Jessie "Little Doe" Baird, the vice chairwoman of the Mashpee Wampanoag
Tribe of Massachusetts, apologized for comments she made at a casino hearing last week.
Baird referred to opponents as "xenophobes" and "skinheads" and "NIMBYs" at a Bureau of Indian Affairs hearing on
Tuesday. The comments sparked outrage in Taunton, where the $500 million First
Light Resort and Casino has seen support.
"On behalf of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, I want to convey my sincerest apology to anyone who was offended by my comments at the DEIS hearing at Taunton High School," Baird said in a statement, The Cape Cod Times reported. "No offense was meant toward casino opponents, the people of Taunton, or city officials. I was referring to the types of comments other tribes' land-into-trust applications have received in the past. The comments were directed to the Bureau of Indian Affairs regarding the land-in-trust comment process, which lasts 45 days."
The Citizens for Equal Rights Alliance, an anti-Indian group, opposes the casino.
Get the Story:
Tribe's VP apologizes to Taunton
(The Cape Cod Times 12/7)
$P Some Opinions:
Hal Brown: On the Mashpee Wampanoag controversy: What Jessie “Little Doe” Baird left out
(The Barnstable Register 12/9)
Frank Lagace:
Apology can’t erase underlying hatred and racism
(The Taunton Daily Gazette 12/7)
$P Federal Register Notice:
Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Fee-to-Trust Transfer of
Property and Subsequent Development of a Resort/Hotel and Tribal Government
Facilities by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (November 15, 2013)
Related Stories:
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe clarifies
comment at casino hearing (12/6)