Mashpee 9 continue to press for election reform

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

  1. Abraham, Ashr Ben                                                                         NR or A
  2. Bacon, Brianna                                                                                  A
  3. Bacon, Brad                                                                                        A
  4. Bacon, Denise                                                                                   A
  5. Bacon, Joshua                                                                                   A
  6. Bacon, Kelli                                                                                         A
  7. Bacon, Stephen                                                                                                A
  8. Borges, Carlton                                                                                 A
  9. Broyles, Craig                                                                                     A
  10. Broyles, Mark                                                                                    A
  11. Bullock, Clarence                                                                              NR
  12. Bullock, Kyle                                                                                       NR
  13. Bullock, Shantel                                                                                                NR
  14. Charron, Katie Rose                                                                        A
  15. Charron, Lindsay                                                                              A
  16. Charron, Russell                                                                               A
  17. Coyse, Amy                                                                                        NR
  18. Dashiell, Emma                                                                                 A
  19. Dashiell, Neliea                                                                                 A
  20. Dowling, Keith                                                                                   NR
  21. Fray, Pamela                                                                                      NR
  22. Friedrickson, Corey                                                                         NR
  23. Gilkey, Janet                                                                                      NR
  24. Hightower, Shirley Ann Nightingal Bullock                             NR
  25. Kinsler, Phyliss                                                                                  NR
  26. Lammers, Cheryl                                                                              NR
  27. Lammers, Edith                                                                                 NR
  28. Lammers, Harvey                                                                             NR
  29. Livingston, Amos                                                                              NR
  30. McDermott, James                                                                         A
  31. McDermott, John                                                                            A
  32. McDermott, Paul                                                                             A
  33. McDermott, Scott                                                                            A
  34. McDermott, Stephen                                                                     A
  35. McDermott, Thomas                                                                      A
  36. McDermott, William                                                                       A
  37. Medeiros, Elizabeth                                                                        A
  38. Medeiros, Richard                                                                           A
  39. Mello, Christopher                                                                          NR
  40. Ormsby, Sharon                                                                                               NR
  41. Sylvia, Angela                                                                                    A
  42. Thompson, Nigel                                                                              NR
  43. Tobey, Gail                                                                                         A
  44. Tobey, Harold                                                                                    A
  45. Tobey, Pamela                                                                                  A
  46. Walters, Sharon                                                                                                NR
  47. Zangao, Julian                                                                                    NR
  48. 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.

 

 

 

 

Perpetrating

The desire to win can be overwhelming.  Especially if you’re losing.   Losers spread rumors and lies. They say the “Elders say this and that ” to try to influence people who don’t know any better. The Elders haven’t had a meeting in over a month.  They start talking about people who they say are ” criminals” and try to determine who should be involved in things. They just keep things stirred up. And it’s unsolicited.

People will make their own decisions.  This is the most important election in the history of this tribe. Make your decision wisely based on your knowledge and relationship with the candidates.

 

 

 

Election shenanigans

So much going on. So much attempted manipulation.  You won’t believe it!   But then again, maybe you will.

Cedric’s Genting Hub Bub

We are the originators of the ancient shell game called Hub Bub. Annawon Weeden describes it best,  but essentially it’s played with broken  wampum shells shaken in a gourd thrown out on to the ground. The purple shells count for the most.  Sort of a dice game too.   When people used to say “What’s all the Hub Bub about? “ they were talking about a commotion.  Games of chance always start something. And it’s always  something bad.

Genting angry with Cedric's latest screw up

Well, Cedric Cromwell, Mark Harding and Yvonne Frye Avant have their own Hub Bub going on in the way of their infamous Mashpee Wampanoag Gaming Commission.  As members for over a year now, they are the guardians of upwards of $12 – 15 million that Genting has funneled through the Commission coffers. Actually we don’t know how much it is. This Commission is totally independent of the tribe, accountable to Genting only, does not submit budgets, but has the benefit of  hiding under the Tribe’s sovereignty. It’s quite a shell game.

More problematic is the fact that the Commission was never set up properly. While Cedric and his gang are notorious for violating Tribal law, this was a screw up that threw Genting and their lawyers into a full blown panic.  Genting had to make sure that the “ Cash Stash“ was in order to keep all that debt obligation and other secret deals under wraps.  They want their stuff done nice and legal like. Imagine.

That’s why the Council is having a do over vote Saturday, the day before the election.  The Commission was established without a proper vote and a host of other missteps.  It closely resembled the recent screwy effort to change the election ordinance to benefit the “Casino Stalkers.”

The other serious problem is that Council members are furious with the leadership’s lies and secrecy. They have no idea what Cedric or Harding in particular are hiding from them day to day, and this is another example. There are many Council members who want no part of this effort to enslave us forever.

So the do over may come undone.

FIGHT! FIGHT!

Fairhaven—The social was good until Cedric’s stepson PJ  Fermino ran up to the drum and tagged David Pocknett’s  son.  Supposedly it was about a campaign bumper sticker or flyer. Then David and Cedric,  as usual,  almost got in a fight. Great. Those testosterone chest bumps don’t amount to anything when your people need work and assistance.
Richard Oakley meanwhile, was talking about delivering services and Gettin’ Mashpee Back on Track.

That’s what you fight about.

More details later..

Getting Mashpee Back on Track

 

 

 

The Amnesia problem

Jessie and her amnesia

People afflicted with amnesia forget things.  The trouble is, other people don’t.  One of the blow outs at a Council meeting last week was over the Shunning.  That little 2006 punishment was conjured  up by none other than Jessie Baird, Paula Peters and the so called Medicine Man Guy Cash. It was vintage Jessie.  And her response to the charges made by her family, the Tobeys,  was classic. She denied it. Amnesia right?  Her cousin, Vice Chairman Aaron Tobey, whom she is challenging in the upcoming election, said it was true as everyone nodded and glared. Jessie’s amnesia has intensified since she decided to run for vice chairman.  We understand why.  Her audacity is remarkable.

We have to say this about Aaron Tobey. He wears  his failures on his sleeve. He’s pretty open with his nuttiness and his bad decisions. Aaron’s bad actions don’t have a long term affect because they’re rejected. But Jessie. That’s different.

Aaron wears his faults on his sleeves

One of her more damaging schemes was when she sold  us as a  Black tribe to the Museum of the American Indian  shortly after Recognition. She   never talked to the Council or anyone of authority, just  branded us. Whether she labeled us as a White, Portuguese, German, Italian, or a Russian tribe, it would have been just as inappropriate and

Fox family on display at MAI

wrong. This is why Jessie is dangerous.  She is an authority on nothing, but a self appointed expert on everything.   For our first and most important  world introduction to focus on one ethnic strain (which is the most common in all recognized tribes), is outrageous. But the MAI officials responsible for the perpetrating the misinformation laughed in the face of Tribal Elders who were stunned by the news while at  a repatriation luncheon.  According to the BIA, no tribe in the United States has the consistent tribal community record of the Mashpee Wampanoag.  None. Tribal members allowed themselves ti be photographed at the 2008 Pow Wow thinking the Smithsonian was finally acknowledging our 400 year survival epic. It was not to be.

Jessie has a long history of amnesia where she forgot to correct people who said she had a Masters in (the) language.  She just let the White people think she was credentialed.  In the PBS series We Shall Remain, we were prominently featured as one of the 5 tribes who had the most influence on America. Jessie ran her mouth in interviews about our experience with the Pilgrims, but a Nipmuck  did the language for the docudrama….not Jessie. She can’t transcribe anything.  Thank God for Natana Hicks eh?

Jessie is a very smart woman.  Our people talk about how she shouldn’t  get this grant and that grant.  Hey, if she get’s them, she should have them.  Just don’t sell us out for a dollar.  Don’t mislead our young people. Don’t make them think there’s a shortcut.

There’s never been a shortcut for us.  It took us over 30 years to be recognized as Native Americans.  Don’t exploit your own people.

 

Turmoil

THE MISSING VOTER LIST

The Monday night Council meeting was crazy. Candidates and Council members were asking  Cedric Cromwell for the voter list that was supposed to be posted 8 days ago.  Tribal members and candidates are supposed to have access to the list to see who’s on it and challenge questionable new members before the election.  Candidates also use it for voter contact.

Supposedly there was an ordinance passed  ending this practice citing  confidentiality or some such nonsense.  No one can find the ordinance nor can they find the minutes confirming passage of the ordinance. Of course there are no audio tapes of  the meetings, so you can’t validate anything.

"BBA" & Cheryl in better days before his health deteriorated

It got heated when the candidates said they wanted the same access the incumbents like Cedric had.  Of course this  access is all courtesy of Cedric’s sister-in-law Kimmie Frye, “SR”,  Chair of the Election Committee.   Right… the chairman’s sister-in-law is CHAIR of the Election Committee.  Anyway,  Kimmie and her sister, Council woman Cheryl  Frye Cromwell (wife to “Big Brother Almighty”), were just recently busted while trying to commandeer the voter list from a mail house.   When pressed, Cedric shouted…”You have to buy the list just like I did.”  Buy it from whom? Is there no end to the blatant disregard for Tribal law?  Now the voter list is being sold ? Apparently.

Nine tribal members have already filed in US Federal District Court warning of this kind of behavior, potential voter fraud and countless other violations of the Constitution.  They asked for government oversight because of this kind of  lawlessness.

Recent  memos have been sent to the Assistant Secretary of DOI and  the Nashville BIA documenting  the pattern of disenfranchisement that continues to persist. The Council officers are leaving quite a paper trail.

SCAMMIN’

Another effort to keep getting a pay check is now being proposed under the guise of  ” protecting the health and welfare of the tribe” through the Tribal Gaming Commission. Funneling Genting money into he tribal gaming commission to pay  Cedric, Mark Harding and Yvonne Frye Avant will not resolve the fact that the Tribe is broke. But they’re  trying to disguise it that way. They are calling an emergency meeting Friday to  pass funding for the gaming commission, pretending they’re going to keep people on the payroll.

We support keeping tribal members employed, but we don’t want Cedric,  Markie and Yvonne permanently ensconced in the Tribal Gaming Commission.  They set it up to be totally separate and  untouchable so they can keep getting a pay check.  Genting runs it….and funds it….and has been funneling money through the GC for a while. More transparency eh ?

 

Political Hacks campaign with no shame

 

The closer we get to the election, the more entertaining the Cromwell administration becomes.  More fascinating is how the overpaid legal team is dredging up old historical arguments that have been soundly REJECTED by the Department of Interior.

Each one of the historical points detailed In the Cape Cod Times as the Gospel of Cromwell and the way to a special exemption for us, was presented to DOI during the Recognition process. These points were thrown out by DOI and never attributed to the validation of our existence as a tribe.

Why bring them up again? You know why…. Re-election. They keep trying to give Casino Stalkers hope of a casino.

It’s more millions of dollars in legal fees for recycled stuff that’s no good.

Why would the DOI suddenly do an about face?  The experts who said no 6 years ago are still on the job there.

As usual…you can’t believe everything you read in the paper can you?  Especially when the reporter does not do his homework. Maybe he should ask the people who would give the other side of the story.

Here are the recycled arguments that we’re paying for a second time;

The 1763 King George Edict: During the 1977 land suit, we used a decree by King of England that gave us clear title to our land.  We thought it would prove that it was stolen. This argument was rejected in the recognition process.

Forced Removal: The government actually tried to relocate us in Oklahoma. This argument was rejected.

1933 Indian Reorganization Act: Sachem Leroy Perry held a meeting at the Old Indian Meeting House to organize the Mashpee and the Herring Pond Wampanoag but action was never finalized and the documents never found. It was rejected.

The 1933 IRA meeting is particularly important because in order to get around the 2009 Carcieri    Supreme Court ruling we must prove that we were recognized by the US government before 1934.

The simple fact remains that the entire casino process was launched 4 months before the state deadline with an incomplete LIT application, terrible tiny location and no historical ties.  The abominable compact sealed the fate of the Taunton Itty Bitty casino.

For Interior to accept this old discarded information now would smell pretty stinky.

Cedric Cromwell is such an outsider; he has no idea of what is contained in the Recognition documentation.  The lawyers know that and bill for stuff we’ve already paid for.  It’s clear that this administration can’t come up with an original idea to save their political hides. But we all know that.

The firing has begun, Kimmie Frye, ” Sr ” won’t quit, and the nightmare goes on

Department heads were  told to lay people off.  They were also told not to let them work another minute. The only cash flowing into the general revenue fund to pay all  the Fryes, comes from Genting.  It’s gone.  Poof! Very few people who work for the tribe are paid by grants.   Most are paid out of general revenue including certain council members. Broke as a joke they are. Those in line to be fired are already scheming  to take the others job, especially in finance.

Francie in white laughs it up with "BBA"

Word is that Francie  (Frye) who is some sort of executive secretary,  has established her own retirement fund totaling about $20,000. She sits in the council executive sessions that go on for hours.Where she gets the money from is anyone’s guess. But the Frybal Council is imploding.

The turmoil spilled over to the dueling chairman and secretary.  Tah Tah was questioning “Big Brother Almighty’s” use of tribal resources

Big Brother Almighty shrinks, and TFL looks robust !

for his faltering campaign.  Thousands of dollars in postage, socials , Dino’ s, robo calls, and texting .  He also has access to confidential information and phone numbers.  “Big Brother Almighty “was texting tribal members asking for their votes and pleading with them to return the text to confirm their support for him.  He also begged them to get family members to vote for him. He can’t campaign so he’s using the President’s very expensive  tools to corral votes.  He went to Edna Peters house with Mark Harding no less, and they were promptly shown the door. Harding was so beet red he looked like a walking tomato.

Some people say BBA has been so ill it’s clouding his reasoning.  The diabetes, high blood pressure and the heart condition…it all shows.  He looks bad and  and he still trying to save a disastrous reign.

His sister-in-law Kimmie Frye “Sr”, Chair of the Election Committee,  and her sister Cheryl Frye Cromwell  AKA “The First Lady”, were busy with the other part of the election protection  scheme. They were trying to commandeer the mailing list from people who mail the newsletter.

The mail house contacted Joanne Frye to see if the release of the list was authorized.  Joanne said no. Cheryl went into a rage and said it was authorized because she was the chairman’s wife. That may have brought pity but not the list.

This is the chair of the election committee who is the sister-in-law of the chairman and the sister to the council woman married to the chairman, and is once again demanding that they get preferential treatment. The  chair of the election committee should not be the chair of the election committee because it is just wrong.  But clearly she doesn’t know any better. She’s protecting Mark Tilden who is the master of lousy  advice, bad ordinances and over billing.

They have done so much damage to this tribe, they are holding on at any cost.

So they refuse to post the voter list for candidates and tribal members to view. Thumbing their noses at the tribal members demanding a fair election….and daring the Feds to do something about it. So now they claim to have passed a resolution so they don’t have to post it. But how do we know what they did? Where are the minutes? How do you know if it were done properly? They tried to bamboozle us recently with  Mark Tilden- Kimmie Frye “Sr” election ordinance that was not passed properly. Now the list is confidential? Who knows…they keep changing the rules.

The only way Cedric, Jessie,Mark and Selena  win is  with the votes of Jessie’s illegal Casino Stalkers…..just like they did last time. But if the Stalkers show up they still face some real embarrassment.

Aho Bro .

 

Sending out an SOS

 

Last week Cedric Cromwell revealed a two paragraph form letter from  Department of Interior Secretary Kevin Washburn  saying the department would begin reviewing our land in trust  application for exception status. The second paragraph was the clincher because it stated that even if that extraordinary criteria were met, the Department’s authority to take the land in trust was still in question.

Translation: Back to square one. Not very assuring to anyone, let alone the Gaming Commission.

So Cedric is trying to appease the Massachusetts Gaming Commission with a form letter  to appear as though the ” Tribe is back on track. ”  This is with a letter he was sitting on for two weeks.

 

All the time in the world may not help Locklear help us

The bigger problem is compiling the documentation to justify exception status.  Clearly Cedric’s people don’t have it because they’re sending up SOS flares for help.  Lumbee attorney Arlinda Locklear  was hired about 5 months ago to take the lead on the exception status effort. Well she hasn’t had much luck and was forced to have an intermediary call Patty Oakley for documents and maps. Maps that she needed by last Friday and apparently couldn’t find.  Patty did not have the maps to give her. Earlier,  Locklear asked Ramona Peters for the paper work but she didn’t know what Locklear was talking about.  About 8 months ago Ramona and Jessie Baird were the designated experts on this critical task . Jessie was telling everyone  we were linked to Taunton because we traveled back and forth on the Taunton River……like every tribe in New England I suppose. Not good.  People like Jessie are problematic because they’re Chameleons who change and disguise themselves to assume different identities. Red lights flash PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Amelia Bingham reportedly ran Jessie and Paula Peters out of her yard when they were trolling for ” documents.”

This points to a bigger problem with this administration … poor leadership, bad planning and well, you know the rest.

Locklear looked like she might be able to help. She worked for over a decade for her own tribe, the Lumbee.  But she was never able to satisfy the Congress to get them recognized.  Now she’s working for the most documented tribe in the nation, and she can’t find what she needs.

Then again she’s working against tough odds.  Remember, Cedric selected the worst site in the state 5 months before the deadline and submitted an incomplete LIT application.  How can we forget the many millions spent on a disastrous Compact negotiated  by Aaron Tobey. It was dubbed the worst ever in Indian Country.

Cedric Cromwell is trying to do what the Big Ballers in Indian Country have taken a decade to achieve.  He’s been reckless with our reputation and irresponsible with  our future.

Most of us want a casino, but clearly this administration has made the the path to that goal pretty rough.

Good luck Arlinda.