Post by blackcrowheart on Jul 27, 2006 13:48:53 GMT -5
Narragansett tribe upset with R.I.Country Club official
BARRINGTON - A Narragansett Indian Tribe representative is up in arms over a conversation two weeks ago with a Rhode Island Country Club official who was "less than forthcoming" with information about a club project he believed could disrupt tribal burial grounds.
Narragansett Historic Preservation Officer John Brown reported on Monday that a letter sent to him by the Rhode Island Historic Preservation and Heritage Commission included information that the country club would be undertaking a project near the water that could impact Narragansett burial grounds.
When Mr. Brown attempted to contact the club about the project, he said he talked to a representative who was "very persnickety" and wouldn't give him very much information.
The project in question may be the potential $6 million effort the club is undertaking to remove environmentally hazardous phragmites from areas on the golf course and Mussachuck Creek.
During a phone interview, Mr. Brown said the country club is going to have "a serious, serious problem" if it continues to move through the project without cooperating with the tribe. Disrupting a federally recognized tribe's burial sites could bring criminal charges from a federal court, he said, according to The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
"Would they want to be talking to the U.S. Attorney, or talking to a U.S. State Judge?" Mr. Brown said. "Because that's what they'd be looking at. There may be infractions of federal law here ... we might have to put a lien on that property."
In response, Stephen Carlotti, president of the club's board of governors, said that a representative from the National Resources Conservation Service would be on hand during the project to ensure that no burial sites or antiquities would be impacted.
"The only digging we're doing is dredging in the canal and in the river," he explained. "On the golf course, we're not digging — we're filling."
Mr. Brown indicated he'd be working closely with the Army Corps, EPA and Fish and Wildlife Service in the near future as the club's project continued to progress.
In addition to possibly containing Narragansett burial sites, Mr. Brown speculated that the club owns land that may also sit on top of Pokanoket, Wampanoag, Aquinnah and Mashpee historic sites.
"They've got a long way to go if they think they're just going to build on our burials," he said.
BY SCOTT O'CONNELL
soconnell@eastbaynewspapers.com
www.eastbayri.com/story/309975642067344.php
BARRINGTON - A Narragansett Indian Tribe representative is up in arms over a conversation two weeks ago with a Rhode Island Country Club official who was "less than forthcoming" with information about a club project he believed could disrupt tribal burial grounds.
Narragansett Historic Preservation Officer John Brown reported on Monday that a letter sent to him by the Rhode Island Historic Preservation and Heritage Commission included information that the country club would be undertaking a project near the water that could impact Narragansett burial grounds.
When Mr. Brown attempted to contact the club about the project, he said he talked to a representative who was "very persnickety" and wouldn't give him very much information.
The project in question may be the potential $6 million effort the club is undertaking to remove environmentally hazardous phragmites from areas on the golf course and Mussachuck Creek.
During a phone interview, Mr. Brown said the country club is going to have "a serious, serious problem" if it continues to move through the project without cooperating with the tribe. Disrupting a federally recognized tribe's burial sites could bring criminal charges from a federal court, he said, according to The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
"Would they want to be talking to the U.S. Attorney, or talking to a U.S. State Judge?" Mr. Brown said. "Because that's what they'd be looking at. There may be infractions of federal law here ... we might have to put a lien on that property."
In response, Stephen Carlotti, president of the club's board of governors, said that a representative from the National Resources Conservation Service would be on hand during the project to ensure that no burial sites or antiquities would be impacted.
"The only digging we're doing is dredging in the canal and in the river," he explained. "On the golf course, we're not digging — we're filling."
Mr. Brown indicated he'd be working closely with the Army Corps, EPA and Fish and Wildlife Service in the near future as the club's project continued to progress.
In addition to possibly containing Narragansett burial sites, Mr. Brown speculated that the club owns land that may also sit on top of Pokanoket, Wampanoag, Aquinnah and Mashpee historic sites.
"They've got a long way to go if they think they're just going to build on our burials," he said.
BY SCOTT O'CONNELL
soconnell@eastbaynewspapers.com
www.eastbayri.com/story/309975642067344.php