1974-Annual Town Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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139 Report of the Historical Commission To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and Citizens of the Town of Mashpee: Another year has passed since the establishment of the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Museum, leaving in it's wake, a full calendar of events small and great. There is no question that our museum has a non-profit status and the income has been extremely low, but we are faring the same as other museums across this country. We are constantly receiving requests from schools across the state to allow buses filled with children to visit our .mu- seum free of charge, or for extremely small fees. At certain periods during the year, the demands are heavy, for the present teaching methods which requires some exposure for the students to local Indian history and culture. The question. is, should the Town of Mashpee be totally responsible for this service and pay the cost for supple- menting the learning experience for all other school depart- ments in Massachusetts, or derive financial benefits from the Massachusetts Department of Education for this pun- pose? During the summer of 1974, a bill was introduced in Congress by Senator Ciaybourne Pell, to direct the Health, Education and Welfare Dept. to incorporate with museums for the learning experience and assume some of the costs for museum services to education. No positive action to 'date has been observed. The director of the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Museum was appointed to the following positions in 1974. Mass. Commissioner on Indian Affairs .............. three yrs. Mass. Commissioner on Bicentennial .................. two yrs. Consultants: Mass. Historic Commission & Secretary of State Mass. Department of Education on Ethnic Studies Boston's Children's Museum U.S. State Department—Information Bureau