Less than Zero

So here I was driving home this evening in the snow when >GASP< I hear on WBZ news radio that the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe announced they are going to build a tribal casino in Taunton. For those of us who keep watch on Cedric Cromwell's lame attempts at keeping the casino pipedream alive already knew this announcement was coming today. This is quite amusing considering that the tribe does not have land in trust -- cannot get land in trust -- and will have no sleazy Malaysian backers giving them money for a commercial casino.

So how many towns are we at now that have been made victim to as potential Mashpee Wampanoag casino sites - ya know, so-called automatic rights to a tribal casino according to Cedric Cromwell since they are a Federally Recognized tribe....three?...four? ...let's see -

Middleboro - nope

Fall River - nope

New Bedford - nope

tintillating thoughts of Raynham - nope

OH! It's Taunton!! So THAT'S where their aboriginal land is....and here I thought it was in Mashpee. Silly, silly me. Apparently, according to Cedric, there are at least five different locations spattered all over southeast Massachusetts where the Tribe can claim aboriginal rights to land to be placed into trust. Wow...writing all those ammendments to the land in trust application must be tiring...then again, they probably use some sort of "we have a right to have land placed in trust specifically to build a casino on our aboriginal lands" template they fill out every time they switch towns. Tut-tut...can anyone say reservation shopping??

Here is something even more amusing.....

"I've been impressed from the beginning with the tribe's commitment to an inclusive process and a real partnership with Taunton,'' the mayor said in the statement. "Together, we will be meeting with residents across the city about this project and the long-term vision for our community.'' - Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr.

Yeah, ummmmm...Mayor....you may want to look into that super-duper special relationship the Tribe had with Middleboro....and New Bedford....and Fall River. Hilarious...so much so I can't even talk about the susposed millions of dollars in revenue Mr. Mayor says Taunton will receive from this fictional tribal casino....

Mayor: You can easily obtain information about the commited and inclusive and real relationship the Tribe had with the Town of Middleboro - and the amazing respect the Tribe showed to the surrounding communities - including Taunton at any of the links to the right....may I suggest casinofacts.com - gladyskravits - belicose bumpkin or any of the others listed.....

I seriously get a chuckle out of the complete non-truths that come out of Cedric's mouth...and the severe lack of reporting the facts on the part of WBZ and all the other "news" articles. Let's set aside the fact that it will take an actual act of Congress for the Tribe to even think about land in trust, nevermind a tribal casino in a town they lay no historical claims to in their application for Federal Recognition or in their Final Determination, the bottom line is that this Tribe has an even less chance of getting Land in Trust in Taunton than they did in Middleboro. Hmmm....is it even possible to have less than zero? Apparently so with this tribe's bid for a tribal casino.

So here is what I am going to do...since several of us have blogged this topic over and over and over and over again, I am going to re-post a blog I wrote way back in October of 2008 entitled "The Ties that Bind". However, I did spend a little time playing Letter Man and wherever the word Middleboro was found...I replaced it with Taunton. I also added some updates since 2008. So sorry Cedric - the town may have changed but the facts haven't.

The Ties That Bind

When one thinks of the phrase “the ties that bind”, many different thoughts come to mind. In the course of our lifetimes, we all become bound by invisible chains that bind us to people, places and things. These ties can either help us or hurt us depending on the situation. For example, one could reasonably argue that the first lines in the Constitution are words, or rather, ties that bind the American people in a common cause "….. in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." To me, these words are about the ties that bind the American people, not twist the fundamental fabric of our Nation, yet I have been told again and again over the past year that I have no rights in regards to the Mashpee Wampanoag Land in Trust process. I have no say in what happens in my community and all I can think is….why? Having been witness to the so called process of Land in Trust as it has unfolded here in our small corner of the world, I wonder about those words written in the Constitution and I wonder about the written words of the Tribe itself…the words, or ties that bind them, and where those ties bind them.

So I find myself still arguing about the Mashpee Wampanoag’s claims to significant historical ties to land in a Town that I don’t even live in. I am speaking out because our Constitution gives me that right even if the land in trust process doesn't. But why even bother, right? I mean, they were here first so who am I to say they don’t have significant historical ties to Taunton? All I can say to that is, I am an American citizen who happens to believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all…and I just so happen to be someone who has read the Tribe’s Final Determination..you know, the evidence they used to gain Federal Recognition, and are now using in their mad dash attempt to build a casino on land they have no right calling an “initial reservation”. The enhancements in the Section 20 regulations clearly and distinctly define the requirements for significant historical ties to land being sought as an initial reservation. In reading the Federal Register to learn about the new regulations I quickly realized that they are written so clearly that even your average citizen – John Q. Public – can understand and follow what the Federal Government is requiring for proof of significant historical ties to land.

When talking about “significant historical ties”, aren’t we really talking about a cultural landscape? I am talking about a landscape created by humans in the natural world, one that reveals fundamental ties between people and the land – ties based on the basic human need to grow food, give form to settlements, to provide recreation and even suitable places to bury our dead….our cultural landscape that we call home. In the case of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, claiming the land in Taunton as their own is more than just saying “I was here first”…it is about demonstrating that the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal ancestors lived on the land in Taunton, had a burial ground on the land in Taunton or hunted the land in Taunton to feed their tribal members. This is about significant historical ties to the land, which according to their own Final Determination that was submitted as part of the application, there are none. There is no documented evidence that the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has significant historical ties to the land in Taunton. But there is evidence that it belonged to another Tribe….. (this may not be true for Taunton) but that is not why I am writing this. I am writing this because I want to clarify why we say the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe does not have significant historical ties to the land in Taunton…why they are not bound to Taunton, but to Mashpee.

If we could, let us take a moment and examine the Tribe’s trust application through the eyes of the Secretary of the Interior -- ooops...that would now be Congress -- and look for evidence of the Tribe’s significant history to the land in Taunton. In order to do this, we need to look at the Tribe’s Final Determination, which as I stated, was included in the trust application. But first, let’s clarify the significance of the Final Determination to the Tribe itself.

In order to receive Federal acknowledgement as an Indian tribe, the following seven (mandatory) criteria had to be applicable and demonstrated in the Tribes Final Determination:

1. The tribe has been identified as an American Indian entity on a substantially continual basis since 1900.

2. A predominant portion of the tribe comprises a distinct community and has existed as a community from historical times until the present.

3. The tribe has maintained political influence or authority over its members as an autonomous entity from historical times to the present.

4. The tribe must provide a copy of the group’s present governing document including its membership criteria. In the absence of a written document, the tribe must provide a statement describing in full its membership criteria and current governing procedures.

5. The tribe’s membership must consist of individuals who descend from a historical Indian tribe or from historical Indian tribes which combined and functioned as a single autonomous political entity.

6. None of the tribe’s members can be part of any other federally acknowledged Indian tribe.

7. The tribe nor its members cannot be the subject of a congressional legislation that has expressly terminated or forbidden the federal relationship.

The first requirement regarding their existence as a tribe since 1900 is accomplished mostly through newspaper or magazine articles that mention the tribe. The next four requirements are important because of what they show in the way of the Tribe’s history and geography. The last two items on this list requires no action from the Tribe as it’s the Federal Governments’ job to check these out.

When the Federal Government acknowledged the Mashpee tribe, they provided a summary of the evidence they had considered. Because there are so many details in the summary itself, I have abbreviated the comments so as to focus only on the geographical references and how these references pertain to the Tribe’s significant historical ties to Taunton….or more accurately, how they don’t……

Distinct Community

“….since first contact to the present day they comprised a distinct community from non-members in and around the Town of Mashpee.”

“….almost all of the Mashpee lived in a defined geographical area, the Town of Mashpee.”

“….defined geographical area comprised almost exclusively of their members, while those who lived elsewhere usually did so on a temporary basis….”

“….those few who lived elsewhere were very close by in adjacent communities….”

“….few Mashpee who lived outside of the town, often in adjacent towns or other areas of Cape Cod, maintained contact with those in town as evidenced through a high rate of return migration.”

“….concentrated residential patterns indicating that a significant part of the group still lived in an exclusive settlement in the Town of Mashpee.”

"….residency patterns were good evidence of community.”

“….significant number of members living within or very near the group’s traditional location in the center of the Town of Mashpee.”

Political Influence

“….political control of the Town of Mashpee….”

“….evidence of the Mashpee’s residential patterns….was also sufficient to demonstrate political influence.”

“….gave the Mashpee greater self-government by establishing an “Indian District” in Mashpee, Massachusetts.”

“….as part of an Indian District….the Mashpee gained complete control of political, legal, and economic affairs in the town...”

“….Mashpee adapted the principal elements of the town governmental system….”

Criteria for Membership

“….'near Mashpee' means having a residence within 20 miles of Mashpee.”

Descended from a Historical Tribe

“….historical Indian tribe was the Wampanoag Indians residing at Mashpee, Barnstable County…”

“….88 percent of the petitioner’s members descended from the historical Mashpee tribe…”

“….petitioner submitted evidence that 97 percent of its members descended from the historical tribe…”

(Note: this number increased when new records were produced after the preliminary report was compiled).

I have two personal favorites from this list:

The first being the Tribe requiring their members to live near Mashpee….within 20 miles of Mashpee to be exact. Taunton is definitely within 20 miles of Mashpee, right? Ummmmm….weelll…. it is if you fold the map like one of those back pages from a Mad Magazine. Remember those? First there is the original picture but you could fold the page and it would become another (usually more comical) picture. Yeah, it’s just like that. A quick fold here….and viola!

(sorry - can't change my photoshop image so just replace Middleboro with Taunton and flying monkey with anyone who supports or actually believes the tribe has a right to a tribal casino in Taunton - oh, and a warning to residents in Taunton -- your Town Meeting From Hell will be happening in the near future - my condolences)

Or, perhaps they meant 20 miles as the crow flies….or a flying monkey…

I also love that the Tribe’s current members must be descendants of a historical tribe and in this case, the Federal Government defines historical tribe as ‘the Wampanoag Indians residing at Mashpee, Barnstable County”. Yet the Tribe is trying to claim significant historical ties to Taunton. Really….I couldn’t make up stuff this amusing!

Here are some more fun facts from the Final Determination:

The number of times Mashpee is mentioned: 265
(this number does not include the footnotes or page headings)

The number of time Taunton is mentioned: 0
(this number does include the footnotes or page headings)

So if I was reading this from the Secretary of the Interior’s point of view -- well, the Congress' point of view now --, I would have to conclude based on the Tribe’s own Final Determination, the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribe has significant historical ties to Mashpee….not to Taunton. In fact, Taunton is so insignificant, it wasn’t even mentioned at all in the Final Determination – yet the Tribe wants to (actually since they changed towns, will need to) claim significant historical ties after the fact so they can build a casino that happens to have a resort attached to it. Well, all I can say here is that the ties that bind have bound this Tribe not to Taunton at all -- but to Mashpee alone. Claiming significant historical ties to the land in Taunton at this point is nothing short of a hysterical attempt to try and hold onto the casino pipedream.

So if you were reading the Final Determination through the eyes of the Secretary of the Interior (again, Congress) and trying to make a decision that will affect an entire region and making that decision in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity….and ensure fairness to both the Tribe and the surrounding community, I must ask dear reader…… do you see any significant hysterical…..eeerrr….historical ties that bind the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to Taunton?

In my opinion based on the facts... there is a less than zero chance for Cedric to get land in trust in Taunton, nevermind actually obtain approval for a tribal casino in Taunton. This entire fiasco should be interesting. I should have called this blog The Lies that Bind. Seems more fitting...

Bound by hundreds of ties of desire and enslaved by lust and anger; they strive to obtain wealth by unlawful means for the fulfillment of desires.” - Bhagavad Gita

- be the change you want to see in the world -