WampaGate

Wampanoag Princess barred from voting

Gilt-edged credentials apparently not enough
Blatant disregard for fairness & democratic procedures

By Peter Kenney

Marshall is reported to have spent an hour or so at the council headquarters yesterday cheerfully chatting with Hendricks and others.The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe held elections for the tribal council yesterday at council headquarters on Great Neck Road in Mashpee with over 400 people voting. Aaron Tobey Jr. received the most votes, well over one hundred, in his run for one of the two open seats on the tribal council. He was joined in victory by Robert Dias. Observers believe Tobey will not be a rubber stamp for the investor-controlled council chairman, Shawn Hendricks.

Three new faces
The election of Tobey and Dias means that the tribal council has seen three new faces join its ranks since former council chairman Glenn Marshall resigned in disgrace at the end of August. David Pocknett was elected two months ago to fill the position of council vice-chairman after Shawn Hendricks relinquished it to assume Marshall’s former post. Marshall is reported to have spent an hour or so at the council headquarters yesterday cheerfully chatting with Hendricks and others.

Royalty now victim of voting virus

Pow-Wow Princess Barilyn Frye in much happier times after being crowned by the tribal leaders.Mashpee tribal Pow-Wow princess Brailyn Frye, daughter of council member Cheryl Frye, was not permitted to vote. She apparently fell victim to the mysterious virus that has taken hold of the tribal rolls. This once unknown ailment attacks the central record system of the tribe, rendering it uncertain whether life-long members will be recognized and allowed to vote. Those who oppose tribal leadership appear more likely to fall victim than those who remain silent. Symptoms include curiosity, expectations of tribal democracy and fairness, a valid Wamp card and honesty. Researchers report no known relief for the ailment although back-room political clout seems to help.

Voting qualifications – we’ll get back to you on that
Members who were in the council headquarters yesterday were treated to the sight and sound of council member Cheryl Frye yelling at chairman Shawn Hendricks. It appears that more than Mashpee ancestors and a crown are not enough to establish Brailyn’s right to vote. CapeCodtoday.com will attempt to establish what the voting qualifications are for Mashpee Wampanoag elections and will report our findings here -- but perhaps not soon.

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The battle for the soul of the tribe

Are we outsiders, or are we neighbors?

By Peter Kenney

Everyone on Cape Cod, everyone in Middleboro and probably everyone in Massachusetts have a stake in how this tribe governs itself Vernon Lopez, chief of the Mashpee Wampanoag, stood before assembled members of the tribe under a full moon in August of this year. As his statement was read regarding the Glenn Marshall situation and shunning of tribe members, the notion that the newly recognized tribe wanted to live as agreeable neighbors within the broader Cape community was clearly stated. This has been the constant theme expressed by the chief for many years and it is apparently the general feeling within the tribe. For some in the tribe, however, nothing could be further from the truth.

A healthy tribal structure is everyone’s concern
From the time capecodtoday.com first revealed the ugly truth about the criminal, military and financial history of then-tribal-council-chairman Glenn Marshall there have been comments posted here asking in acid terms what makes outsiders think they have the right to pry into tribal affairs. We have written about the shunning of Amelia Bingham and four others; the federal grand jury probe into tribal affairs; and the ugly internal situation, which finds the tribe’s membership rolls held secret from the tribe’s members even while long time members are removed and curious newcomers are added. Everyone on Cape Cod, everyone in Middleboro and probably everyone in Massachusetts have a stake in how this tribe governs itself. And, as neighbors, we should be concerned and supportive of a healthy tribal structure.

Alarm and curiosity about outside interests
As a federally recognized tribe the Mashpee Wampanoags are a sovereign nation. They are governed by a constitution of their own making and a tribal council whom they elect. News of how their constitution and elections have been weakened and controlled by outside financial interests should be viewed with alarm, both by members of the tribe and by everyone else -- their “neighbors.” If we non-Indians should butt out, shouldn't we at least be allowed some curiosity about the white man from Boston, the paid political mouthpiece who claims to speak for the tribe? And what about the woman who is known as Steven Smith on the Wamp Facts Blog? She is once again enrolled as a Mashpee. But this is after she resigned from the rolls and used deceptive methods to gain membership in the Aquinnah tribe. They later tossed her out along with her mother. How credible is she and what is her role internally? How much does she have to say about how the tribe functions and how it deals with the sovereign state of Massachusetts and the sovereign municipality of Middleboro.

If non-Indians are supposed to deal with the Mashpee as a sovereign nation, and not as neighbors of a tribe whose ancient culture has finally been shown its due respect, then we should ask to see the credentials of all those who speak for the tribe. Middleboro and the Commonwealth should demand satisfactory proof that all agreements and contracts involving the tribe have been fully disclosed to the full tribal membership and have been executed only after approval by the majority. Otherwise, what is to prevent a political revolt within the tribe sometime in the future from causing these contracts and agreements to be nullified?

Green hearts: Indians and outsiders alike
The practice of throwing opposition members out of tribes involved in gaming ventures is widespread across the country. The nearby Narragansetts of Rhode Island have recently seen 200 members removed from the rolls by tribal leaders; an entire Narragansett family is no longer on the rolls because it opposed the leadership of its own tribe. If this continues there is a fear that the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs might step in and demand an explanation for this apparent corruption of the tribal system. Federal recognition can be revoked, withdrawn by Congress.

The irony of the situation is incredible; tribes that fought for years to prove that they even exist to gain federal recognition are now refusing to recognize as members people who simply disagree with tribal leadership. To this outsider this seems not to be the Indian way. As the wise Indian saying goes, beware the man with the green heart. This means Indians and outside exploiters alike; greed is a basic and democratic human failing.

Political brutality silencing legitimate dissent
If tribes continue to crush internal dissent and continue holding their deals with non-Indian financial interests secret from their members, why should we trust them, our Indian neighbors? If the Glenn Marshalls of the world continue to make deals with the Sol Kirzners of the world and use political brutality to silence legitimate internal dissent, how much worse might they do to outsiders who want only fair dealing? Once again white outsiders are effectively exploiting Indian tribes and weakening their cultural integrity.

The casino is the new buffalo and the hard-won property holdings of the tribes are now up for grabs in the high stakes world of gaming. Today’s General George Armstrong Custer would be armed with a calculator and contracts. His regiment would consist of lawyers, accountants and lobbyists.

If not neighbors, then what?
This outsider is concerned and I am not the only one. If I am not to be a neighbor, but someone to be treated as a foreigner, there will be different rules. I continue to support the notion that this ancient and honorable people should be sovereign and I continue to say that they should gain whatever economic advantage they can. The archives of capecodtoday.com attest to this. But to be told that I have no right to be concerned about the clear corruption of the tribal process and the power non-Indian outsiders will gain over matters of general concern to all citizens of the Commonwealth is unacceptable. Who do Sol Kirzner and Bill McDermott think they are? They are not Indians and they have no separate sovereignty. And who made this guy Scott Ferson untouchable? No, no -- just let me know -- are we neighbors or not?

Then again, being an agreeable neighbor in the presence of people such as Glenn Marshall or Gayle Andrews? No.

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Surprise write-in candidate: guess who

Mashpee Election Update
Mystery write-in is none other than the infamous Glenn Marshall

By Peter Kenney

There are two seats open on the Mashpee Wampanoag tribal council and the election to fill these seats will be held at the council headquarters on Sunday. Jessie Little Doe Baird, Robert Dias, Darryl Frye, Gail Hill, Laverne Jackson,  Scott Rossignold,  Murita Scott,  Aaron Tobey and Annawon Weeden are running for the seats.

Now it appears there is a member of the tribe running as a write-in candidate. He is a former Portuguese activist, rapist and freelance imaginary hero from Falmouth named Glenn Marshall. He is also a nationally known and disgraced figure who was forced to resign as chairman of the tribal council when the full extent of his sordid past and his dishonest present became known. Marshall resigned at the end of August in 2007.

Reportedly the U.S. Attorney in Boston has been conducting a grand jury investigation into Marshall and his financial management of the tribe based on information and evidence developed by both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in Boston would not comment. Rumors have circulated within the tribe for several years about misuse of grant funds involving the so-called Fisherman's Fund that only Marshall controlled. It also appears to many tribe members that a select few members, Marshall among them, had more disposable income than their known jobs would have provided.

A felony then, a felony now
It is interesting to consider how a tribe so well known for a strong maternalism could consider electing a convicted rapist to its leadershipThe tribal constitution appears to prohibit a convicted felon from holding any tribal office. Rape is a felony and it was a felony when Marshall was convicted more than twenty years ago. Marshall and his attorney appealed his five-year prison sentence after two months and told the Barnstable Superior Court that his actions had been caused by post-traumatic stress brought on by his combat experiences in Vietnam. Marshall also claimed to hold five purple hearts and the Silver Star. The facts are that Marshall was never in combat, served only four months in Vietnam at Da Nang Air Base and was never awarded any decorations for valor or injury. He lied. He continued to lie before the United States Congress, in a videotaped interview eventually deposited in the archives of the Library of Congress and elsewhere.

It is interesting to consider how a tribe so well known for a strong maternalism could consider electing a convicted rapist to its leadership. Observers are waiting anxiously to see who is allowed to vote in Sunday’s election. Marshall's successor as tribal council chairman is the former vice-chairman, Shawn Hendricks, a known friend and supporter of Marshall.

Candidates for the two open council seats are: Jessie Little Doe Baird, Robert Dias, Darryl Frye, Gail Hill, Laverne Jackson,  Scott Rossignold,  Murita Scott,  Aaron Tobey and Annawon Weeden

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Gayle Andrews: A "Woodwork Cousin"

Starring in a New Roll
In pursuit of the elusive brass ring

By Peter Kenney

Some very well known members of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe tried to hitch their wagons to the Aquinnah Wampanoag star years ago. One of them is now back in Mashpee and seemingly in a very powerful position within the tribe. This is yet another story of how the few and the corrupt are trying to bully the many and the honorable.

What happened to get her expelled from the Aquinnah and how did she gain reinstatement into the Mashpee?Gayle Andrews: A force to be reckoned with?
Gayle Andrews is the daughter of Anne Peters Brown whose brother was the late Russell Peters and whose older sister is Amelia Bingham. Gayle Andrews is unquestionably a Mashpee Wampanoag. Why, then, did she resign from the Mashpee rolls and apply for and receive membership in the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe? And, what happened to get her expelled from the Aquinnah and how did she gain reinstatement into the Mashpee? This is an interesting situation in and of itself but it is all the more so because Gayle Andrews has become a very powerful presence at Mashpee tribal council headquarters.

She has returned from Tallahassee, Florida where she lived and worked for the better part of thirty years, first as a CBS affiliate’s statehouse and political reporter and then as an independent media consultant to various political candidates and even as a democrat campaign manager. Now she is reportedly being paid several thousand dollars per month to handle various tasks for the tribe, the same tribe from which she once resigned. And, she is also reportedly the unseen hand behind the web site known as “Wamp Facts.” Add to this the formidable temper she is widely said to possess -- a temper that she releases freely -- and one can see that Gayle Andrews is someone to be reckoned with.

In the 1990's resigned her membership in the Mashpee to join the Aquinnah WampanoagsMembership has its privileges
But in the nineteen nineties this woman, whose brother rose to become perhaps the best known Mashpee chief of the twentieth century, resigned her membership in the Mashpee to join the Aquinnah Wampanoags. As the story goes, Andrews met and became close to Beverly Wright who was at the time the head of the Aquinnah Tribal Council. Wright told Andrews that she should join the Aquinnah tribe because their newly granted recognition was going to make then into a gambling powerhouse and all the tribe’s members would be rich. That is precisely what both Andrews and her mother did. They formally applied for admission as full members of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe.

It took the Aquinnah’s genealogist sixteen years to undo the Andrews-Brown scamBeing recognized as a tribe member required documentation. Of course, the fact that Andrews and her mother were known to be members of one of the largest and best known Mashpee families might make some people on Martha’s Vineyard suspicious. And it did. But, it took more than a year of hard work by June Manning, the woman who has been the Aquinnah’s genealogist for sixteen years to undo the Andrews-Brown scam. One bit of evidence of their Aquinnah heritage the two submitted was what was purported to be a letter written early in the twentieth century saying that Brown had been adopted by, or taken in by, an Aquinnah family living in North Tisbury, specifically in an area now owned by the tribe and known as Christian Town. In Island parlance this is an area up-island near West Tisbury. Questions about the letter’s authenticity drove the tribe almost to point of having expensive tests run to establish the ink and paper as being of the right age and type.
Now she is back in Mashpee, mysteriously returned to the rolls when other lifelong members appear to have been removed without cause or notice
F.O.G. – Friend of Glenn
Some people hesitate, except in private, to use words such as fraud and forgery. But it is established that the letter was thoroughly discredited. Also, other documents submitted with the membership application have failed to pass muster. So, approximately ten years ago Gayle Andrews and her mother were removed from the membership rolls of the Aquinnah Wampanoags. Now she is back in Mashpee, mysteriously returned to the rolls when other lifelong members appear to have been removed without cause or notice. This is yet another case that makes one wonder what Patricia "Pattie Cakes" Oakley is doing as genealogist for the tribe. It also sheds light on the close relationship Andrews and Glenn Marshall were said to have enjoyed. One might wonder if their well-known tempers and their shared but curious definition of honesty destined them to be friends and confidants. Andrews must now be hoping that she catches the brass ring in Mashpee that she missed in Aquinnah.

Calls to the offices of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council asking for Gayle Andrews have not been returned, nor have calls made to her Tallahassee business telephone.  I wanted to ask if she is what Indians refer to as a "Woodwork Cousin" -- someone who becomes Indian only after a tribe gains recognition -- one of the many who come out of the woodwork when being Indian becomes respectable.

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Running From Their Own People

   The secret meeting at a posh resort for "Special Wamps" only

By Peter Kenney

Last Sunday was to have seen a meeting of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribal council -- not at its usual venue, though, in council headquarters on Great Neck Road in Mashpee -- but at the Sea Crest Oceanfront Resort & Conference Center in Falmouth. Sources within the tribe say that the meeting and its location were planned in secret to prevent participation by the tribe’s rank and file members. But, someone found out.

No admission, entry denied
Several members of the tribe appeared at the Sea Crest, wanting to know what was going on. They wanted to be allowed admission but were denied entry by council Chairman Shawn Hendricks, successor to the disgraced Glenn Marshall. Hendricks appeared flustered and unsure of how to handle the situation. He declared that there would be no meeting and none in fact took place. It can be said, therefore, that when confronted with the expectations of his own people to be allowed participation in their own tribal government Hendricks opted to deny them access. Since automatically assuming the chairmanship after Marshall’s ouster for lying about his military and criminal records, Hendricks has often spoken of the tribe’s need to unify, to restore its proper functioning order.

Glenn Marshall: Still a powerful force?
Tribe members also report that last week, during the funeral of tribe member Curtis Hendricks, Glenn Marshall was seen in lengthy and animated conversation with David Pocknett. Pocknett was elected to a one-year term as tribal council vice-chairman on October 15 to replace Hendricks. Many tribe members feel that Marshall is still a powerful behind-the-scenes force within the tribe without any record of -- or accountability for -- the consequences of his influence.

Irregularities in the tribal rolls
The election was hotly contested and featured a large number of complaints from tribe members about alleged irregularities in the keeping of the tribal rolls. Some members who have carried tribal identification, known as Wamp Cards, since birth, were told in October and November that they were not on the rolls as tribe members. Yet new people -- not recognized by long-time members as part of the tribe -- appeared at the election and were allowed to vote based on their supposed membership.

The tribal rolls -- a complete listing of tribal members showing a partial genealogy for each -- cannot be viewed by tribal members. Telephone calls to the Mashpee Wampanoag tribal council headquarters seeking comment on this matter from Patricia (Patti Cakes) Oakley have not been answered. Oakley is the tribe’s official genealogist and keeper of the rolls.

Tomorrow, WampaGate will look at an interesting situation involving the two Massachusetts tribes, the Aquinnah and the Mashpee. We shall see how each tribe addresses the often-murky question of membership when members of the same family jump ship.

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The Return of One of Mashpee’s Own

The Return of One of Mashpee’s Own
Gayle Andrews - the tribe’s new voice?

By Peter Kenney

One of Mashpee’s own has returned home. She is Gayle Andrews, sister of "Chef" John Marcelline. There was a recorded message on the telephone at her office in Tallahassee, Florida where she does business as a media consultant, Andrews Plus. She was not at the tribal council offices in Mashpee today and the voice mailbox of her cellular telephone was full. Ms. Andrews covered Florida politics and the Florida state legislature as reporter for Tallahassee’s CBS affiliate WCTV from 1973 until 1989. Subsequent to that she worked in various capacities for Democrat legislators and candidates. In the 2002 Florida senate election she managed Democrat media campaigns directed at black voters in Florida.

Major-league creds

In a videotaped record of that day’s events, Andrews is prominent among those of the tribe demanding that Bingham leave the tribe’s property. Now Ms. Andrews has taken up residence in Mashpee -- in New Seabury it is believed. Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity claim she is being paid $6,000 per month by the tribal council. Her work for the council has not been publicly disclosed, but her credentials both as a tribe member and a political operative with major-league credentials would seem to make her an ideal addition to the tribe’s political infrastructure as the Mashpee continue their drive to build a casino.

Amelia Bingham, one of the four tribe members shunned by the now-disgraced and resigned tribal council chairman Glenn Marshall remembers Andrews as one of the angrier tribe members during last summer’s confrontation at the Pow Wow. Dozens of local and state police responded in an apparently pre-planned response to Bingham’s attempt to attend the Pow Wow. She left the tribal grounds in Mashpee of her own volition after a lengthy discussion with the Mashpee chief of police. Bingham's difficulties began when she and three other tribe members brought suit in Barnstable District Court demanding to be allowed full access to the tribal council’s books and financial records.

In a videotaped record of that day’s events, Andrews is prominent among those of the tribe demanding that Bingham leave the tribe’s property.

Good-bye, Scott?

Various members of the tribe have expressed concern and even disapproval in the matter of Scott Ferson, the Boston-based, white media consultant who is the public voice of the tribal council. Ferson was for five years press secretary to Senator Ted Kennedy. He has also worked in senior positions in the campaigns of Massachusetts candidates. Now it appears that the Mashpee might have found more experienced media and political talents in one of their own.

Other news; Harris out, Little in, who's McDermott working for

In other tribal developments Barbara Harris resigned her elected position as head of the Tribal Elders committee. Anita Little, who had been serving as vice-chair, was elected in October to replace Harris with Marty Tobey now serving as vice-chair. Also, Wampagate will be looking into an interesting development, actually answering a question: is William McDermott, the attorney from West Roxbury who represents the Mashpee Wampanoags now, the same William McDermott from West Roxbury who represented the Mashpee Action Group in opposing the original Mashpee Land Suit filed by the tribe in the mid 1970s? If he is the same man, is there at least the appearance of a conflict of interest?

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The Mashpee tribe is on the outside looking in

Sheer Genius
Where have we heard this before?

By Peter Kenney

A state license will cost at least $100 million for a license fee, more likely $200 million, and over $350,000 for the application review plus 26% of annual gross revenues as a tax to the state. Going the Federal route stops all the above.Boston Magazine has finally caught on to something important: if the Mashpee Wampanoags compete for one of the three state gaming licenses proposed by Governor Deval Patrick instead of proceeding with plans to build a casino on their own land, they will lose a lot of money. The genius of this observation is staggering. Consider: the holder of a state license will pay at least $100 million for a license fee, more likely $200 million, and over $350,000 for the application review plus 26% of annual gross revenues as a tax to the state. This is, of course, in addition to federal taxes. In other words, one year’s revenue out of every five will be paid to Massachusetts.

Is there an echo in here?

No wonder no one else has spoken or written about this situation before Boston Magazine. Of course, that means we have to discount the analysis printed here the day the governor’s plan was announced.

Here are just some of the questions CapeCodToday has been asking for some time, but which no one wants to answer:

Robbing Patrick to pay promoters

1. Why is a white man from Belmont still the tribe’s official spokesman? Not one tribal voice appears in most press coverage?
2. The governor’s so-called plan mentions an advantage that he will offer to recognized tribes in Massachusetts (there are two) in the bidding process. Of course, the governor has yet to define what the advantage will be and his office has ignored every request by CapeCodToday for answers to this question. Therefore, the governor’s “plan” is incomplete. What is the advantage to the tribe(s)?
3. How does all this play out against this fact that a recognized tribe may operate a gaming enterprise on tribal land only to the extent that state law allows gaming? If the Massachusetts legislature does not approve a bill allowing casino gambling, there will be none in the state.
   

How do you suppose Scott Ferson or the governor will answer these questions --  if they are ever asked?

The tribe is on the outside looking in

There is a final item that no one else seems to be asking about: when we say that the “tribe” has decided … or that the “tribe” plans to.... or that the “tribe” will proceed... what do we mean?

In fact, the tribe has nothing to say about what happens, at least not as things stand now. Herb Strather, the Detroit developer identified as the tribe’s patron through the federal recognition process, was probably nothing more than a shill for Sol Kirzner and whoever his partners are. Strather directed tribal affairs even to the extent of advising former tribal council chairman Glenn Marshall not to allow the election of Paula Peters to the tribal council. Strather said in a letter to Marshall that Peters would make the “investors” uneasy because of her less than total support of the tribe’s casino plans.

The press has missed the point, and why does Shawn Henfricks need a bodyguard?

For now, and for the record, Ferson is paid by non-tribal interests. He speaks for shadowy figures known as the “investors.” And the tribal council -- under the bullying leadership of chairman Shawn Hendricks -- has been canceling weekly meetings of the council, week after week, and stonewalling the holding of a special tribal meeting called for by a successful petition signed by more than 100 tribe members to discuss recent events and future plans. The simple fact is that the tribe’s members have never been given the opportunity to speak out on the casino issue one way or the other. Apparently Boston Magazine and most of the world’s press have missed this small point.

I wonder what Scott Ferson would have to say if we asked him if it is true that Shawn Hendricks has hired his cousin, Carlos Hendricks, as his bodyguard.

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Voting early... and OFTEN in Mashpee

A Real Fishing Expedition and a Growing Tribe
Powerful group seeking information on reopening Mashpee Land Suit

By Peter Kenney

Five men went fishing off the Cape’s south shore last Friday. Actually, four were fishing and one felt as if they were all angling to hook him. Why would Herb Strather and Floyd Gallegos, both of Detroit, and Hyannis attorney Rob Mills and Ralph Hendricks want to go fishing with a well-known member of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe? Why indeed. According to a source who knows but who requests anonymity they wanted to ask questions.

Neither Strather nor Gallegos has anything to do with the Mashpee land claim suit. The suspicion held by some within the tribe is that Gallegos was present as bait to encourage his friend to tell Strather things he might otherwise not revealStrather is the Detroit gambling and real estate developer who claims to have injected $15 million into the tribe in support of its efforts to gain federal recognition. Floyd Gallegos is a Yaqui Indian and a consultant to tribes across the country who actually introduced Strather to the Mashpee. Rob Mills -- an attorney practicing in Hyannis -- is a member of the tribe as is Ralph Hendricks. The fifth person who was pumped for information is a member of the tribe and a friend of Gallegos. According to a source with direct knowledge of what transpired, the four curious men wanted to know what is happening with a possible reopening of the 1976 Mashpee Land Claims lawsuit.

Stop Peters at any cost

In theory, neither Strather nor Gallegos has anything to do with the Mashpee land claim suit. The suspicion held by some within the tribe is that Gallegos was present as bait to encourage his friend to tell Strather things he might otherwise not reveal. Reports are that the effort failed.

Strather is supposed to have sold his investment in the tribe’s future gaming enterprises to international gambling developer Sol Kirzner and his partner Len Wizemen. Strather is also known to have instructed former tribal chairman Glenn Marshall, who resigned in disgrace, that he should not allow the tribe to elect Paula Peters to a position on the tribal council because of her perceived anti-gaming stance. Sources within the tribe see last Friday’s events as proof that Strather is still exerting control over tribal affairs. Strather and other outside investors have been playing the tribe’s spokesmen and attorneys since the year 2000.

New names, new faces, mean new problems for Wampanoags

Other events in Mashpee make Friday’s meeting especially interesting. Sources within the tribe indicate that the tribe's membership rolls have swelled in the months since final federal recognition was announced. This reporter has received information from one person and from within the local membership that as many as four- to five-hundred new names have been added to the rolls. This information matches what capecodtoday was told about the new faces at last week’s tribal election, faces of new voters in the tribe.

Seize control and silence the opposition

Tribe rolls are closed to those Marshall thinks  won't "vote right"One person, who has sufficient Mashpee blood to qualify for membership and has provided the requisite DNA proof, has been unable to gain membership since before the rolls were closed prior to recognition. Now that the rolls are open again this person is still being denied membership. This Mashpee descendant describes the tribe’s genealogist, Pat Oakley, who is responsible for keeping the roles as “mean.” Oakley has refused to allow members of the tribe to inspect the rolls. Charges have been swirling around Mashpee for some time that -- under council chairman Glenn Marshall’s regime -- whites “came over” and were admitted to the tribe. Marshall engineered the shunning for seven years of five tribe members, four for opposing his management of tribal affairs and one for writing a letter of support for them which was published in the Cape Cod Times. Some tribe members tell capecodtoday that they feel Marshall admitted people who would support his rule and seized control of tribal processes in a way that allowed him to silence the opposition.

Time for another fishing trip, this time with the Feds?

Strather is among those about whom the United States Attorney in Boston is curious. Tribal correspondence to and from Strather has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury. Perhaps the U.S. Attorney should take Strather fishing.

Send us a NEWS TIP: Casino gambling is among the most important issues facing Cape Codders in generations and you can help us reveal the truth by emailing news tips to the capecodtoday editor here or Peter Kenney here. Your information will be "off the record" if you wish.
Read Peter's other column "The Great Gadfly" here

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Chicago-style Election for the Mashpee Wampanoags?

Mysterious appearances… and disappearances
Vote early and often; New constitution decided by 22 members

By Peter Kenney

When the Mashpee Wampanoag recently voted for a person to replace Shawn Hendricks as tribal council vice-chairman, some members of the tribe were surprised to see who was voting. According to sources speaking on the condition of anonymity, some voters -- all listed on the tribal rolls -- saw others they did not recognize being allowed to vote as members of the tribe. For a tribe whose numbers peak at fewer than 1,500 and who tend to live within a relatively small corner of the state this is odd. Then again, recent events may offer some insight.

Scott Ferson:
What did you know and when did you know it?Last month, certain signatures on a petition calling for a special meeting of the tribe to discuss the council's leadership and other matters were disqualified by the tribe's genealogist, Patricia Oakley. In one case, twins were told that one was on the rolls and the other was not. Both carried what appeared to be valid "Wamp cards," identifying them as members of the tribe. Both had been enrolled in the tribe at birth by their parents. No explanation was given for the disappearance of one of their names from the rolls. Others found their names disqualified although they, too, carried what appeared to be valid Wamp cards and had never been informed that they had been stricken from the tribal rolls.

Tribal rolls unavailable for inspection by members

It is impossible for anyone to determine what is going on because the tribal council keeps the tribal rolls unavailable for inspection by the tribe's members. As a federally recognized tribe, the Mashpee Wampanoags enjoy a remarkable degree of autonomy, literally the status of a sovereign nation. This means they have to deal with this situation without the assistance of state and federal courts. But how can tribal members mount a successful effort to determine what is going on in the membership rolls -- or in any other matters controlled by the tribal council -- when the tribe is represented by lawyers who are paid by foreign investors in the tribe's potential gaming enterprise?

New constitution abolished old ways of participation

At least one of these lawyers, William McDermott, was instrumental in rewriting the tribe's constitution more than three years ago. That new constitution abolished the old ways of general tribal participation in the decision-making process and concentrated power in the hands of the tribal council.

Ratified by handful of voters

The final vote by the tribe to ratify the new constitution was held in the summer during Powwow season for the nation's entire Indian population. This meant that many adult members of the Mashpee were traveling to the annual powwows of other tribes. For Indians, such powwows are events of great religious and cultural importance. Because of this apparently skillful planning by the council -- then led by the now-disgraced Glenn Marshall -- only twenty-two members of the tribe voted and eleven of them were tribal council members.

To Ferson: What did you know and when did you know it?

Even the man identified as spokesman for the tribe presents an interesting if puzzling picture. He is Scott Ferson, president of Boston's Liberty Square Group, a lobbying firm with connections to the powerful and perhaps corrupt. Ferson himself was press secretary to Senator Ted Kennedy for five years and played a key roll in the election campaign of current Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray.

Shawn Hendricks, is a high-school-educated shell fishermanThe current grand jury/FBI/IRS investigation has demanded copies of all Ferson correspondence from and to the tribe. It appears that the United States criminal justice establishment and the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe have the same question to ask Ferson: What do you know about activities such as tax fraud, money laundering, bribery, collusion, conspiracy and the abrogation of tribal rights by outside investors?  Ferson does not return my calls but he better return theirs.

Unknown people, far away and in secret

A final indignity is this: the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council has not met in four weeks. They are supposed to meet every Wednesday night at council headquarters. Because they have not met since the membership's petition was completed and submitted there has been no movement towards solving the serious internal issues the tribe faces.

The new council chairman, Shawn Hendricks, is a high-school-educated shell fisherman in his early forties. He was at Glenn Marshall's right hand through Marshall’s seven-year rampage as chairman: signing contracts with unknown outsiders that to this day are not open for review by the tribe's members and granting huge but secret chunks of the tribe's hoped-for future gaming profits to people the tribe does not know.

Where did Desire get the floor-length fur coatHendricks is believed to have testified before a federal grand jury in Boston in a far-ranging criminal corruption and tax case. But as has been his practice and Marshall's before...his words were heard only by unknown people behind closed doors, far away and in secret. The information he may have revealed in Boston is of no help to the tribe.

And, it is entirely possible that Hendricks, along with council secretary Desire Hendricks Moreno, who also testified, did so under a grant of immunity. This would mean that they could also have been investigated and perhaps charged. If so, why should they still hold important tribal offices? Whose interests are they serving? Where did Desire get the floor-length fur coat she was seen wearing in Washington, D.C.?

And the winner is…

Before we forget last week's tribal council election; the winner of the four-way race was David Pocknett. He served as a member during the Marshall years and is probably able -- but so far unwilling -- to reveal details to the tribe's members of Marshall's deals with outsiders.

Pocknett's election to his new post leaves his original council seat vacant as well as the one left vacant when council member Norman Dias resigned in the wake of the Marshall debacle. It has never been confirmed but there is widespread belief that Dias resigned because he did not want to be a party to the way the council has come to operate.

Election tentatively scheduled in December

A tribal election is tentatively scheduled to take place in December of this year to fill both seats. Consult the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council for details.

Send us a NEWS TIP: Casino gambling is among the most important issues facing Cape Codders in generations and you can help us reveal the truth by emailing news tips to the capecodtoday editor here or Peter Kenney here. Your information will be "off the record" if you wish.
Read Peter's other column "The Great Gadfly" here

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And the Beat Goes On - Follow the Money

Motown in Mashpee

By Peter Kenney

The infamous “Fisherman’s Fund,” of which former Mashpee Wampanoag tribal council chairman Glenn Marshall was the president, sponsored a concert at the county fairgrounds in Mashpee in August of 2001. The event was called “Motown in Mashpee.” A source, speaking on the condition of remaining anonymous, said that Glenn Marshall was the person who made all the contractual arrangements between the fund and the various companies involved with the event. Herb Strather, the tribe’s original investor in its gaming plans, is a Detroit developer who has used the Motown name in many of his enterprises.

Motown tribute bands and even some original Motown stars performed at the event, billed as a benefit for the Mashpee tribe. The post office box used as the address for the Fisherman’s Fund was Box 2316 in Mashpee. The source said the tax identification number provided by Marshal was 237-376-761. People attending the concert paid an admission fee and there were various concessions for food and beverages on the grounds. Local media outlets were paid to advertise the event. The source did not know if Marshall operated his own concession at the event as he has done for several years at the tribe’s annual powwow.

Dropped checkbook, moved funds, FBI looks

The Fisherman’s Fund has been at the center of a controversy within the tribe about alleged misuses of tribal funds under Marshall’s control. It is known that funds from a private grant intended for use on a project to restore the tribal museum were withdrawn from the tribal council account and deposited into the so-called Fisherman’s Fund. According to one tribe member, Marshall moved the Fisherman’s Fund account to a new bank after he accidentally dropped the checkbook for the fund in a tribe member’s house where it was found after he had left the premises.

In September, FBI agents served subpoenas at the tribal council offices demanding financial records from both the tribe and Glenn Marshall. Scott Ferson, the tribe’s spokesman who is actually paid by tribal outsiders, has said that the federal investigation involves only Marshall and the tribe. Sources have said that Marshall’s successor as council chairman, Shawn Hendricks, and council secretary Desire Hendricks Moreno have testified before a federal grand jury in Boston. Last week the tribe received an eight-page letter listing the additional information wanted by the United States Attorney in Boston.

For whose benefit?

It is unclear at this time whether the Motown in Mashpee concert showed a profit and, if so, whether any of those profits were actually used to the tribe’s benefit. Apparently, Glenn Marshall has a new title to add to his resume in addition to rapist, drug user and war hero -- music promoter.

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