September Mittark

First Light Casino Expands and Hosts Free Live Entertainment Series

Our tribal gaming venture, First Light Casino, continues to expand rapidly in Taunton. What started as a modest Welcome Center with 10 gaming machines has grown, both in physical size and the number of slots, into what is now a casino with over 200 games on site. The venue also features an outdoor lawn with a tented space that can now accommodate various outdoor events.

With this expansion came the Rock and Brews Amplified Weekends Concert and Tailgate series, a six-week live entertainment series for the community to enjoy. “We’re thrilled to be offering free community events at First Light and making live entertainment accessible to everyone. Bring yourself, bring your friends along with a few beach chairs and a cooler, and enjoy live music and sports on our new outdoor lawn,” said Chairman Brian Weeden.

For more information, upcoming band lineups, and Tailgate Sunday details, visit: www.firstlighttaunton.com/amplified-weekends. As expansions, new promotions, and exciting events continue, we will keep the tribal community updated. Kutâputush for your support as First Light Casino continues to evolve.

 

POH Camp Connects Tribal Youth with Environment and Culture

Tribal youth participating in the Preserving our Homelands camp spent two days last month in Harwich and Chatham with partners of the tribe learning about the environment, cultural practices, and Wampanoag history.

On day one, youth spent a day on the water at the Pleasant Bay Community Boating Center. There, they observed eelgrass meadows by boat, identified shellfish during an intertidal walk, and learned how these habitats anchor both ecosystems and Wampanoag lifeways. A visit to a shell midden connected students to ancestral practices and the importance of stewardship.

 

Creator, Great Spirit, Dear Lord Jesus

Let’s get the invisible history and heritage of clambakes, which I feel is ebbing, down traditionally. I’ve seen announcements about, for example, a New England Clambake, an Ocean State Clambake, a Cape Cod Clambake and a Little Neck Clambake detailing how people are preparing clambakes.

But too rarely do I see much about a Wampanoag Clambake with a trace of its history or heritage of the original people who created this elaborate gathering of seafood and vegetables.

People come to Cape Cod from all over the world, and many have probably never heard of a clambake. Even folks who live here may not know the history. I have no issue with organizations or families preparing a clambake; however, people should know the centuries-old history that happened right off—and on—the shores of Cape Cod by our Indigenous ancestors.

Long attributed as a “traditional New England” method of steam-cooking seafood, the clambake actually derives from an ancient Wampanoag (and other coastal Indigenous people) way of preparing shellfish and other accompanying foods.

 

Explore Additional News in this month's Nashauonk Mittark


List of Committee and Board Seat Openings