Reel Wamps

It’s hard to imagine what Cedric was thinking during his trial because there just wasn’t a bright spot to be found. For someone who pleaded not guilty and was convicted on 6 of 8 counts, he either got some bad advice or thought he could get away with some really bad actions.

Now some of his crew tried to be evasive, like Trish and Bobby Foster.  They served on the Gaming Authority where at least $650 million was funneled to Genting vendors, lawyers, consultants, architects, builders and every non-tribal member you could imagine.

They were clearly watching too much Law and Order because they (Trish and Bobby) kept saying, ” I don’t recall.” and it was all in the FBI record. Stupid. Bobby’s complicity is beyond reproach. And Dino, Bobby’s cut buddy was so awful, we can’t talk about it here. Well, Robbie Hendricks told the truth.  Whatever contract Cedric wanted he got, no questions asked.

They called themselves Partners in Progress. On the gravy train. But, in the end, they abandoned Cedric. A Black man who attends Mashpee Baptist Church had to give him a ride to federal court in Boston.

Cedric had one character witness…Dan Neuy who served on the Gaming Authority, a cop no less insisted that he be paid. He showed up but the defense never called him. What does that tell you?

And yes, Trish ushered Cedric in with her cousin Paula Peters in the beginning with the 2009 election where non-tribal

Once again Bobby, the guy with a forged GED, is at the center of the storm with stupid dog tricks and a big salary. Yup. And a player in a federal criminal trial.

members voted and Bobby Foster was the caretaker of disheveled ballots that could not be validated and mysteriously disappeared. Incredible. The BIA was begged to help 3 times.  Tribal Elders took Cedric to court.  They kept on. Winnie Johnson was easily the most prolific Cedric cheerleader even after the indictments.  The shrewd  Yvonne, never out of power went along for the ride for 12 years. Finally, she resigned from the Gaming Authority as secretary after the FBI called her in asking for the minutes. Ahem.

Paula and Trish launched a regime that destroyed the Mashpee Wampanoag and a family legacy of Tribal progress for their own self-aggrandizement. A few of the Steve Peters family try to ignore this degradation of the influential family but it is a disgusting reality. It was initiated by a very few. But their actions impacted many  Mashpee in a bad way.

“Hap” Peters was beloved for initiating progress while preserving our unique culture. His children kept that tradition but some of the grandchildren chose the corrupting influence of power over the Tribe.

They are just as guilty as those Reel Wamps has criticized repeatedly for over a decade because they failed their ancestors by joining the corrupt regime.

There is not a damned thing about a Mashpee family that we don’t know…if we’re Real Mashpee. But quiet is kept, we hold it close because it is still us against them.

So think about where you think we should go from here.

What the future looks like for you and your family. You have a right to a good quality of life.

Sometimes we go deep here about our problems.  But it’s better to know than not know when someone aiming to hatchet you in the back.

Cedric’s bribery trial turned into a freaking nightmare. Stay tuned.

Beginning May 1, enrolled Tribal members will be able to go online or fill out a paper application to receive the disbursements from the American Rescue Plan Act.  Allocations of $750 for youth up to 17and $1,750 for adults 18 and over. The only no vote was Councilman David Weeden.

An Interesting discussion was the report of statehouse lobbying efforts by the  Hickey firm. The firm gets a flat fee of $12,500 a month which is a good deal for the Tribe. Because hourly billing is brutal. But most who know the process know that lobbyists rarely bill hourly.  Nonetheless, we were raped by Genting law firms under the Cromwell administration so thankfully we are not going through that nightmare.  Hickey has been working for 6 months. Their report was about sports betting and how we’re ” doing really well” with that.  The marijuana opportunity, likewise.  Aboriginal fishing rights were a little more detailed but there was no discussion of a means of enforcement of punishment for harassing and assaulting Natives while lawfully fishing. Councilman Aaron Tobey found a number of areas where the Mashpee Wampanoag were excluded and had been excluded from participating in projects (for 5 years)  where we would receive major benefits.

So the lobbyist opened his presentation with the statement that he knew the Council was “unfamiliar” with the legislative process. That was telling, but also dangerous because there’s always someone in the room who is familiar. He praised Councilman David Weeden for finding “15” instances where the Mashpee Wampanoag or Native Americans were not mentioned in legislation….an intern could have done that in10 minutes. Left out were the tangibles. Where is the legislation or the amendments? Who are the sponsors in the House and the Senate? Where is the legislation in the committee process in the House and Senate ( some bills have 3-4 committee references which is a killer). Is your amendment attached to a bunch of bills? When is it coming to the floor for a vote? Which reading is it on… Who’s trying to kill your bills? When is the conference committee if needed? Which council member or staff is tracking the progress of everything? And there are many more things to watch. When you don’t know…it’s a boon for the lobbyist who tell you, this will take longer than we thought.

Don’t worry about the activity report attached to the invoice if you don’t understand what the hell is going on.

By the way, getting on calls with senators is an old trick. That’s what lobbyists do.  They let you chat it up with a Senator or Rep but how long are you on the hook before you realize ain’t nothing happening? Another thing, they dumped the #3 rated congressional lobbying firm in the country with 120 lobbyists because they said they were not delivering.  Well, no one told the people what to do.  Course Genting was in charge.  They are in charge again…in DC.  Genting. In 12 years they never got our land in trust.  They got us nothing. Geting is not our friend. The $850m debt looms waiting to gobble up anything we would make on the lucrative sports betting unless things change.

If you don’t know what to ask, it sounds glorious.

But Councilman Carlton Hendrick, Jr.asked the question. “How long is this going to take?” He got no answer. They hired Hickey for another 6 months.

Some good news was the CDC is incorporated..again. The Tribe can get down to business.

Lotta movement on the Council agenda. That’s a good thing.

So Alex Rodriquez (and a Black lady) showed up at the government center in a black suburban and headed to the second floor of the Tribal Council government center today probably to see his friend David Greendeer the Tribal Administrator. Or maybe  to meet with others…we don’t know…so we are not going to spread  “misinformation.”  Rodriguez, a consultant who brokers tribal businesses, was central to the controversy over the Tribal 8a effort put forward by Greendeer at the council meeting in early March. Essentially, Super 8a status establishes contract preferences for businesses owned by a tribe. It’s a lucrative game because big businesses can partner with tribal-owned businesses and oftentimes get gargantuan no-bid contracts.  Of course, if you’re a broker like Rodriquez, it’s a cash cow. But it’s like being an insurance agent.  You have to keep getting new clients.

Anyway, the  Council agreed to “allow Greendeer to accept 8A contracts on behalf of the tribe.” They met Friday and discussed the Super8a. Greendeer was explaining it. He’s worried about ” misinformation.” So Winnie questioned the TA asking why he and Alex originally said they would put up the $200 K for the 8a but when the Tribe got “all this money” all of a sudden we are paying Alex $200 k. The TA said that there would be no payout of the budget on anything without Council authorization. That’s what he said  but we don’t wanna spread any “misinformation.” Of course, that was an appropriation in the budget for the CDC.  Nelson, a Council member and a member of the CDC said he did not ask for that. So you may be wondering why the mysterious Alex showed up. We are too.  They probably think the coast is clear, maybe not.

Message to Alex, we are not yahoos ripe for the taking.  But we don’t want to spread any “misinformation.”

More importantly, the comptroller is helping to pull together a real budget for Council review very soon. Let’s see what is in the plan. Sorry, we dropped the ball about Comptroller John who has been on board for two or three weeks.  The poor guy was already having difficulty with Marie which comes as no surprise.

The most important thing to many tribal members is financial assistance from federal funds.VC Carlton Hendricks, Jr increased the total payout ESTIMATE for ages 0-17 $750, 18 + $1,750 TO BE FINALIZED AFTER COUNCIL REVIEW OF THE BUDGET balance.

You know, the Council members, even the ones you don’t agree with are doing their best. They are trying to get along and doing a lot of clean-up.  It won’t hurt to call them or staff members and say thank you before complaining.  We are all relations.  No one cares about us but us ( especially the outsiders). Thank them for their work.  Maybe you can help.  It feels really good to help.

So lotta dangerous stuff happening.  Literally.

The Tribe put Elders first by giving them preferential access to the new homes. Now, it must be proactive by protecting them.

At tribal housing, there were two troubling incidents.

The Shooting.

Course nothing happened, no investigation by the Tribe or Mashpee Police Department.  The talk on the street was pretty hostile and the blame for inaction went to Kevin Frye…for his typical “do nothing say nothing response”. The lack of security in the community dominated by elders has been a long-standing concern. Nothing happens. Not Good.

Carbon monoxide leak This is another emergency that could have killed an elder. Poor plumbing, septic, and construction overall are the culprits. Another close call that should never have happened.

So the Tribal Council is aware of the shoddy work done by the Cromwell administration and is going through the homes assessing and repairing. The big task is finishing the remaining homes with the quality and care worthy of their occupants.

ICWA the silent beast.  Huge huge problems here that are consistent. We will not detail them because it only hurts the kids who are not being properly served.  We all know who they are and can blame no one but ourselves because it keeps on happening over and over. Again we have to be proactive before the worst happens.

Hail Hail the TA

More substance Mr. Greendeer. No more magic acts…. Ta-dah!

Ok, so David Greendeer has been here three months.  He finally had a staff meeting  Tuesday and it was different no doubt.  He also had a strategic planning meeting with the Council members the day before. Absent from that meeting was Rita Pocknett (on sick leave), Tah Tah ( she called in sick saying she had a headache) Winnie, and Yvonne (who was out of town). There isn’t much to report according to three sources. Other than the app that he wanted council members to plug into it was rather vague without much of a framework to fill in. The staff meeting appeared to be a last-minute thing.

We all know that a new TA would normally hold a staff meeting within a month of getting on board. It was ” ceremonial,” he said. During a presentation, he used the Ho Chunk language on flip cards. Ta daaah!

Lot of confused looks at that meeting.

He promised a more “formal” meeting soon. Sigh.

So as we said a month ago, the April 8 meeting will allow tribal members to talk about their priorities. In an all-day meeting, let’s hope the council has the agenda organized for discussion so we are talking about issues in some order.

We need to be proactive to avoid crisis.