Wampanoag History — Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aqunah)

Contents:

• GAY HEAD JOURNAL; A TOWN WH HISTORY, BUT WHOSE?
• AQUNAH RTRANT, INIC GAY HEAD PROPERTY, GO ON THE MARKET
• AQUINNAH/GAY HEAD COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, INC.; TOWN OF AQUINNAH, COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS V. THE WAMPANOAG TRIBE OF GAY HEAD (AQUINNAH); THE AQUINNAH WAMPANOAG GAMING CORPORATION; THE WAMPANOAG TRIBAL COUNCIL OF GAY HEAD, INC. CASE NOS. 19-1661, 19-1857, 19-1729, 19-1922 (1ST CIR. FEB. 25, 2021)
• GAY HEAD–AQUNAH TOWN CENTER HISTORIC DISTRICT
• GAY HEAD–AQUNAH TOWN CENTER HISTORIC DISTRICT FACTS FOR KIDS
• GAY HEAD LIGHTHOE
• WAMPANOAG TRIBE OF GAY HEAD (AQUNAH) WORKS WH FEMA TO PROTECT THEIR PEOPLE
• GAY HEAD LIGHTHOE ON MARTHA'S VEYARD IS BEG MOVED

GAY HEAD JOURNAL; A TOWN WH HISTORY, BUT WHOSE?

The Wampanoag were the first people of anctors of Wampanoag people have lived for at least 10, 000 years at Aqunah (Gay Head) and throughout the island of Noepe (Martha's Veyard), pursug a tradnal enomy based on fishg and agriculture. In 1870, over the unanimo objectns of the Wampanoag Indian rints, the Town of Gay Head was rporated. From the Wampanoag pot of view, the prcipal effect of the rporatn of Gay Head was the alienatn of Wampanoag Indian District Lands (rervatn), which was vlatn of the Feral Non-Interurse Act of 1790.

Bee the Tribe ntrolled the Gay Head town ernment for more than a century sce 1870, the effects of this alienatn were largely obscured, and the tegry of the Tribal Common Lands seemed to be aquately protected. In 1972, however, rponse to the growg potentialy for encroachment on Tribal Common Lands, the Wampanoag Tribal Council of Gay Head, Inc.

The mon lands clu the Gay Head Cliffs, Herrg Creek, and Lobsterville. The Master Plan followed several years of vtigative efforts and illtrat the prent visn of the future tribal muny Gay Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aqunah) and the Town of Gay Head entered to agreement June of 1995 to jotly provi for the health, safety and welfare of persons on Tribal Lands by providg for the e of police, fire, and medil personnel and rourc the event of disaster, disorr, fire or other emergenci arisg on Tribal Lands.

AQUNAH RTRANT, INIC GAY HEAD PROPERTY, GO ON THE MARKET

The Tribe's Aqunah Rangers are EMT certified and provi servic for both Tribal Lands and the up-island 1998, the name of the town was officially changed om Gay Head back to s former Wampanoag name of Aqunah by the state legislature, reprentg regnn of Wampanoag history the regn. A group of Indians and wh here would like that to May 15, the 191 registered voters this town on the wtern edge of Martha's Veyard will be asked whether Gay Head should change s name to Aqunah, the origal Wampanoag name for the wtern Veyard the measure succeeds, Gay Head would bee only the third Massachetts municipaly this century to rename self. Cottage Cy, also on the Veyard, changed to Oak Bluffs 1907 and Manchter, on the state's north shore, beme Manchter-by-the-Sea last procs began here last month, when Carl Widdiss, a 41-year-old Wampanoag (pronounced wam-pa-NO-og), circulated a petn that asked rints if they wanted to vote on whether Gay Head should bee Aqunah (pronounced ah-KWIN-ah), which he said means "land unr the hill.

AQUINNAH/GAY HEAD COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, INC.; TOWN OF AQUINNAH, COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS V. THE WAMPANOAG TRIBE OF GAY HEAD (AQUINNAH); THE AQUINNAH WAMPANOAG GAMING CORPORATION; THE WAMPANOAG TRIBAL COUNCIL OF GAY HEAD, INC. CASE NOS. 19-1661, 19-1857, 19-1729, 19-1922 (1ST CIR. FEB. 25, 2021)

" The hill, acrdg to tribal lore, is Peaked Hill, a knoll the neighborg town of Chilmark om which all of Gay Head n be Widdiss need 19 signatur, or 10 percent of the votg rolls, to get the qutn on the ballot; ls than two weeks, he llected 24.

He said his primary motivatn was a sire to rtore his tribe's stature the culture of southeastern New no pot has the movement to change the name foced on the 20th-century nnotatn of the word "gay, " which meant somethg que different when was affixed to this area durg the 17th century. Nowhere, at tim, has the lite balance between permanent rints and seasonal visors been more prer than Gay town tak s name om the spectacular Gay Head Cliffs, a craggy amalgamatn of red and brown clay that stretch for a e across the island's wtern promontory and plung 150 steep feet to the Atlantic Ocean.

GAY HEAD–AQUNAH TOWN CENTER HISTORIC DISTRICT

"I really thk those people would roll over their grav if we were to trash the name of Gay Head, " he said.

GAY HEAD–AQUNAH TOWN CENTER HISTORIC DISTRICT FACTS FOR KIDS

We're also proud of Gay Head. "A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn 1, Page 6 of the Natnal edn wh the headle: Gay Head Journal; A Town Wh History, but Whose?.

MARTHA'S VINEYARD —Surround by scbby beach grass, and steep, earthy, sand dun Moshup Trail wds visors and Martha's Veyard islanrs through the town of Aqunah and down to Gay Head Beach. The area, for thoands of years, has been habed by members of the Gay Head (Aqunah) Wampanoag Tribe. While the Gay Head (Aqunah) Wampanoag Tribe was ferally regnized 1987, and was succsful land-back iativ, Aqunah, ligatn ntu as Wampanoag and non-Native private land owners fight — wh the Veyard Conservatn Society, the town of Aqunah, and the Gay Head (Aqunah) Wampanoag Tribe — for accs to parcels of land along Moshup "Bud" Hardg, and his fay, have paid roughly $150, 000 tax for three parcels of anctral land on Aqunah, he said, but he is still nied accs to his land.

Deulos, who is non-Native, said Native Amerin land owners  Chappaquiddick, Dudley, Gay Head, Herrg Pond and Mashpee, who have eher lost their properti to foreclosure or are ready to sell their properti for penni on the dollar, will also benef om the bill. The most prsg threat is habat agmentatn the form of road buildg, hoe nstctn, and impacts associated wh human habatn such as lights, noise and Andrews-Maltais, chairwoman for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aqunah), is also opposed to the proposed bill and said her tribal uncil stcted her to wre a letter to legislators prott. In 2015, the Appeals Court termed that divid mon lands, nveyed to the town of Gay Head 1870, were entled to accs.

GAY HEAD LIGHTHOE

"And some of them did, " he December 1995, Deulos said property owners Andrew and Brenda Warshaw received perms to build a hoe Gay Head, which is now known as uple had already poured the foundatn and begun the amg procs for their hoe, which was north of Moshup Trail.

WAMPANOAG TRIBE OF GAY HEAD (AQUNAH) WORKS WH FEMA TO PROTECT THEIR PEOPLE

A history of land-takg Acrdg to Andrews-Maltais, historilly, land allotments  the town of "old Gay Head and old Aqunah, " were pre-cursors to the Daw Act, which was passed 1887, allowg the feral ernment to break up tribal lands. Matag and protectg tribal cultural rourc is a top prry of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aqunah).

GAY HEAD LIGHTHOE ON MARTHA'S VEYARD IS BEG MOVED

Napoleon Madison, medice man for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, built the shop 1945.