Sitting in a circle on the floor of tribal headquarters in Aquinnah yesterday, roughly 20 town children were talking about the history of whaling when the conversation quickly turned to how excited they were about playing on a slide and possibly going swimming later in the afternoon.
Officials from both the town and Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) are equally excited about the collaborative children summer program, which opened yesterday morning.
Resurrecting hopes for a peaceful accord in the small town of Aquinnah, town and tribal officials this week embraced a revised intergovernmental land use agreement and pledged to bring it before their respective constituencies for a vote.
Closing a chapter in the landmark sovereignty case, the Wampanoag
Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) this week agreed to submit town permit
applications for the shed and pier it built on Menemsha Pond in 2001.
The announcement comes at a time of renewed cooperation and
communication between the town and tribe, and marks a significant moment
in the long-running case that has garnered widespread attention and
reached the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) announced this week that
it will not appeal the landmark sovereignty case to the United States
Supreme Court.
The decision means that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
(SJC) decision from late last year will be allowed to stand, and the
case will now return to the superior court for a remedy.
Leaders of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) now have until July 2 to decide whether they will try to convince the United States Supreme Court to hear their appeal of the much-watched case over tribal sovereignty.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has denied a petition by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to hold a new hearing on the much-watched sovereignty case, closing the door on the last option for the Wampanoags at the state level.
In a one-sentence ruling issued late in the day on Wednesday, the state supreme court denied the motion by the tribe to rehear the case.
The tribe will now pursue an appeal to the United States Supreme Court.
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.
In a much-awaited decision that has far-reaching implications for the Vineyard and the commonwealth, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled 5-1 yesterday that the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) must abide by state and town zoning rules.
The ruling reverses a superior court decision that found the Wampanoags cannot be sued because of sovereign immunity - and it preserves the integrity of a historic 1983 Indian land claims settlement agreement that was the crux of the case.
For the first time in 13 years, there will be a new chairman of the
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). Donald Widdiss, the first
chairman to lead the tribe after it gained federal recognition in 1987,
returns to the top post after ousting incumbent Beverly Wright, 132-105,
in the tribe's annual election on Sunday.
Beverly Wright was walking through the National Mall in Washington, D.C., last week during the opening ceremony for the National Museum of the American Indian when a familiar face caught her eye. As she made her way through a sea of thousands of strangers, she was suddenly confronted by a huge image of her friend, Berta Welch, staring back at her.
