Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head

June 24, 1930

First Gay Head Powwow for 250 Years is Held

Vineyard Gazette
The first powwow to be held on Gay Head since the days of King Philip took place in that town last night, and the flavor and spirit of those ancient days was revived so far as possible when Loren
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head
Wampanoag history
Powwows
November 10, 1972

Wampanoag Council: Tribe Organizes to Protect Gay Head’s Future

Vineyard Gazette
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.
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head
Wampanoag history

1989

July 21, 1989

Historic Transfer of Indian Lands Signed

W.C. Platt
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head
Aquinnah History
The town of Gay Head signed the deed conveying the ancestral Wampanoag Indian Common Lands to the federal government yesterday, ending a protracted legal struggle for the tribe with quiet agreement.
 
The face of the Gay Head Cliffs, the Herring Creek and the cranberry bogs will be under the control of the Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head Inc. as the representative of the Gay Head Wampanoag Tribe.
 

1987

February 12, 1987

Historic Ruling Grants Gay Head Indians Federal Recognition

Elaine Lembo
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head

The federal government Wednesday recognized the tribal status of the Gay Head Wampanoag Indians in a historic decision that opens the way to settlement of the bitter, 12-year-old land claim dispute.

1983

November 25, 1983

Gay Head Pact Makes History

Michael F. Bamberger
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head
The Wampanoag Tribal Council, the Gay Head Taxpayers Association, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the town of Gay Head signed formal settlement papers in the Indian land claim suit last weekend.
 
The signings represent a major step toward final accord in the suit that has divided the town for nine years.
 

1981

September 29, 1981

Gay Head Tribal Council Approves Plan to Settle Land Claim Suit

Joseph B. White
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head
The Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head approved a plan last night that could lead to settlement of the seven-year-old suit claiming Indian ownership of Gay Head town lands.
 
The 115 to 60 margin in favor of settlement of the suit is being contested by a party within the tribe that favors suing for the entire town. But tribe leaders say they will move toward settlement.
 

1976

December 10, 1976

Gay Head Voters Authorize Transfer of Common Lands

George W. Adams
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head
By one vote short of a two-thirds majority, Gay Head voters last night ordered their selectmen to move forward toward turning the town Common Lands over to the Tribal Council.
 
The matter is far from an end, still. Ahead lie negotiation, General Court legislation, more town meeting votes, and possibly, countersuits.
 
But once the common land is transferred, the pending suit by the Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head against the Town of Gay Head will be mooted.
 

1974

December 6, 1974

Gay Head Council Sues to Recover Lands from Town

Vineyard Gazette
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head
An action at law to evict the town of Gay Head from 238 acres of lands within the metes - the cranberry bogs, the Herring Creek and its banks, and the colored cliffs that give the place its name - has been filed in United States District Court at Boston by the Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head.
 
“It is our last hope ever to be able to think the Indians of Gay Head can have a piece of the land that they can call their own,” said Mrs. Beatrice V. Gentry, president of the council.
 

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