The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) last week removed brush it had placed to block a path opposite Clay Pit Road, that gave access to Lobsterville Beach. The tribe’s action followed a meeting August 9, between a representative of the town’s three-member board of selectmen, Aquinnah town counsel, and the tribal council.
The blocked path had threatened to become a line in the sand over which the limits of the 1983 settlement agreement that led to federal recognition
Continue reading Tribe reopens Clay Pit path with call for dialog…
In December 2004, the state Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) is subject to local enforcement of zoning regulations with respect to the construction of a small shed on the so-called Cook Lands.
The dispute centered on the language of the 1983 settlement agreement between the town, the state, the tribe, and the non-resident taxpayers of what was then Gay Head. That agreement, which was at the heart of the lawsuit that consumed
Continue reading Editorial : Town-tribe relations may need to add a kind of Bill of Rights…
A sandy path to Lobsterville Beach in Aquinnah has been reopened to the public, halting, at least for now, a contentious land-use battle between the town and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).
In a letter to the Aquinnah selectmen dated Aug. 12, tribal council chairman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais confirmed that the path would be reopened.
“The tribal council will permit the town temporary foot access across the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) Trust Lands on a designated path
Continue reading Tribe Opens Lobsterville Path But Stresses Access Is Temporary…
The access path at the foot of Clay Pit Road to/from the Vineyard Sound beach has been re-opened. This is a very positive development and is part of an on-going process between the Town and the Tribe. A PDF of the letter of yesterday’s date from the Chairwoman of the Tribe regarding this matter can be read by clicking here.
We thank both the Town and the Tribe for their on-going efforts to bring this matter to a
Continue reading Lobsterville Beach Pathway Reopened…
A meeting between the town and tribe in Aquinnah has finally taken place, but no agreement has been reached on whether an access path to Lobsterville Beach, blocked off by the tribe last month with a rope barrier and a blockade of branches and brush, will be reopened.
“I met with the tribal council on Saturday, which actually for us was a historic moment, because we’ve not done that before,” selectman Jim Newman said at a meeting of the Aquinnah
Continue reading Tribe Hears Town Counsel as Path Closure Prompts Dialogue…
In order to help the Aquinnah Selectmen and the Wampanoag tribal council in their discussions about the Lobsterville beach access issue, AGHCA president Larry Holt sent the following cover letter and memorandum to town hall and to the tribe:
Click links below to view:
Cover Letter
Memorandum re: Beach Path Access (Word document)
Memorandum Regarding Access across the Common Lands to the Lobsterville Beach under the 1983 Settlement Agreement
One of the fundamental agreements underlying the settlement
Continue reading Beach Path Issue: AGHCA Offers Background Memorandum to Selectmen and Tribal Council…
The narrow, sandy path that is the subject of a scheduled meeting Saturday between a representative of the Aquinnah selectmen and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) tribal council leads to Lobsterville Beach and Vineyard Sound.
The final destination of the parties to a dispute that has erupted over the tribe’s decision to block the well used path is less clear. The dispute raises the thorny issues of tribe sovereignty and the terms of the settlement agreement that has
Continue reading Aquinnah selectman to meet with tribal council over beach path…
All seats were filled in the tiny town hall room used by the Aquinnah selectmen Thursday evening for a meeting between the town and Wampanoag tribal council members about the closure of a path to Lobsterville Beach, but one party was noticeably absent: the tribe.
Selectman and board chairman Camille Rose opened the special meeting with a review of the issue at hand. The tribe has roped off a sandy path located near the entrance to Clay Pit Road and
Continue reading Tribe Fails to Show for Meeting Over Blocked Lobsterville Path…
A sandy path to the sea is now the scene of a small battleground in Aquinnah between the Wampanoag Tribe and town selectmen. For reasons that remain unclear, the tribe has blocked access to the path which leads to Lobsterville Beach, and the Aquinnah selectmen are up in arms about it.
But before this tiff escalates into a costly court dispute, both sides are wise to come to the table with cool, level heads and talk about it, which is
Continue reading Peace Accord in Aquinnah-Editorial…
Six years after the conclusion of a Supreme Court case in which the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) battled with Aquinnah taxpayers and the town over sovereignty rights, a new battleground has potentially sprung up on a sandy path to the sea.
The tribe has blocked off access to the path which leads to Lobsterville Beach, and town leaders are up in arms about it.
“The taxpayers in town are being deprived of their right to access to the
Continue reading Tribe Blocks Path to Beach…
The Aquinnah selectmen plan to meet in public session at 8 am this morning with town counsel Ron Rappaport to discuss the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head’s decision to close off a path that had previously provided walking access to Lobsterville Beach.
A pile of brush blocks a pathway to Lobsterville Beach in Aquinnah. Photo by Jenna Bernstein
The path runs through briars, Rosa Ragusa and poison
Continue reading Aquinnah selectmen question tribe decision to close Lobsterville Beach path…
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