At the May 20, 2018 General Membership Meeting the annual balanced budget of the Tribal operations was approved with a total vote count of 83 with 46 "yes" votes and 37 "no" votes. Tribal Members present were able to cast a vote between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 20.

On Friday, May 11, I sent a letter to the Mashpee Board of Selectmen in response to their letter of April 18 regarding the Mashpee Wampanoag Reservation Reaffirmation Act.  It responds to the legal concerns they raised.

IF FEDERAL LAW prevents the Mashpee Wampanoag from securing an Indian reservation in Massachusetts, then there’s something wrong with federal law.

Members of the tribe greeted the Pilgrims. They’ve lived continuously in Southeastern Massachusetts ever since. The federal government recognizes them as a tribe, and they have almost 3,000 members.

I wanted to bring awareness of a recent correspondence Tribal Council received from the Town of Mashpee Board of Selectmen regarding legislative bills sponsored in both the U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate essentially emphasizing what is already in place; "Reaffirming our Reservation."  As it appears, the Town is concerned that specific language related to the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) was not built into the language of the Mashpee Wampanoag Reservation Act legislation.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Housing Department is accepting bids for a IHS Sanitation project in Teaticket, MA.   Please stop by the Housing Department to pick up a bid package. A pre-bid conference will be held on April 18, 2018  at 10:00 am at the project site. More details are included in the bid package.

Legislation has been filed in the U.S. Senate, similar to a bill filed in the House, that could stop the potential revocation of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s land in trust.

Both bills could also help revive the tribe’s stalled casino project in Taunton.