Chairman of Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe faces recall election in September

Monday, August 19, 2019  

Two leaders of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe might soon be voted out of office.

A notice of the September 15 recall election is posted on the tribe's website. While it does not identify which leaders could be removed, The Cape Cod Times said Chairman Cedric Cromwell and Treasurer Gordon Harris are being targeted.

In the past, Cromwell has talked about efforts to remove him from office. His column in the tribe's newsletter briefly mentions the controversy.

"Disagreements can and should be a natural process within a healthy government," Cromwell writes. "It’s our responsibility – both at council and as citizens of our great nation - to disagree in a respectful way that protects the connections we all share as a tribal body and doesn’t fracture the bond that unifies us as Mashpee Wampanoag. Unity within our tribe and the love that we all share is sacred."

Cromwell has faced criticism following the Trump administration's conclusion that the tribe cannot restore its homelands through the land-into-trust process. A lawsuit challenging that determination is pending in federal court.

"Our land is sacred and we will never stop fighting for it," Cromwell states in his column.

Opponents have question how Cromwell and Treasurer Harris have handled the tribe's finances in the wake of the crisis, The Times reported.

Election date set for Sept. 15 to unseat Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe top officers (The Cape Cod Times August 18, 2019