The suspended leader of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts is being accused of misleading tribal members.

Chairman Shawn Hendricks was suspended during an emergency tribal council meeting. In an e-mail to tribal members, he said the tribe's lawyers did not agree that an emergency meeting was warranted.

But Mark Tilden of the Native American Rights Fund and Brien O'Connor of Ropes & Gray said they didn't consult Hendricks about the meeting. Tilden reportedly told a tribal council member that he was misled by the tribe's counsel William McDermott, who is resigning next month.

Hendricks won't be running for re-election. Some tribal council members believe he may be a target in a federal investigation that netted the tribe's former chairman.

Get the Story:
Tribe's chairman accused of misrepresenting lawyers (The Cape Cod Times 1/15)

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