At the July General Membership Meeting Chairman Cromwell provided tribal members with an update on the preservation of land in trust. At the meeting he informed the community that a “Scheduling Order” for the pending case in Washington, D.C. had been set. The “Scheduling Order” established important deadlines for the case in the D.C. District Court, naming the Department of Interior as the defendant as well as the Littlefields as “Intervenor Defendants.”

Sunday, August 18, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. at the Old Indian Meeting House. The annual service is held in partnership with the Mashpee Baptist Church and citizens of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

Hundreds attended the 98th Annual Mashpee Wampanoag Powwow from July 5 to July 7 at the Tribe’s ancestral homeland. On the final day of powwow a new Mashpee Wampanoag Powwow Princess and Little Miss Wampanoag were announced. Alana Helme will serve as the 2019-2020 Powwow Princess and Sade Jackson is the 2019-2020 Little Miss Wampanoag. Both young women represented their Tribe well throughout the homecoming and will continue to serve the community well over the coming year.

The new Child & Family Services Department is now open for business at the Tribal Government Center.  

Keeping families together is our goal.  We strive towards supporting families to be the best they can be by offering supportive services to address challenges on a day to day basis.

We are offering new supportive services for our Tribal families. Please contact our department with any and all questions regarding services that are available.

The Education Department is hosting a 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament on Thursday, August 8 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Community and Government Center. All players ages 14 and up are invited to participate. Teams may have a max of 5 players and will play in a double elimination tournament. Registration is $20 per person. For more information or to register a team, please contact Cameron Greendeer at (508) 477-0208 ext 178 or at cameron.greendeer@mwtribe-nsn.gov.

A Co-Ed exercise initiated and hosted by the MWT Tribal Health Department back in 2012, indoor volleyball has been a standing activity for the community.

During the summer of 2016, efforts took shape to offer the activity at the Mashpee Pond. Coordination between the Town of Mashpee and enthused Tribal volleyball players established Tuesday evenings as volleyball night.

Congratulations to Dominique Frye on graduating Curry College with a Bachelors of Science Degree majoring in Community Health and Wellness and minor in Fine Arts/Dance. Prior to graduation Dominique accepted a teacher assistant position at May Institute Center School in Randolph, MA.

The education department have been able to place a number of tribal youth into meaningful, paid internship opportunities. Internships pay $750 for 50 hours of work and are a great way for youth ages 14-19 to explore fields they may be interested in pursuing in college and/or as a job. Funding for the internship is provided through the NYCP Building Pathways for Tribal Youth Program and grant funding. Contact Cameron Greendeer (cameron.greendeer@mwtribe-nsn.gov/ 608-566-7907) or John Hanlon (john.hanlon@mwtribe-nsn.gov/508-237-0041)  in the Education Dept. if you are interested in an internship this summer.

On June, 18th 2019 Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Emergency Management Director, Nelson Andrews Jr conducted a presentation at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency All Hazards Preparedness Conference as invitational speaker.  Nelson’s presentation was titled “Navigating the complexities of Tribal Emergency Management.”   Nelson spoke to an audience of Federal, State and Local emergency managers and addressed Tribal All-Hazards Preparedness and the interlacing dynamics between Tribal, State and Local Emergency Management.  Director Andrews said “although there are many differences between Tribal, State and Local emergency management practices there are even more similarities and a common goal approach that helps to enable the whole community in being more ready and prepared for the potential hazards that are equally endured”    

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Emergency Management Department would like to share some heat preparedness info and tips during these hot summer days. Heat is the number one weather-related killer. Heat kills by pushing the human body beyond its limits. In extreme heat and high humidity, evaporation is slowed and the body must work extra hard to maintain a normal temperature.

The North American Indian Center of Boston will be hosting an All Nations Back to School event on August 28 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 105 S. Huntington Avenue, Jamaica Plain, MA. Food and drinks will be provided but please feel free to bring a dish to share.

The Quakers would like to invite Wamps to a picnic on September 15, starting at noon at East Sandwich Quaker Meetinghouse, 6 Quaker Rd, East Sandwich, Ma. If you have any questions call Gail Melix at (508) 221-0832.

Rumble on the Rez, a substance abuse awareness fundraiser and boxing exhibition, will return on August 31 at 5 PM. The event will be held at the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Community and Government Center. The charity boxing event is organized by tribal citizen Stanley Dutra.

Our distinguished Mashpee Wampanoag Chief Silent Drum (Vernon Lopez) thought he was dreaming as he was walking down his hallway mid-morning to make his bed.

Oh well, that was not happening because all of a sudden, he heard glass breaking. He froze in his tracks. The chief has done years of traveling around the world, including during World War II. Now at 97 years old, he has lived in his house for 50 years and heard spirits often, but no broken windows – ever.

ICWA is currently seeking foster parents. Do you have room in your heart to pro- vide a Native American foster home for our future generations? Our Native children of all ages, from infancy to teens that are being removed from their families at an alarming rate by the State. Department of Children and Families (DCF) and some are being placed in non-native homes.

A memorial bearing the names of more than 230 Mashpee veterans from all wars dating back to the American Revolution is slated to be built in the Mashpee Community Park. The list of names is currently in draft form and the historical commission for the town of Mashpee is asking the community to review the list for accuracy.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Education Department has organized several education and culture based programs for the summer and fall of 2019 for tribal students. These events are made possible thanks to the NYCP Grant funding.