Jul 15 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - George Brennan Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.


Officials from two federally recognized Indian tribes say they are frustrated in their attempts to protect what they consider a sacred site from becoming part of an offshore wind farm.

The two tribes want federal officials to deny a permit to Cape Wind for Horseshoe Shoal and move the proposed 130 wind turbines to another site.

In letters to federal officials, both the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) and the Mashpee Wampanoag are critical of the federally mandated consultation process and object to the final environmental impact statement.

They say the U.S. Minerals Management Service, the lead agency reviewing the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm, hasn't fully considered issues raised by the tribe and is trying to rush them into signing off on the project.

"MMS has failed its trust responsibility," said Cedric Cromwell, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council.

MMS officials declined to answer specific questions raised by the tribes.

"The Minerals Management Service continues to work in good faith with the American Indian tribes around Nantucket Sound during the Section 106 consultation process," an agency spokesman said in a prepared statement. "It would be inappropriate and not in good faith to disclose the details of our communications while discussions are still ongoing."

The tribe issue is one of the few remaining roadblocks for a final record of decision for the Cape Wind project.

"We are concerned that needless delay of the Section 106 process could delay the record of decision and, indeed, already has delayed the record of decision," said Mark Rodgers, a spokesman for Cape Wind.

The tribes make no apologies for doing all they can to protect a view "that is essential to our spiritual well-being," said Bettina Washington, historic preservation officer for the Aquinnah tribe.

Washington is particularly miffed that MMS officials canceled plans to attend the "Legend of Maushop" pageant scheduled for Saturday on Martha's Vineyard. The oral history, passed down from generation to generation of Aquinnah Wampanoag, tells the story of how Maushop, the giant Wampanoag leader, walked to Noepe, the island known today as the Vineyard, she said.

"When you come to the pageant you learn how we came to the island," she said. "This is an opportunity to show firsthand the cultural tie to (Nantucket Sound)."

A previous visit to the island by MMS in 2007 was not adequate for Aquinnah Wampanoag to demonstrate the impact the Cape Wind project will have on the tribe, she said.

"Places of cultural importance may not be directly on tribal lands. They have yet to come here to the Vineyard so we can show them where (the project) does affect us."

Both the Aquinnah and Mashpee tribes say their ancestors hunted and fished from Horseshoe Shoal, which was once dry land. They contend that archeological digs showing plant life prove the shoal was once native land and may even be a burial site.

Rodgers declined to comment on specific issues raised by the tribes but did point out that no burial site has been detected in the area proposed for Cape Wind.

"There were no human artifacts found," he said. "Just some matter that could have been remains of trees."

In the final environmental report issued in January, MMS officials concluded the impact on historic properties would be negligible.

In the one area where ancient land surfaces were found, the location of wind turbines was changed, the report indicates.

Though Aquinnah is on the opposite side of the Vineyard from Nantucket Sound, both tribes consider an unobstructed view of the horizon essential to their spiritual well-being as "People of the First Light."

"They have a trust responsibility to protect our sovereign rights and religious freedom," Cromwell said of MMS. "We are in lock step with the Aquinnah."

Both tribes say they are not anti-wind, but they want MMS and Cape Wind to explore other locations.

"I believe in wind energy, and clean energy is important," Cromwell said. "There are alternative sites out there."

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