for 25 years on the Council and another Cromwell soldier have been loosing ground each election, slipping from the top vote getters to the back of the pack. Even their family seems embarrassed by them.

But the irregularities continue to be part of the MWT elections.  The demand for ID’s from known tribal members(who had no ID)  turned away at least 15 voters.  These voters were the nephews and close friends of Carlton Hendricks Jr, Laura Miranda and Robert Dias. Miranda would have beaten Frye Cromwell easily.That was a known fact.  And the fact that Cedric Cromwell had a membership card made for his mother on site. Others who would

Navajo Joe presides over the election. Standing behind monitors, trying to avoid lawsuits. Tough job.

clearly vote against his wife were not given the same access. A bright spot appeared when Tribal attorney Mark Tilden kicked out the Child Chairman of the Enrollment Committee, Brian Weeden. Tilden had scolded Weeden about the impropriety of being the enrollment committee chairman and openly campaigning for The Woebegones. Banished by Navajo Joe, the big kid took his rightful place with his candidates waving signs out front.

Had those people been allowed to vote, which is standard, Cheryl Frye Cromwell would have been history like Patricia and Danielle. Cromwell has not been the picture of health for a while and the continued controversy surrounding his wife and council cronies is not pleasing to the Arkana bosses.

Winnie Johnson    280

Winona Pocknett   266

Robert Dias           266

Yvonne Frye Avant 262

Carlton Hendricks, Jr. 257

Cheryl Frye Cromwell 248

Laura Tobey Miranda     245

Patricia Keliinui              239

Aaron Tobey                   222

Robyn Tobey Stamps    190

Danielle Hill                    161