Post by blackcrowheart on Apr 12, 2007 11:16:14 GMT -5
Pokanokets push for statewide recognition
Michael Weeden is president of the Pokanoket tribe.
BRISTOL - It's failed twice before, but members of a Native American tribe based in Bristol hope legislation re-submitted to the state General Assembly last week will finally pass, granting them official standing in the state's eyes.
The legislation, submitted by Bristol Rep. Raymond Gallison and co-signed by representatives in Bristol and Warren, would give the Pokanoket tribe official state recognition. The Pokanokets are already recognized as a legitimate tribe by the towns of Barrington, Bristol and Warren, but members say state recognition will help in their ultimate goal: Becoming federally recognized.
"It's time," said Michael Weeden, the tribe's president. "We're hoping the third time's a charm."
The Pokanokets, who claim ancestral land in the East Bay, have been seeking federal recognition for nearly seven years. Their application to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, though, is still being considered.
In re-introducing the legislation, Rep. Gallison said he hopes to show solidarity with the tribe and help its push toward federal recognition.
"I wholeheartedly believe that they are one of the indigenous tribes in the state," he said. "In this area, history is on their side."
But suspicion isn't, or wasn't, the past two times the legislation was submitted. It was not passed last year, in part, due to concerns raised by some legislators over whether the tribe sought to pursue gaming.
But on Monday, Mr. Weeden said the tribe's goals in seeking federal recognition do not include gaming. Instead, they are more philanthropic.
"We've voted on more than one occasion to not be a gaming tribe," he said. Instead, "we'd really be doing the same things now. What if we were able to seek federal grants in Rhode Island? What if we were able to have money come into the state?"
The tribe's main asset is its history, he said, but much of its tangible history, including the ancestral lands upon which Pokanokets lived for hundreds of years, have been lost. The tribe wants to preserve as much ancestral land as possible, and gaining federal recognition would help that goal, he said.
"You have a certain amount of responsibility to do the right thing, and that's not just for your children, but for seven generations," said Mr. Weeden.
Though the tribe has no legal authority, it has already helped preserve several stretches of archaeologically significant land in Bristol and Barrington.
Several members of the Pokanokets' governing council sit on the Waypoyset Preserve Trust, which five years ago purchased a 22-acre preserve that was in danger of being developed. The land, north of Narrows Road, contains evidence of Native American habitation dating back thousands of years. And last year, the Pokanokets allied with the Barrington Land Conservation Trust to help preserve a similarly significant tract of land adjacent to Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington.
The tribe would like to continue with such efforts, and getting recognition would certainly give it more clout, he said.
"When we get money coming to us, we're not going to change," he said. "We're going to continue to fight for the rights of people to enjoy the country."
Mr. Weeden took over as president of the Pokanokets from his uncle Paul "Deer Foot" Weeden, in 2004. Though the Pokanokets still keep an office at the former King Philip Inn on Metacom Avenue, Mr. Weeden said an eventual goal is to establish a free-standing office of its own.
"We would like to have something that we can call our own," he said. "That's very important to us. "
By Ted Hayes
thayes@eastbaynewspapers.com
Michael Weeden is president of the Pokanoket tribe.
BRISTOL - It's failed twice before, but members of a Native American tribe based in Bristol hope legislation re-submitted to the state General Assembly last week will finally pass, granting them official standing in the state's eyes.
The legislation, submitted by Bristol Rep. Raymond Gallison and co-signed by representatives in Bristol and Warren, would give the Pokanoket tribe official state recognition. The Pokanokets are already recognized as a legitimate tribe by the towns of Barrington, Bristol and Warren, but members say state recognition will help in their ultimate goal: Becoming federally recognized.
"It's time," said Michael Weeden, the tribe's president. "We're hoping the third time's a charm."
The Pokanokets, who claim ancestral land in the East Bay, have been seeking federal recognition for nearly seven years. Their application to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, though, is still being considered.
In re-introducing the legislation, Rep. Gallison said he hopes to show solidarity with the tribe and help its push toward federal recognition.
"I wholeheartedly believe that they are one of the indigenous tribes in the state," he said. "In this area, history is on their side."
But suspicion isn't, or wasn't, the past two times the legislation was submitted. It was not passed last year, in part, due to concerns raised by some legislators over whether the tribe sought to pursue gaming.
But on Monday, Mr. Weeden said the tribe's goals in seeking federal recognition do not include gaming. Instead, they are more philanthropic.
"We've voted on more than one occasion to not be a gaming tribe," he said. Instead, "we'd really be doing the same things now. What if we were able to seek federal grants in Rhode Island? What if we were able to have money come into the state?"
The tribe's main asset is its history, he said, but much of its tangible history, including the ancestral lands upon which Pokanokets lived for hundreds of years, have been lost. The tribe wants to preserve as much ancestral land as possible, and gaining federal recognition would help that goal, he said.
"You have a certain amount of responsibility to do the right thing, and that's not just for your children, but for seven generations," said Mr. Weeden.
Though the tribe has no legal authority, it has already helped preserve several stretches of archaeologically significant land in Bristol and Barrington.
Several members of the Pokanokets' governing council sit on the Waypoyset Preserve Trust, which five years ago purchased a 22-acre preserve that was in danger of being developed. The land, north of Narrows Road, contains evidence of Native American habitation dating back thousands of years. And last year, the Pokanokets allied with the Barrington Land Conservation Trust to help preserve a similarly significant tract of land adjacent to Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington.
The tribe would like to continue with such efforts, and getting recognition would certainly give it more clout, he said.
"When we get money coming to us, we're not going to change," he said. "We're going to continue to fight for the rights of people to enjoy the country."
Mr. Weeden took over as president of the Pokanokets from his uncle Paul "Deer Foot" Weeden, in 2004. Though the Pokanokets still keep an office at the former King Philip Inn on Metacom Avenue, Mr. Weeden said an eventual goal is to establish a free-standing office of its own.
"We would like to have something that we can call our own," he said. "That's very important to us. "
By Ted Hayes
thayes@eastbaynewspapers.com