By KELLY SMITH
This Friday, Indians of the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe Wampanoag
Nation will once again try their luck in court as they attempt to
prove that the land of present-day Cumberland and parts of
Woonsocket belongs to them.
Nearly a year after the U.S. District Court dismissed their
claim, the tribe will present its arguments before the 1st Court
of Appeals in Boston, and top on its list of prime land in Rhode
Island is Rocky Point.
Early last year, tribe archivist and Warwick resident Peter
Bauer did extensive research at the Warwick library and discovered
within the Nathaniel Greene collection a deed dating back to 1661
that proves the land belonged to the tribe. The King of England
gave the deed to the tribe and, according to Chief Sachem Wilfred
“Eagle Heart” Greene, the word “forever” was used twice in the
deed promising them the land.
“Forever means forever,” he said.
This prompted the tribe, under the direction of Greene, to file
a court motion asking for some of the land back.
“What I’ve been looking for since 1997 is land for us to
sojourn upon as we see fit,” said Greene. “I don’t see it being 34
square miles. I don’t see how they [the state] can give us that,
but we would like some land.”
The motion went to court and after weeks of deliberating U.S.
District Judge William Smith said in his decision the Indians had
no right to file such a claim based on legal interpretations of
the 1978 Land Settlement Act. The Land Settlement Act was a
measure passed by Congress to resolve a disagreement between the
Narragansett Indian tribe and the state. In addition to setting
aside 1,800 acres for a Narragansett Indian reservation in South
County, the act also extinguished all other Indian land claims
against the state and federal government. According to text in
Smith’s decision, the act also “further prevented any Indian or
Indian tribe from seeking claims for damages for the lost use and
occupancy of aboriginal land,” unless a claim was made within 180
days of the bill’s passage. Accordingly, the Wampanoag land claim,
which was initiated in February of 2003, was filed nearly 24 years
after the 1978 deadline.
However, according to Bauer, though the Wampanoags do believe
they are the aboriginals of the land, it is the 1661 deed they
feel ought to be considered when granting their request.
“It’s not an aboriginal title,” said Bauer. “It’s a recognized
title from, signed and sealed by the King of England. It’s the
same as a deed to a house or a car. It’s the same given to the
colonists of this area. To say one isn’t good is to say none are.”
Additionally, Greene said he believes the act is
unconstitutional as the Wampanoag and Narragansett Indians are two
different nations. To say that one can settle land claims with the
state for the other is wrong.
“We’re separate tribes,” he said. “Why would they do that?”
Greene said he knew for years there was “a lot” of land out
there that belonged to them, but where he wasn’t sure until he and
others, including Bauer, began researching. He claims the 1661
deed proves the tribe owned 34 square miles of land.
“I pray that we win, but they [the judges] usually make it go
all the way to the Supreme Court, ” he said. “Being that we have a
deed if the three judges look at that and take that into
consideration, there could be a chance it would be settled [by
them].”
Greene said he realizes that much of the land in Cumberland and
Woonsocket is already developed. However, he said there are some
areas that the tribe would like to have, including Diamond Hill in
Cumberland.
“And there’s another piece of land I would like very much,”
said Greene. “Rocky Point. A lot of us live in Warwick today and
have lived in Warwick before.”
When asked why he was so interested in Rocky Point, Greene said
he would love to reopen Shore Dinner Hall to the public for clam
cakes and chowder – an Indian tradition.
“It would be a great tourist attraction,” he said.
Either way, whatever land, if any, the tribe would use it for
some financial gain, as well as “a place we can call home,” said
Greene.
“It’d be an asset to the State of Rhode Island, whatever we
do,” he said.
Greene said if the tribe were given Rocky Point, it would not
use it to build a casino, the moneymaker for many Indian tribes.
The Narragansett Indians have been trying for years to do so.
“Not in Rocky Point,” he said with a smile. “Maybe in
Providence.”
Greene said on the books there are about 300 members of the
tribe, 200 of which are actively involved.
“If we get back our land, we could have thousands,” he said,
laughing.
