To assure that the identity of the Vineyard’s Indians, their history, culture and tribal lands will be preserved, a Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head was organized on Saturday, and Mrs.
The Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities has awarded matching grants totaling $48,645 in support of eight humanities projects in communities across the state. Five of the grants, totaling $33,645, were made under the theme Liberty and Justice for All for projects that explore these fundamental principles in American political life and their interplay, past and present.
While the vestiges of hurricane Hanna whipped rain onto the Aquinnah Circle and sucked at the canvas tent covering Saturday’s annual youth powwow, inside spectators dropped bills on the grass for fancy dancer Savannah Maher, 13, from Mashpee.
Rarely using more than the balls of the feet inside her moccasins, champion dancer Savannah swung and hopped her way around the tent, sending blue and yellow ribbon work flying out from her tribal dress. Dots of make-up spread out symmetrically from each eye and a single scalp feather shot up above her fabric-adorned braids.
Bureaucratic black holes, poor communication and a lack of tact that borders on comedic are to blame for a series of recent misunderstandings between the Aquinnah town government and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).
The first fiasco began in late July when building inspector Jerry Wiener sent a letter tribal chairman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais citing the tribe for violating town zoning laws and the state building code on three building projects.
Follow the drumbeats to the Circle at the Aquinnah Cliffs on Saturday, Sept. 6, from noon to 6 p.m. for the annual powwow with the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).
There will be traditional dancing and drumming, Native American exhibits, arts, crafts and food, all sponsored by the Tribal Youth Program.
Gates open at 10 a.m. Grand entry is at noon. Follow the signs; parking is free, with a free shuttle to and from the Cliffs.
Nearly four years after the landmark sovereignty case was decided by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) has yet to secure a town building permit for the small shed and pier that were at the center of the dispute.
Aquinnah building inspector Jerry A. Weiner sent a letter to tribal chairman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais late last month formally notifying her that the tribe is in violation of town zoning laws and the state building code on three projects, including the shed and pier. The tribe has not responded to the letter.
Aquinnah’s young people are a renewable tribal energy source, the annual spring social potluck showed last Sunday.
The annual event was sponsored and organized by members of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) youth program.
Featuring traditional Wampanoag singing and dancing and a 20-foot-long potluck food table, the event drew more than 125 celebrants to tribal headquarters, including youth groups from the Mashantucket Pequot, Mashpee, Mohegan and Narragansett tribes.
