by: Gale Courey Toensing / Indian Country Today
MASHPEE, Mass. - The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's federal acknowledgement became official May 24, three months after the BIA issued its positive final determination: and no one challenged it.
Tribal members met for a daylong celebration at the tribal headquarters in Mashpee, where tribal council chairman Glenn Marshall issued a statement for the occasion.
''Three hundred and eighty-six years ago, the Mayflower landed at Plymouth and was met by representatives of a sovereign nation. The complexities of that relationship, the friendship, the first Thanksgiving, the betrayal, the battles, the efforts at resettlement and the constant struggle are well documented. Today has reaffirmed the faith of that first meeting. But in another respect, we are today who we were then - the keepers of an important American story, one that was in danger of dying out, but has been given a new birth,'' Marshall said.
The tribe's new life includes eligibility for federal funding for health, education, housing and other programs, and the right to pursue a gaming compact with the state.
The tribe has been actively preparing to pursue gaming and in the past months announced plans to develop a resort destination modeled after the hugely successful Mashantucket Pequots' Foxwoods Resort and Casino and Mohegan Sun facilities in Connecticut.
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