Senior Wampanoag Officials Divide in Rising Dispute Over Tribal Finances
Chris Burrell

For months now, Wampanoag tribal chairwoman Beverly Wright has been telling her constituents and at least one federal agency that the tribe's finances are in terrible shape, riddled with debts from failed business ventures.

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Wampanoag Financial Crisis Forces Tribe to Sell Off Land and Stock Assets
Chris Burrell

A general store, a delicatessen and a shellfish hatchery -
they were all supposed to add up to profits for the only federally
recognized Indian tribe in the state, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head
(Aquinnah).

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Tribe Plan for Police Force Triggers Mediation Talks
Chris Burrell

A federal mediator yesterday waded into the dispute between
officials in Aquinnah and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)
over the tribe's plans to form its own police force.

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Alan Dershowitz Reflects on Issues of Sovereignty and Future of Vineyard

Sovereignty is in the news these days.

It's in Rhode Island, where tempers are running hot in an
ongoing skirmish between the Narragansett Indian Tribe and state
attorney general over whether the tribe can sell tax-free tobacco.

It's in the Hamptons, where the Shinnecock Indian Nation has
begun to clear land for a casino, contravening local zoning and state
gaming laws.

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Its Up-Island Neighbors Urge Aquinnah to Appeal on Judge's Wampanoag Decision

The Aquinnah selectmen heard a distinct plea from their up-Island
neighbors this week to formally appeal the recent superior court
decision that found the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) cannot be
sued because of sovereign immunity.

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Aquinnah Case in Towns' Eye

Aquinnah Case in Towns' Eye

Up-Island Selectmen Will Meet; Neighbors Support an Appeal of Ruling
That Favored Tribe on Zoning

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

The town of Aquinnah will join the Gay Head Taxpayers Association in
asking a superior court judge for reconsideration of his recent decision
in favor of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

Although the Aquinnah selectmen have agreed to join the move to
reconsider, they have not yet decided whether to take the next step and
appeal.

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Judge Rules for Tribe in Zoning Dispute, Puts Sovereign Immunity Over Local Law

In a land-use decision that has potentially far-reaching
implications for every town on the Vineyard, a superior court judge
ruled last week that the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) cannot
be sued because of sovereign immunity.

If allowed to stand, the ruling by the Hon. Richard F. Connon has
the power to turn a landmark 1983 Indian land claims settlement on its
head.

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Wampanoag Tribe Presses Claim for Sovereignty in Zoning Case

A shed and a pier in the tiny town of Aquinnah were the fulcrum for court arguments this week that will ultimately test the question of whether the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) waived sovereign immunity when it signed a land claims settlement agreement in 1983.

The settlement agreement later led to federal recognition for the tribe.

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Town and Tribe Collide in Court

Town and Tribe Collide in Court

Case Set for Wednesday Hearing Has Far-Reaching Implications;
Outcome Hinges on Issue of Tribal Sovereignty

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

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Wampanoags Ask High Court to Reconsider Sovereignty Case
James Kinsella

Wampanoags Ask High Court to Reconsider Sovereignty Case

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has asked the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) to reconsider a case
freighted with long-term implications for the tribe's sovereignty
and land use powers.

The tribe's attorney, Douglas J. Luckerman of Lexington, filed
the motion last Thursday with the SJC, the highest court in
Massachusetts.

On Dec. 9, the SJC ruled against the tribe in the case.

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