Officials with the U.S Department of Interior have told attorneys for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe that there will be a decision by Sept. 21 on whether the agency will be able to keep the tribe's reservation in trust, according to a statement issued Monday by the tribe.
As members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe celebrate their culture this weekend at the 96th annual powwow with food, dancing and music, the shifting clouds of uncertainty continue to hover over one of their greatest shared assets: land. The U.S. Department of the Interior on Friday declined a request by the tribe to suspend a review of whether it qualifies for land into trust under an alternative category to the one a federal judge rejected last year.
A movement in response to the upcoming presidential inauguration is growing on the Upper Cape, and it has women and men alike joining together to attend marches in Boston and Washington, DC, organize local solidarity events, and get involved with political causes with renewed energy. An estimated 200,000 people will gather in the nation's capital on January 21 for the Women's March on Washington, a rally event in support of marginalized groups who have been "threatened" by the rhetoric of the recent election cycle.
Uniformed officers, along with police from other towns and members of the Mashpee Fire Rescue Department, lined the walls. Among several other positions, Chief Scott W. Carline said that his promotion as police chief-which took place in August, following former chief Rodney C. Collins' acceptance of the Mashpee Town Manager position-created an opening for the title of master officer.