Funding shortages in the town of Aquinnah, Massachusetts, are renewing interest in agreements signed with the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe.

One agreement signed in 1994 calls for the town and the tribe to work together to find ways to pay town expenses related to education, police, fire and other municipal services. Another agreement requires the tribe to pay $8,000 a year to the town for emergency services.

Few people, though, seem to remember the 1994 agreement now that the town is over budget. Tribal chairwoman Beverly Wright said she had looked into seeing if the town qualified for federal impact aid but said the number of Indian students was too small.

The town says the tribe owes $40,000 under the second agreement. Wright said the tribe hasn't been billed in two years.

Get the Story:
As Aquinnah Struggles, Pact with Tribe Recalled (The Vineyard Gazette 7/2)

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