Some members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts are calling on their leaders to cut ties to two lobbyists who worked with Jack Abramoff.

The tribe hired Abramoff and the Greenberg Traurig firm in 2003 to lobby on federal recognition matters. Two firm associates, Kevin A. Ring and Michael D. Smith, worked for the tribe.

Ring has since joined another firm, Barnes & Thornburg, that continues to represent the tribe. He refused to testify at a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing. Smith's new firm, Cornerstone Government Affairs, doesn't work for the tribe, according to Senate records but is representing the Meskwaki Tribe of Iowa.

''It does bother me . . . that our tribal leadership chose not to distance themselves from lobbyists who are in question," Paula Peters, a Mashpee tribal member, told The Boston Globe.

Tribal members met to discuss the lobbyist issue. They say the tribe shouldn't be spending money to make their case, which will be reviewed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in spring 2006.

The tribe paid Greenberg Traurig $50,000 in 2003 but that money came from a gaming developer, The Globe reported. The developer also donated donated $50,000 to Americans for Tax Reform at Abramoff's urging, the paper said.

Get the Story:
Mashpee tribe got Abramoff boost (The Boston Globe 12/21)

Relevant Documents:
Summary of Acknowledgment Cases | R. Lee Fleming Declaration

Only on Indianz.Com:
Federal Recognition Database V2.0 (May 2005)

Relevant Links:
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe - http://mashpeewampanoagtribe.com

Related Stories:
Opinion: Mashpees disturbed by tribal lobbying (12/07)
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe active in Washington (12/1)
Mashpee chair gave Abramoff e-mails to FBI (11/29)
Mashpee chair gave Abramoff e-mails to FBI (11/29)
Mashpee chairman happy with Abramoff work (11/22)
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe tight on membership (10/11)
BIA assigns team to Mashpee Wampanoag petition (10/3)
Massachusetts tribe, town weigh recognition deal (09/16)
Massachusetts tribe won't make land claims (08/22)
Massachusetts tribe waits for answer on recognition (08/05)
Wampanoag teen joins tribe's Run for Recognition (07/28)
Massachusetts tribe waits for ruling on recognition (7/27)
Judge approves timeline for Mashpee recognition (7/26)
BIA proposes timeline for Mashpee recognition (7/19)
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe steers clear of Abramoff (05/23)
Judge blasts BIA for delays in recognition case (02/15)
Wampanoag tribe back to court on recognition bid (2/14)
BIA opposes Pombo's federal recognition bill (2/11)
Bill addresses slow-moving recognition process (02/07)
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe presses recognition bid (09/03)
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe rubs elbows at RNC (9/1)
House panel sympathetic to tribes on recognition (04/01)
Federal recognition process subject of two hearings (03/31)
BIA delaying decision on Mass. tribe (12/20)
Mass. town accused of hindering recognition (10/30)
Jump in recognition petitions noted (06/12)
BIA recognition staff fails pressure test (05/31)
Wampanoag leader remembered (03/08)