October Mittark
First Light Shellfish Farm brings economic sustainability to Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
As the tide rolled out from Gooseberry Island to Punkhorn Point in Popponesset Bay, David Pocknett Jr., and other members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's Natural Resources Department, hauled heavy, homemade anchors across the sand.
The moors, which were fastened to buoys, were loaded into a nearby Boston Whaler, and will be used to mark the navigation coordinates for the tribe's First Light Shellfish Farm, where about 800,000 baby hatchery quahogs were being seeded Wednesday afternoon, said Pocknett, the farm's assistant manager and a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.
"We are going to go out as far as you can see to drop these buoys and re-mark the portions of our farm," he said. "Most of our growing will be done straight out in Popponesset Bay, so we can eventually harvest quahogs and oysters for our tribe."
The tiny seeds will eventually grow to be full-sized quahogs, said CheeNulKa Pocknett, shellfish manager for First Light Shellfish Farm. The product, along with 2 million oysters, which will be seeded this fall, will eventually be sold by the tribe to area restaurants and private consumers.
"This a huge step towards providing our tribal community with jobs and economic stability for the tribe overall," CheeNulKa Pocknett said.
Assistant farm manager David Pocknett Jr. helps to unload buoys off a truck and onto a boat Wednesday. The First Light Shellfish Farm crew was out Wednesday setting buoys to mark the coordinates of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's farm in Popponesset Bay in Mashpee.
Both David and CheeNulKa Pocknett, who are brothers, along with Vernon "Buddy" Pocknett, natural resources commission president and farm co-manager, and Robert Andrade, field assistant for the Natural Resources Department, have been cultivating a vision for the farm for the last five years. In addition to seeding, the farm will also include a fish market and the tribe's own state and federally certified Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point or HACCP facility — a food safety management system.
The farm will also include a "family area," alongside Gooseberry Island, said Buddy Pocknett, which will be dedicated to tribal members. When the oysters and quahogs are fully-grown, community members can harvest the shellfish to feed their families.
At a glance, the movement to adopt Indigenous Peoples Day can feel symbolic. It’s a feeling that the slow pace of change can reinforce. However, this is more than just a name change. It’s a movement rooted in reflection, recognition, celebration, and education that is no longer “whitewashed.”
So what’s behind the movement? The adoption of Indigenous Peoples Day can be traced back to the Red Power Movement and a demand that Natives made at the United Nations Conference in 1977. It was a request based on the idea that if our people are not seen accurately in the history, we will not be seen today.
The day pushes back on this invisibility. It challenges educators to acknowledge that our history doesn’t start and end at the arrival of the Europeans. Every time Columbus Day is replaced, it opens up a more positive and accurate account of our history. And most importantly, it forces this country to acknowledge that we are still here and our culture is thriving in the face of 400 years of sickness, war, and the attempted dispossession of our language, land, and traditions.
Tribe to Hold Annual Budget Vote at October 9 General Membership Meeting
Originally scheduled for September 25th, the annual balanced budget vote will now be held on Sunday, October 9, along with the General Membership Meeting. The vote and meeting will be held in person from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the Tribe’s Community and Government Center at 483 Great Neck Road South. The budget vote was postponed to give Tribal Members additional time to review the budget packet.
General Membership Meetings are open to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe citizens, their children, and spouses of tribal citizens. These meetings are not open to the public. With Covid-19 cases decreasing, the tribe has resumed in-person meetings. The General Membership Meetings are held at the Tribe’s Community and Government Center.
Explore Additional News in this month's Nashauonk Mittark
