Natural Resources Department
We’d like to thank the Town of Mashpee and their Department of Natural Resources for recognizing and supporting our aboriginal rights to harvest herring without interference.
Our Mission
The Mission of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Natural Resources Department is to protect the natural resources that have ensured the survival and well-being of our People, the Mashpee Wampanoag, since time immemorial and to sustain these resources for future generations.
Our local natural resources include but are not limited to our waters (marine, estuaries, rivers, ponds, groundwater etc.), geology-soils, and terrestrial-aquatic-marine flora and fauna. Our natural resources have provided us the food and water to sustain us, the medicines to cure our ailments, and the materials to build our homes and infrastructure. As a people connected to our lands and waterways for several millennia, it is always been in our interest to treat “natural resources” as more than just “resources,” but with the utmost respect as we would treat our “relatives” who care for us. Our natural resources can aid us in the economic development of our Tribal Nation, but first and foremost they are our lifeblood. Thus, our Department recognizes the two principles of “balance” and “reciprocity” as emphasized by our Elders and Spiritual Leaders in order to sustain our natural resources for future generations. For everything we take from the land and waters we must restore through ceremonies of thanksgiving, replenishment, and environmental stewardship.
We want to hear from you!
Attention all members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe – we still want to hear from you! Have you filled out the survey yet? It’s important that we hear the perspectives of everyone in the community.
Please take this 10-minute anonymous survey to help us learn about the importance of Tribal seafood consumption and community concerns about environmental contaminants. All members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe over the age of 18 are asked to complete the survey, and everyone who completes the survey will be eligible to win a $50 e-gift card!
We have partnered with the STEEP (Sources, Transport, Exposure & Effects of PFAS) research project, a joint project of the University of Rhode Island, Silent Spring Institute, and Harvard University studying contamination of waterways and groundwater throughout Cape Cod.
Click this link to take the survey: www.tinyurl.com/steepsurvey
Contact information
JASON STEIDING - DIRECTOR
Email: Jason.Steiding@mwtribe-nsn.gov
Phone: 508-477-0208 x 126
DALE OAKLEY – ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Email: Dale.OakleyJr@mwtribe-nsn.gov
Phone: 508-477-0208 x 138
Current NRD News and Announcements
2022 Preserving Our Homelands Camp
