The Mashpee Wampanoag Housing Department is pleased to announce it will once again run the “Home Rehabilitation” Lottery. The lottery awards three homeowners that are also members of a federally recognized tribe that live within the Tribe’s service area up to $15,000 to complete needed home repairs. Applications for the “Home Rehabilitation” Lottery are being accepted now through Thursday, January 31, 2019.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Education Department is offering a four-day winter camp for kids between grades 1 and 6. The fun-filled camp will run during the public school February Vacation from February 19-22 from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM daily.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe will accept sealed bids from qualified General Contractors for completion of a Site Feasibility Study and Architectural blueprint, for its new DHHS/CCDF-funded childcare center at Meetinghouse Road, Mashpee, Massachusetts 02649.      

The Tribe’s Community Development Corporation, which continues to assess the viability of an exchange with the Air National Guard for the wastewater treatment facility on Otis, is in full support of legislation that was finalized in the Massachusetts House and Senate on Thursday, December 20. The legislation will regulate short-term housing rentals through websites like Airbnb and includes an important tax that will establish a Cape and Islands Water Protection Fund.

The Powwow Committee is currently looking for dedicated tribal members to join the committee. The Powwow Committee is responsible for organizing the Tribe’s annual homecoming, our largest event held each year. For more information about the committee, please contact Committee Chairman Brian Weeden at (774) 413-0520. Letters of interest can be sent to Francie Dottin, executive administrative assistant to the chairman, at frances.dottin@mwtribe-nsn.gov.

Descendants of the country’s earliest settlers greeted by the Wampanoag people are backing the tribe in a fight to secure about 321 acres of reservation land under threat.

The General Society of Mayflower Descendants, made up of about 30,000 lineal descendants of the Mayflower Pilgrims, announced last month that it supports legislation pending in Congress that would end a legal challenge to the tribe’s reservation and bar future lawsuits.

Come speak your Native language this January -- No language experience needed!

Date: Wednesdays & Thursdays: 8 classes (Jan. 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24)

Time: 5:30-7:30pm

Location: WLRP office @ Summerfield Park (800 Falmouth Rd. Suite 307 - upstairs, enter by the blinds & kitchen storefronts)

For the second year in a row the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe will host a Mashpee High School Varsity Boys and Varsity Girls Basketball Game. The two games will be played on Friday, January 11 at the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Community and Government Center.

The Provincetown Community Compact is pleased to once again offer the David Bethuel Jamieson Artist Residency for people of color at C-Scape Dune Shack. Applications for all dune shack residencies are due January 15, 2019.

In the woods, on the other side of the Wakeby, on the Canaumet, a Great Pine has been asked for its life to build the Great Mashoon, as dried grasses, twigs, and sticks are piled around its base.

Honor songs and prayers are sent to the soft blowing winds, with tobacco bundles adorned, a sacred fire is lit.

Last month the USA-Region One (New England) Administrator Alexandra Dapolito Dunn along with Indian Program Manager Michael Stover and Grant Project Officer Kwabena Kyei-Aboagye with Mashpee Wampanoag Natural Resources Director Chuckie Green to view first hand the environmental issues that the Tribe is tackling.

Wampanoag citizens from all tribal communities are invited to an information session hosted by the Wampanoag Advisory Committee to Plymouth 400 and SmokeSygnals to learn about exhibits, events and activities being planned for the upcoming commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower upcoming in 2020. The two-part session to be held at the Mashpee Wampanoag Government Center on Saturday, January 12 from 11 am to 2 pm will invite input and seek tribal artisans to participate in an historic wampum belt project.

The Indian Education Department is bringing a six-week regalia making workshop to students attending Wareham Public Schools and their families. The workshop is open to all Native American students in K-12 Wareham Public Schools.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Education Department Career Pathways for Tribal Youth has organized a series of college tours over the next few months for high school juniors and seniors and a parent or guardian. The College tours include transportation to and from the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Community and Government Center, hotel stay and a per diem provided for the student and 1 parent/legal guardian.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is available for the 2018 winter season. LIHEAP is designed to help eligible low-income households supplement part of their winter heating service bills.

The Election Committee is seeking volunteers and monitors for the upcoming regular election on Sunday, February 10, 2019.

The Committee is also seeking a moderator for the candidates forum. The date for the forum is TBA.

If interested, please email Rita Lopez at Rita.lopez@mwtribe-nsn.gov.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Election Committee extends notice to all Enrolled Tribal Members who will turn 18 years of Age on or before Sunday, February 10, 2019, that they are required to complete a Voter Registration Form in order to vote at the general election on Sunday, February 10, 2019 (the “Election Day”).

The Education Department will hold an Open House on Friday, January 25 at the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Community and Government Center. The open house will start at 5:00 p.m. and is for all native students from kindergarten to college and their families. There will be plenty of information to share along with food, door prizes, raffles, drumming and much more. Please save the date on your calendar and stay tuned for additional details.