Kutaputush! The Clan Mothers want to thank Miss Toodie, Eleanor Coombs, for recent attendance at the meetings where she shared some lessons in our Wôpanâak language. It certainly was inspiring and one of the many ways the gathering is culturally enriched.

Granny Squannit last week visited Teaticket Mass for the first time in her life. She stretched screaming loud to the Owl for help. He could not help her because he was in the river taking a bath. Her brother went by cart and brought her home to” People of the First Light”. As a medicine woman, she rested in the backyard and pulled the leaves over her little legs and crooked feet.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Education Department is offering a four-day winter camp for kids between grades K and 4. The fun-filled camp will run during the public-school February Vacation from February 22-25 from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM daily.

The camp is open to a limited number of students on a first-come, first-served basis that are in grades k-4. Children will enjoy a variety of fun activities including outdoor winter fun at 55 acres, archery, field trips, and many cultural activities, language games, songs, and dances.

Two members of the Tribal Radioactive Materials Transportation Committee (TRMTC), Prairie Island Indian Community (PIIC) (located 30 miles southeast of the Twin Cities, Minnesota) and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (located in Mashpee and Taunton, Massachusetts), were featured in recent news articles highlighting their efforts to put additional lands into trust or retain reservation lands, respectively (trust lands are lands held by the federal government on behalf of or for the benefit of a Tribe or tribal members). For the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, a multi-year battle over the Tribe's reservation lands was formally decided in December 2021, when the U.S. Department of Interior issued a decision confirming the legal status of the Tribe's reservation lands. For PIIC, the Tribe is currently in the process of requesting that Congress put additional lands in trust. This additional land – 1,200 acres located 35 miles from PIIC's current location – was purchased by PIIC in 2018, and in 2019, Congress introduced the Prairie Island Indian Community Land Claim Settlement Act (H.R.4752), which sought to put the land into trust; the bill is currently awaiting further action.

Tribal citizens that are in need of assistance are encouraged to apply today for the Treasury Emergency Rental Assistance Program. The program was first launched in 2021 and provides up to $3,000 to pay rent that is in arrears, up to $3,000 to cover moving or move-in expenses and rental payments up to $500 per month for 3 months.

Christopher William Soliz, (Two Trees Dancing), son of Christopher and Kate Soliz, and grandson of tribal elders Chet and Barbara Soliz of Mashpee, has been offered early admission to Cornell University. Currently a senior at Putnam Valley High School, Chris is a member of the National Honors Society and Science Honors Society.

The Mashpee Wampanoag ICWA Department will once again host a series of Sacred Parenting workshops. Workshops will start on Monday, January 24 at 6 PM and continue through March 21. Receive $40 for each session you attend and a sacred parenting box with crafting supplies.

The program consists of 8 workshops that will help parents heal the past and move forward in strength. Attendees will work to honor one’s identity, which includes the scars of the past, share our legacy, and bring the healing process for our children while remaining connected to our own indigenous identity.

In January the Mashpee Wampanoag Health Service Unit began offering WIC. WIC is a special supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) that provides foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.

Appointments will be available quarterly on the last Tuesday of each month from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. To make an appointment, call 508-771-7896 or email ccwic@healthimperatives.org.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is available for the 2021/2022 winter season. LIHEAP is designed to help eligible low-income households supplement part of their winter heating service bills.

For more information, or to pick up an application for the 2021 season please contact the Fuel Assistance Coordinator at (508) 477-0208 ext. 159. Applications are also available by clicking the button below.