09/30/1996 BOARD OF SELECTMEN Minutes

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The Plan The Mashpee Wampanoag people have clung to their heritage andP maintained a special relationship with the land, "Mother Earth". They are a Tribe which is recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Tribe is seeking Federal Recognition from the United States Department of ; Interior. The Tribe is currently seventh on a list of tribes ready for active consideration. The Tribe wants Federal Recognition because this status would help to retain the Wampanoag identity. There are other reasons why Federal Recognition would benefit the Tribe and the Mashpee community. In addition to identity, the Tribe looks to improvement in education of its people, economic development which could mean financial stability, the ability to retain its heritage and culture and the means to develop the history and integrate that history into Americas history. There is a rich history that begins even before the Mayflower landed in Plimouth in 1620. The Wampanoags continue to live on the same land as their ancestors. They desire to keep the land for future generations. In the past 20 years dramatic change has taken place in the demographics, politics and socio-economic conditions in Mashpee and on Cape Cod in general. These dramatic changes have changed the way the Wampanoags cope with issues such as employment, education, the environment and just plain survival. The Wampanoag people are i interested in their history. They want to research and present it to people who have an interest in how the the Wampanoags retained their identity in spite of all the external pressure to assimilate into the greater society. As an example, James Clifford wrote a book entitled Predicaments of Culture in which a chapter on "Identity in Mashpee" talked about this group of Wampanoags who retained their identity in spite of the outside pressures to disappear. Educators in the New Zealand Ministry of Education who were in the United States read the book and could not rest until they met and talked to the Wampanoags. They wanted to find out how they had resisted attempts to assimilate or acculturate them. This small group of native People who lived on their traditional tribal land just 20 miles from Plymouth could be a prime example of how to retain culture.. They were told by their Tribal Council Chairman, " It was quite simple, we maintained our social barriers and kept them out! Actually it was easy to do because they did not want to come in, therefore, the social and economic intercourse was kept to a minimum". The New Zealanders were quite impressed and retuned home with the idea that the aboriginal people of New Zealand could retain their language and culture with the support of the government. The ,h Wampanoags were impressed with the attention given by our visitors and realized that the struggle for cultural survival was not in vain.