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125-616: During the seventeenth century, the Hockomock Swamp was used as a fortress by the Wampanoag , the predominating tribe of natives in the area, against invasion by early English settlers. It played a role in King Philip's War as a strategic base of operations for Metacomet (also known as King Philip) to launch assaults upon nearby English settlements. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Euro-American settlers deemed

250-622: A Colorado mine, and accidentally released over three million gallons of waste water into Cement Creek and the Animas River . In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization , cited research linking glyphosate , an ingredient of the weed killer Roundup manufactured by the chemical company Monsanto , to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma . In March 2017,

375-511: A Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and formerly parts of eastern Rhode Island . Their historical territory includes the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket . Today, two Wampanoag tribes are federally recognized : The Wampanoag language , also known as Massachusett , is a Southern New England Algonquian language. Prior to English contact in

500-681: A casino . The tribe has moved its plans to Taunton, Massachusetts , but their territorial rights have been challenged by the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation , an organization not recognized as a tribe . United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed

625-616: A leptospirosis epidemic carried by rodents arriving in European ships dramatically reduced the population of the Wampanoag and neighboring tribes. Indigenous deaths from the epidemic facilitated the European invasion and colonization of the Massachusetts Bay Colony . More than 50 years later, Wampanoag Chief Sachem Metacom and his allies waged King Philip's War (1675–1676) against the colonists. The war resulted in

750-806: A "non-white" or "colored" community. Hutchins appeared to require unchanged culture, including maintenance of a traditional religion and essentially total social autonomy from non-Indian society." A project titled "Massachusetts Native Peoples and the Social Contract: A Reassessment for Our Times" began in 2015 to serve as an updated report on the cultural, linguistic, and economic state of Wampanoag peoples, including those from federally and non-federally recognized tribes. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe consists of more than 1,400 enrolled members who must meet defined membership requirements including lineage, community involvement and reside within 20 miles of Mashpee. Since 1924 they have held an annual powwow at

875-591: A 15-year cut of 32%, or 789 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. In 2019 it was voided and replaced by the Affordable Clean Energy rule under the Trump administration, and in 2022 its constitutionality was ruled out by the Supreme Court. In August 2015, the 2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill occurred when EPA contractors examined the level of pollutants such as lead and arsenic in

1000-526: A 2010 study suggests that the epidemic was leptospirosis , introduced by rat reservoirs on European ships. The groups most devastated by the illness were those who had traded heavily with the French and the disease was likely a virgin soil epidemic . Alfred Crosby has estimated population losses to be as high as 90 percent among the Massachusett and mainland Pokanoket . Since the late 20th century,

1125-474: A century. The project is training teachers to reach more children and to develop a curriculum for a Wôpanâak -based school. Baird has developed a 10,000-word Wôpanâak-English dictionary by consulting archival Wôpanâak documents and using linguistic methods to reconstruct unattested words. For this project she was awarded a $ 500,000.00 grant from the Macarthur Fellows in 2010. She has also produced

1250-507: A confederation in which a head sachem presided over a number of other sachems. The colonists often referred to him as "king", but the position of a sachem differed in many ways from a king. They were selected by women elders and were bound to consult their own councilors within their tribe, as well as any of the "petty sachems" in the region. They were also responsible for arranging trade privileges, as well as protecting their allies in exchange for material tribute. Both women and men could hold

1375-728: A councilor for the prior six years during which the Marshall and Abramoff scandals took place – including voting for the shunning of tribe members who tried to investigate. A challenge to Cromwell's election by defeated candidates following allegations of tampering with voting and enrollment records was filed with the Tribal Court, and Cromwell's administration has been hampered by a series of protest by Elders over casino-related finances. The Mashpee Wampanoag tribal offices are located in Mashpee on Cape Cod. After decades of legal disputes,

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1500-502: A dramatic move to the right, President Ronald Reagan in 1981 appointed Anne Gorsuch as EPA administrator. Gorsuch based her administration of EPA on the New Federalism approach of downsizing federal agencies by delegating their functions and services to the individual states. She believed that EPA was over-regulating business and that the agency was too large and not cost-effective. During her 22 months as agency head, she cut

1625-864: A failure. It appointed a supervisory committee consisting of five European-American members, with no Wampanoag. In 1834, the state returned a certain degree of self-government to the First Nations People, and although the First Nations People were far from autonomous, they continued in this manner. To support assimilation, in 1842 the state violated the Nonintercourse Act when it illegally allocated plots from 2,000 acres (8.1 km ) of their communal 13,000 acres (53 km ), to be distributed in 60-acre (240,000 m ) parcels to each household for subsistence farming, although New England communities were adopting other types of economies. The state passed laws to try to control white encroachment on

1750-533: A grammar, collections of stories, and other books. Mashpee High School began a course in 2018 teaching the language. Contacts between the Wampanoag and colonists began in the 16th century when European merchant vessels and fishing boats traveled along the coast of New England . Captain Thomas Hunt captured several Wampanoag in 1614 and sold them in Spain as slaves. A Patuxet named Tisquantum (or Squanto )

1875-620: A joint House–Senate colloquium was convened by the chairmen of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Senator Henry M. Jackson , and the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, Representative George P. Miller , to discuss the need for and means of implementing a national environmental policy. Congress enacted the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the law

2000-612: A national outcry and criminal charges against major steel companies. The US Justice Department in late 1970 began pollution control litigation in cooperation with the new EPA. Congress enacted the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, better known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). The CWA established a national framework for addressing water quality, including mandatory pollution control standards, to be implemented by

2125-511: A public record, making it controversial and difficult to rescind. So they did not open it; rather, they called Johnson and asked him to take back the draft. Johnson rescinded the draft; in July 2008, he issued a new version which did not state that global warming was danger to public welfare. Burnett resigned in protest. In April 2008, the Union of Concerned Scientists said that more than half of

2250-476: A seasonal round of fishing, planting, harvesting, and hunting. Southern New England was populated by various tribes, so hunting grounds had strictly defined boundaries. The Wampanoag had a matrilineal system, like other indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands , in which women owned property, and hereditary status was passed through the maternal line. They were also matrifocal ; when

2375-591: A second term. As a condition for accepting his appointment, Ruckleshaus obtained autonomy from the White House in appointing his senior management team. He then appointed experienced competent professionals to the top management positions, and worked to restore public confidence in the agency. Lee M. Thomas succeeded Ruckelshaus as administrator in 1985. In 1986 Congress passed the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act , which authorized

2500-757: A senior official at the Environmental Protection Agency had worked to quash a review of Roundup's main ingredient, glyphosate, that was to have been conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services ." The records show that Monsanto was able to prepare "a public relations assault" on the finding after they were alerted to the determination by Jess Rowland , the head of the EPA's cancer assessment review committee at that time, months in advance. Emails also showed that Rowland "had promised to beat back an effort by

2625-662: A ship at Plymouth. They were then sold as slaves in the West Indies . On August 12, 1676, colonial troops surrounded Philip's camp, and soon shot and killed him. With the death of Metacomet and most of their leaders, the Wampanoags were nearly exterminated; only about 400 survived the war. The Narragansetts and Nipmucks suffered similar rates of losses, and many small tribes in southern New England were finished. In addition, many Wampanoag were sold into slavery. Male captives were generally sold to slave traders and transported to

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2750-530: A total of 4,500 Wampanoag descendants. Wampanoag activists have been reviving the Wampanoag language; Mashpee High School began a course in 2018 teaching the language. Wampanoag probably derives from Wapanoos , first documented on Adriaen Block 's 1614 map, which was the earliest European representation of the Wampanoag territory. The Wampanoag translate this word to "People of the First Light." Increase Mather first recorded it in 1676 to describe

2875-580: A total of fourteen states had joined the suit—the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the EPA regulations violated the Clean Air Act. In response, EPA announced plans to propose such standards to replace the vacated Clean Air Mercury Rule, and did so on March 16, 2011. In July 2005 there was a delay in the issuance of an EPA report showing that auto companies were using loopholes to produce less fuel-efficient cars. The report

3000-460: A week later. A Christian Indian accused three Wampanoag warriors of his murder. The colonists took the three captive and hanged them in June 1675 after a trial by a jury of 12 colonists and six Christian Indians. This execution, combined with rumors that the colonists wanted to capture Philip, was a catalyst for war. Philip called a council of war on Mount Hope. Most Wampanoag wanted to follow him, except

3125-539: A young couple married, they lived with the woman's family. Women elders could approve selection of chiefs or sachems . Men acted in most of the political roles for relations with other bands and tribes, as well as warfare. Women passed plots of land to their female descendants, regardless of their marital status. The production of food among the Wampanoag was similar to that of many American Indian societies, and food habits were divided along gender lines. Men and women had specific tasks. Women played an active role in many of

3250-522: The Algonquin term meaning "place where spirits dwell." In addition to life-sustaining activities, much of the swamp served a dual purpose as a sacred burial ground. The Hockomock is occasionally referred to as the Hobomock. The Wampanoag worshiped and feared Hobomock (aka Hobbamock), the chief deity of death and disease. Hobomock, composed of human souls of the dead, was known to congregate in areas like

3375-524: The Council on Environmental Quality and Atomic Energy Commission . Upon its creation, EPA inherited 84 sites spread across 26 states, of which 42 sites were laboratories. The EPA consolidated these laboratories into 22 sites. In its first year, the EPA had a budget of $ 1.4 billion and 5,800 employees. At its start, the EPA was primarily a technical assistance agency that set goals and standards. Soon, new acts and amendments passed by Congress gave

3500-646: The Mohegans defeated the Narragansetts in a war with support from the colonists, and they became the dominant tribe in southern New England. After 1650, John Eliot and other Puritan missionaries sought to convert local tribes to Christianity, and those that converted settled in 14 Praying towns . Eliot and his colleagues hoped that the Indians would adopt practices such as monogamous marriage, agriculture, and jurisprudence. The high levels of epidemics among

3625-702: The Nauset on Cape Cod and the small groups on the offshore islands. Allies included the Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, some Pennacook , and eastern Abenaki from farther north. The Narragansett remained neutral at the beginning of the war. On June 20, 1675, some Wampanoag attacked colonists in Swansea, Massachusetts , and laid siege to the town. Five days later, they destroyed it completely, leading to King Philip's War . The united tribes in southern New England attacked 52 of 90 colonial settlements and partially burned them down. At

3750-492: The federally recognized tribes . The agency also works with industries and all levels of government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts. The agency's budgeted employee level in 2023 is 16,204.1 full-time equivalent (FTE). More than half of EPA's employees are engineers, scientists, and environmental protection specialists; other employees include legal, public affairs, financial, and information technologists. Beginning in

3875-485: The " praying Indians" from vigilantes, but also as a precautionary measure to prevent rebellion and sedition from them. Mary Rowlandson 's The Sovereignty and Goodness of God is an account of her months of captivity by the Wampanoag during King Philip's War in which she expressed shock at the cruelties from Christian Indians. From Massachusetts, the war spread to other parts of New England. The Kennebec, Pigwacket ( Pequawkets ), and Arosaguntacook from Maine joined in

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4000-576: The 17th century, the Wampanoag numbered as many as 40,000 people living across 67 villages composing the Wampanoag Nation. These villages covered the territory along the east coast as far as Wessagusset (today called Weymouth ), all of what is now Cape Cod and the islands of Natocket and Noepe (now called Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard ), and southeast as far as Pokanocket (now Bristol and Warren , Rhode Island ). The Wampanoag lived on this land for over 12,000 years. From 1615 to 1619,

4125-506: The 2009 through 2016 model years. Following notice of violations and potential criminal sanctions, Volkswagen later agreed to a legal settlement and paid billions of US dollars in criminal penalties, and was required to initiate a vehicle buyback program and modify the engines of the vehicles to reduce illegal air emissions. In August 2015, the EPA finalized the Clean Power Plan to regulate emissions from power plants, projecting

4250-554: The Bureau of Indian Affairs, the historian Francis Hutchins said that the Mashpee "were not an Indian tribe in the years 1666, 1680, 1763, 1790, 1834, 1870, and 1970, or at any time between 1666 and 1970." In his opinion, an Indian tribe was "an entity composed of persons of American Indian descent, which entity possesses distinct political, legal, cultural attributes, which attributes have descended directly from aboriginal precursors." Without accounting for cultural change, adaptation, and

4375-501: The Department of Health and Human Services to conduct its own review." On February 17, 2017, President Donald Trump appointed Scott Pruitt as EPA administrator. The Democratic Party saw the appointment as a controversial move, as Pruitt had spent most of his career challenging environmental regulations and policies. He did not have previous experience in the environmental protection field and had received financial support from

4500-580: The EPA to gather data on toxic chemicals and share this information with the public. EPA also researched the implications of stratospheric ozone depletion. Under Administrator Thomas, EPA joined with several international organizations to perform a risk assessment of stratospheric ozone, which helped provide motivation for the Montreal Protocol, which was agreed to in August 1987. In 1988, during his first presidential campaign, George H. W. Bush

4625-501: The EPA was working on its own standards, but the move has been widely considered an attempt to shield the auto industry from environmental regulation by setting lower standards at the federal level, which would then preempt state laws. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger , along with governors from 13 other states, stated that the EPA's actions ignored federal law, and that existing California standards (adopted by many states in addition to California) were almost twice as effective as

4750-448: The EPA. The EPA's inspector general had determined that the EPA's regulation of mercury emissions did not follow the Clean Air Act, and that the regulations were influenced by top political appointees. The EPA had suppressed a study it commissioned by Harvard University which contradicted its position on mercury controls. The suit alleged that the EPA's rule exempting coal-fired power plants from "maximum available control technology"

4875-475: The Eastern seaboard for seasonal fishing expeditions, and sometimes stayed in those distant locations for weeks and months at a time. The women cultivated varieties of the " three sisters " (maize, climbing beans, and squash) as the staples of their diet, supplemented by fish and game caught by the men. Each community had authority over a well-defined territory from which the people derived their livelihood through

5000-604: The Federal Water Quality Administration, which had previously been transferred from PHS to the Department of the Interior in 1966. A few functions from other agencies were also incorporated into EPA: the formerly independent Federal Radiation Council was merged into it; pesticides programs were transferred from the Department of the Interior, Food and Drug Administration , and Agricultural Research Service ; and some functions were transferred from

5125-573: The Hockomock Swamp Wildlife Management Area provides access to the public via recreational areas. Activities such as hunting, fishing, boating, canoeing, swimming and observation of and study of flora and fauna are allowed and encouraged. Major habitats include oak-conifer forest, cultivated grassland, cultivated field, emergent freshwater wetland, palustrine woodland swamp, shrub-scrub wetland, lake/pond, river/stream, and stopover areas for migratory birds. Most of

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5250-1022: The Hockomock Swamp, also produced Bifurcated points. The swamp's environment is part of the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion . It spans six municipalities in Massachusetts: Bridgewater, Easton, Norton, Raynham, Taunton, and West Bridgewater. At least 13 rare and endangered species of plant and animal reside in the Hockomock, including the Long's bulrush , ringed boghaunter dragonfly , gypsywort , Blanding's turtle , round-fruited false-loosestrife, two-flowered bladderwort , blue-spotted salamander , spotted turtle , Mystic Valley amphipod , chain fern borer moth , Plymouth gentian , eastern box turtle and common barn owl . The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (Massachusetts) owns approximately 5,000 acres within all six communities and

5375-691: The Hockomock and its immediate surrounding areas on the Taunton River have produced very important archaeological findings dating back to the Early Archaic Period of North America. The Early Archaic was approximately 9,000 to 8,000 B.P. ( Before Present ). From 1946 to 1951 the Warren K. Moorehead Chapter of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society worked under Director Dr. Maurice Robbins to unearth

5500-841: The Hockomock was protected by law. "Hockomock: Wonder Wetland" was the pamphlet received by each and every legislator at the time. Included were works by Kathleen Anderson, then Director of the Manomet Bird Observatory and Ted Williams, then Managing Editor of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Game's "Massachusetts Wildlife" magazine. The Hockomock Swamp system was designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern in 1990. 41°59′30″N 71°04′43″W  /  41.99167°N 71.07861°W  / 41.99167; -71.07861 Wampanoag people The Wampanoag ( / ˈ w ɑː m p ə n ɔː ɡ / ) , also rendered Wôpanâak , are

5625-416: The Hockomock. Thus, the terms Hockomock and Hobomock became interchangeable among non-natives when referring to the swamp or the spirit. There are many stories and legends that have become associated with the swamp. Even in modern times, it has, for some, remained a place of mystery and fear. The paranormal enthusiast community considers the Hockomock Swamp part of the " Bridgewater Triangle ." Excavation of

5750-428: The Indians may have motivated some conversions. Salisbury suggests that the survivors suffered a type of spiritual crisis because their medical and religious leaders had been unable to prevent the epidemic losses. Individual towns and regions had differing expectations for Indian conversions. In most of Eliot's mainland praying towns, religious converts were also expected to follow colonial laws and manners and to adopt

5875-690: The Mashpee Wampanoag obtained provisional recognition as an Indian tribe from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in April 2006, and official Federal recognition in February 2007. Tribal members own some land, as well as land held in common by Wampanoag descendants at both Chapaquddick and Christiantown. Descendants have also purchased land in Middleborough, Massachusetts , upon which the tribe under Glenn A. Marshall's leadership had lobbied to build

6000-534: The Pilgrims to survive their first winters, and Squanto lived with them and acted as a middleman between them and Massasoit , the Wampanoag sachem . In Mourt's Relation , initial contact between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag was recorded as beginning in the Spring of 1621. The Wampanoag suffered from an epidemic between 1616 and 1619, long thought to be smallpox introduced by contact with Europeans. However,

6125-932: The Titicut site. The Titicut Site, located along the Taunton River in Bridgewater produced thousands of artifacts dating from the Early Archaic to the Contact Period (8600 to 400 B.P.) including hearths and pits, post molds, red paint ceremonial deposits and a rectangular lodge floor. In addition to these examples of life at that time was the discovery of the Taunton River Bifurcate ( Arrowhead ). Thirteen of these points, used in hunting large game animals, were discovered. The Nunkatusset River Site, which runs from Lake Nippenicket through

6250-542: The US population. The law required EPA to enforce the standards with the cooperation of state agencies. In October 1976, Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) which, like FIFRA, related to the manufacture, labeling and usage of commercial products rather than pollution. This act gave the EPA the authority to gather information on chemicals and require producers to test them, gave it

6375-678: The Wampanoag. In 2015, the federal government declared 150 acres of land in Mashpee and 170 acres of land in Taunton as the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe ’s initial reservation, on which the Tribe can exercise its full tribal sovereignty rights. The Mashpee tribe currently has approximately 3,200 enrolled citizens. The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head currently has 901 enrolled citizens. Early 21st-century population estimates indicated

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6500-565: The Wampanoag. In 1849 they had 2,400 acres (9.7 km ) there, of which 500 acres were distributed among the tribe members. The rest was communal property. In contrast to the other reservation groups, the tribe had no guardian or headman. When they needed advice on legal questions, they asked the guardian of the Chappaquiddick Reservation, but other matters they handled themselves. The band used usufruct title, meaning that members had no legal claim to their land and allowed

6625-845: The West Indies, Bermuda , Virginia , or the Iberian Peninsula . The colonists used the women and children as slaves or indentured servants in New England, depending on the colony. Massachusetts resettled the remaining Wampanoags in Natick , Wamesit, Punkapoag, and Hassanamesit, four of the original 14 praying towns. These were the only ones to be resettled after the war. Overall, approximately 5,000 Indians (40 percent of their population) and 2,500 colonists (5 percent) were killed in King Philip's War. The exception to relocation

6750-507: The ability to regulate chemical production and use (with specific mention of PCBs ), and required the agency to create the National Inventory listing of chemicals. Congress also enacted the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in 1976, significantly amending the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965 . It tasked the EPA with setting national goals for waste disposal, conserving energy and natural resources, reducing waste, and ensuring environmentally sound management of waste. Accordingly,

6875-419: The accusations of the colonists and signed an agreement that required the Wampanoag to give up their firearms. To be on the safe side, he did not take part in the subsequent dinner. His men never delivered their weapons. Philip gradually gained the Nipmuck , Pocomtuc , and Narragansett as allies, and the beginning of the uprising was first planned for the spring of 1676. In March 1675, however, John Sassamon

7000-631: The administrator is normally given cabinet rank . The EPA has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. There are regional offices for each of the agency's ten regions, as well as 27 laboratories around the country. The agency conducts environmental assessment , research, and education. It has the responsibility of maintaining and enforcing national standards under a variety of environmental laws , in consultation with state, tribal, and local governments. EPA enforcement powers include fines, sanctions , and other measures. It delegates some permitting, monitoring, and enforcement responsibility to U.S. states and

7125-399: The agency developed regulations for solid and hazardous waste that were to be implemented in collaboration with states. President Jimmy Carter appointed Douglas M. Costle as EPA administrator in 1977. To manage the agency's expanding legal mandates and workload, by the end of 1979 the budget grew to $ 5.4 billion and the workforce size increased to 13,000. In 1980, following

7250-468: The agency in partnership with the states. Congress amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in 1972, requiring EPA to measure every pesticide's risks against its potential benefits. In 1973 President Nixon appointed Russell E. Train , to be the next EPA Administrator. In 1974 Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act , requiring EPA to develop mandatory federal standards for all public water systems , which serve 90% of

7375-447: The agency its regulatory authority. A major expansion of the Clean Air Act was approved in December 1970. EPA staff recall that in the early days there was "an enormous sense of purpose and excitement" and the expectation that "there was this agency which was going to do something about a problem that clearly was on the minds of a lot of people in this country," leading to tens of thousands of resumes from those eager to participate in

7500-579: The agency's Scientific Integrity Official, Francesca Grifo , from testifying at a House committee hearing. EPA offered to send a different representative in place of Grifo and accused the committee of "dictating to the agency who they believe was qualified to speak." The hearing was to discuss the importance of allowing federal scientists and other employees to speak freely when and to whom they want to about their research without having to worry about any political consequences. In September 2019 air pollution standards in California were once again under attack, as

7625-535: The agency. Assistant Administrator Rita Lavelle was fired by Reagan in February 1983 because of her mismanagement of the Superfund program. Gorsuch had increasing confrontations with Congress over Superfund and other programs, including her refusal to submit subpoenaed documents. Gorsuch was cited for contempt of Congress and the White House directed EPA to submit the documents to Congress. Gorsuch and most of her senior staff resigned in March 1983. Reagan then appointed William Ruckelshaus as EPA Administrator for

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7750-400: The alliance of tribes who fought against the English in King Philip's War. In 1616, John Smith referred to one of the Wampanoag tribes as the Pokanoket . The earliest colonial records and reports used Pokanoket as the name of the tribe whose leaders (the Massasoit Ousemequin until 1661, his son Wamsutta from 1661 to 1662, and Metacomet from 1662 to 1676) led the Wampanoag confederation at

7875-431: The allotment would " for ever not to be sold or given or alienated from them [his descendants] or any part of these lands." Property deeds in 1671 recorded this area known as the Mashpee Plantation as consisting of around 55 square miles of land. The area was integrated into the district of Mashpee in 1763. In 1788 after the American Revolutionary War , the state revoked the Wampanoag ability to self-govern, considering it

8000-422: The beginning of July in Mashpee . This first powwow was held at the New Light Baptist Church, at the time called Pondville Church, in Pondville, Massachusetts. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council was established in 1972 under the leadership of its first president, Russell "Fast Turtle" Peters. In 1974 the Council petitioned the Bureau of Indian Affairs for recognition. In 1976 the tribe sued the Town of Mashpee for

8125-419: The budget of the EPA by 22%, reduced the number of cases filed against polluters, relaxed Clean Air Act regulations, and facilitated the spraying of restricted-use pesticides. She cut the total number of agency employees, and hired staff from the industries they were supposed to be regulating. Environmentalists contended that her policies were designed to placate polluters, and accused her of trying to dismantle

8250-459: The censorship of environmental reports . President Obama appointed Gina McCarthy as EPA administrator in 2013. In 2014, the EPA published its "Tier 3" standards for cars, trucks and other motor vehicles, which tightened air pollution emission requirements and lowered the sulfur content in gasoline. In 2015, the EPA discovered extensive violations by Volkswagen Group in its manufacture of Volkswagen and Audi diesel engine cars, for

8375-403: The combination of pesticide programs from the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of the Interior . After conducting hearings during that summer, the House and Senate approved the proposal. The EPA was created 90 days before it had to operate, and officially opened its doors on December 2, 1970. The agency's first administrator, William Ruckelshaus , took

8500-494: The death of 40 percent of the surviving Wampanoag. The English sold many Wampanoag men into slavery in Bermuda , the West Indies , or on plantations and farms run by colonists in New England . Today, Wampanoag people continue to live in historical homelands and maintain central aspects of their culture while adapting to changing socioeconomic needs. Oral traditions, ceremonies, song and dance, social gatherings, and hunting and fishing remain important traditional ways of life to

8625-406: The discovery of many abandoned or mismanaged hazardous waste sites such as Love Canal , Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act , nicknamed "Superfund." The new law authorized EPA to cast a wider net for parties responsible for sites contaminated by previous hazardous waste disposal and established a funding mechanism for assessment and cleanup. In

8750-404: The effects of non-Indian society, Hutchins argued the Mashpee were not an Indian tribe historically because they adopted Christianity and non-Indian forms of dress and appearance, and chose to remain in Massachusetts as "second-class" citizens rather than emigrating westward (note: to Indian Territory) to "resume tribal existence." Hutchins also noted that they intermarried with non-Indians to create

8875-420: The environment. The "detailed statement" would ultimately be referred to as an environmental impact statement (EIS). On July 9, 1970, Nixon proposed an executive reorganization that consolidated many environmental responsibilities of the federal government under one agency, a new Environmental Protection Agency. This proposal included merging pollution control programs from a number of departments, such as

9000-523: The establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order . The order establishing the EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate. The agency is led by its administrator , who is appointed by the president and approved by the Senate . The current administrator is Michael S. Regan . The EPA is not a Cabinet department, but

9125-414: The event celebrated as the first Thanksgiving has been debated in the United States. Many American Indians and historians argue against the romanticized story of the Wampanoag celebrating together with the colonists. Some say that there is no documentation of such an event. One primary account of the 1621 event was written by a firsthand observer. Massasoit became gravely ill in the winter of 1623, but he

9250-548: The fossil fuel industry. In 2017, the Presidency of Donald Trump proposed a 31% cut to the EPA's budget to $ 5.7 billion from $ 8.1 billion and to eliminate a quarter of the agency jobs. However, this cut was not approved by Congress. Pruitt resigned from the position on July 5, 2018, citing "unrelenting attacks" due to ongoing ethics controversies. President Trump appointed Andrew R. Wheeler as EPA Administrator in 2019. On July 17, 2019, EPA management prohibited

9375-405: The further expansion of colonial settlements. The Wampanoag numbered only 1,000, and Philip began to visit other tribes to build alliances among those who also wanted to push out the colonists. At that time, the population colonists in southern New England was already more than double that of the Indians, at 35,000 to 15,000. In 1671, Philip was called to Taunton, Massachusetts , where he listened to

9500-591: The hazardous trades of whaling and shipping. They posit that many Wampanoag women married outside their linguistic groups, making it difficult for them to maintain the various Wampanoag dialects. Jessie Little Doe Baird , a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, founded the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project in 1993. They have taught some children, who have become the first speakers of Wôpanâak in more than

9625-417: The land should be cultivated, as the colony had leased the better sections to the whites at low interest. The original goal of creating an undisturbed center for missionary work was quickly forgotten. The state finally created a reservation on a peninsula on the western point of Martha's Vineyard and named it Gay Head. This region was connected to the main island by an isthmus; it enabled the isolation desired by

9750-474: The last Nantucket Wampanoag died in 1855. Today, there are two federally recognized Wampanoag tribes and no state-recognized Wampanoag tribes. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has about 3,200 enrolled citizens in 2023. The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) had 1,364 enrolled tribal citizens in 2019. Some genealogy experts testified that some of the tribes did not demonstrate the required continuity since historic times. For instance, in his testimony to

9875-621: The late 1950s and through the 1960s, Congress reacted to increasing public concern about the impact that human activity could have on the environment. Senator James E. Murray introduced a bill, the Resources and Conservation Act (RCA) of 1959, in the 86th Congress . The bill would have established a Council on Environmental Quality in the Executive Office of the President , declared a national environmental policy, and required

10000-635: The material trappings of colonial life. Eliot and other ministers relied on praise and rewards for those who conformed, rather than punishing those who did not. The Christian Indian settlements of Martha's Vineyard were noted for a great deal of sharing and mixing between Wampanoag and colonial ways of life. Wampanoag converts often continued their traditional practices in dress, hairstyle, and governance. The Martha's Vineyard converts were not required to attend church and they often maintained traditional cultural practices, such as mourning rituals. The Wampanoag women were more likely to convert to Christianity than

10125-587: The men. Experience Mayhew said that "it seems to be a Truth with respect to our Indians, so far as my knowledge of them extend, that there have been, and are a greater number of their Women appearing pious than of the men among them" in his text "Indian Converts". The frequency of female conversion created a problem for missionaries, who wanted to establish patriarchal family and societal structures among them. Women had control of property, and inheritance and descent passed through their line, including hereditary leadership for men. Wampanoag women on Martha's Vineyard were

10250-511: The mighty effort to clean up America's environment. When EPA first began operation, members of the private sector felt strongly that the environmental protection movement was a passing fad. Ruckelshaus stated that he felt pressure to show a public which was deeply skeptical about government's effectiveness, that EPA could respond effectively to widespread concerns about pollution. The burning Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1969 led to

10375-504: The nearly 1,600 EPA staff scientists who responded online to a detailed questionnaire reported they had experienced incidents of political interference in their work. The survey included chemists, toxicologists, engineers, geologists and experts in other fields of science. About 40% of the scientists reported that the interference had been more prevalent in the last five years than in previous years. President Barack Obama appointed Lisa P. Jackson as EPA administrator in 2009. In 2010 it

10500-846: The number of waste sites that are remediated in a given year. (In 2021 Congress reauthorized an excise tax on chemical manufacturers. ) Major legislative updates during the Clinton Administration were the Food Quality Protection Act and the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. President George W. Bush appointed Christine Todd Whitman as EPA administrator in 2001. Whitman was succeeded by Mike Leavitt in 2003 and Stephen L. Johnson in 2005. In March 2005 nine states (California, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Mexico and Vermont) sued

10625-610: The oath of office on December 4, 1970. EPA's primary predecessor was the former Environmental Health Divisions of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS), and its creation caused one of a series of reorganizations of PHS that occurred during 1966–1973. From PHS, EPA absorbed the entire National Air Pollution Control Administration, as well as the Environmental Control Administration's Bureau of Solid Waste Management, Bureau of Water Hygiene, and part of its Bureau of Radiological Health. It also absorbed

10750-469: The outbreak of the war, many Indians offered to fight with the colonists against King Philip and his allies, serving as warriors, scouts, advisers, and spies. Mistrust and hostility eventually caused the colonists to discontinue Indian assistance, even though they were invaluable in the war. The Massachusetts government moved many Christian Indians to Deer Island in Boston Harbor , in part to protect

10875-567: The passage of the Superfund law in 1980, an excise tax had been levied on the chemical and petroleum industries, to support the cleanup trust fund. Congressional authorization of the tax was due to expire in 1995. Although Browner and the Clinton Administration supported continuation of the tax, Congress declined to reauthorize it. Subsequently, the Superfund program was supported only by annual appropriations, greatly reducing

11000-427: The position of sachem, and women were sometimes chosen over close male relatives. Pre-marital sexual experimentation was accepted, although the Wampanoag expected fidelity within unions after marriage. Roger Williams (1603–1683) said that "single fornication they count no sin, but after Marriage... they count it heinous for either of them to be false." Polygamy was practiced among the Wampanoag, although monogamy

11125-417: The preparation of an annual environmental report. The conservation movement was weak at the time and the bill did not pass Congress. The 1962 publication of Silent Spring , a best-selling book by Rachel Carson , alerted the public about the detrimental effects on animals and humans of the indiscriminate use of pesticide chemicals. In the years following, Congress discussed possible solutions. In 1968,

11250-419: The presiding judge in a litigation brought about by people who claim to have developed glyphosate-related non-Hodgkin's lymphoma opened Monsanto emails and other documents related to the case, including email exchanges between the company and federal regulators. According to The New York Times , the "records suggested that Monsanto had ghostwritten research that was later attributed to academics and indicated that

11375-442: The proposed federal standards. It was reported that Johnson ignored his own staff in making this decision. In 2007 it was reported that EPA research was suppressed by career managers. Supervisors at EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment required several paragraphs to be deleted from a peer-reviewed journal article about EPA's integrated risk information system , which led two co-authors to have their names removed from

11500-419: The public welfare—a decision that would trigger the first national mandatory global-warming regulations. Associate Deputy Administrator Jason Burnett e-mailed the draft to the White House. White House aides—who had long resisted mandatory regulations as a way to address climate change—knew the gist of what Johnson's finding would be, Burnett said. They also knew that once they opened the attachment, it would become

11625-414: The publication, and the corresponding author, Ching-Hung Hsu, to leave EPA "because of the draconian restrictions placed on publishing". The 2007 report stated that EPA subjected employees who author scientific papers to prior restraint , even if those papers are written on personal time. In December 2007 EPA administrator Johnson approved a draft of a document that declared that climate change imperiled

11750-434: The reservation; some stole wood from its forests. A large region, once rich in wood, fish, and game, it was considered highly desirable by the whites. With competition between whites and the Wampanoag, conflicts were more frequent than for more isolated native settlements elsewhere in the state. In 1870, each member of the Mashpee tribe over the age of 18 was granted 60 acres of land for private ownership, effectively dismantling

11875-419: The residents moved to nearby Edgartown , so that they could practice a trade and obtain some civil rights. Christiantown was originally a praying town on the northwest side of Martha's Vineyard, northwest of Tisbury . In 1849 the reservation still consisted of 390 acres (1.6 km ), of which all but 10 were distributed among the residents. The land, kept under community ownership, yielded very few crops and

12000-415: The return of ancestral homelands. The case was lost but the tribe continued to pursue federal recognition for three decades. In 2000 the Mashpee Wampanoag council was headed by chairman Glenn Marshall. Marshall led the group until 2007 when it was disclosed that he had a prior conviction for rape, had lied about having a military record and was under investigation associated for improprieties associated with

12125-502: The same name and was located on the eastern point of that island. As the result of the sale of land in 1789, the natives lost valuable areas, and the remaining land was distributed among the Indian residents in 1810. In 1823 the laws were changed, in order to hinder those trying to get rid of the natives and to implement a visible beginning of a civic organization. Around 1849, they owned 692 acres (2.80 km ) of infertile land, and many of

12250-653: The spiritual leaders of their households. In general, English ministers agreed that it was preferable for women to subvert the patriarchal model and assume a dominant spiritual role than it was for their husbands to remain unconverted. Experience Mayhew asked, "How can those Wives answer it unto God who do not Use their utmost Endeavors to Perswade and oblige their husbands to maintain Prayer in their families?" In some cases, Wampanoag women converts accepted changed gender roles under colonial custom, while others practiced their traditional roles of shared power as Christians. Massasoit

12375-628: The spring of 1676, following a winter of hunger and deprivation. The colonial troops set out after Canonchet and took him captive. After a firing squad executed him, colonists quartered his corpse and sent his head to Hartford, Connecticut , where it was set on public display. During the summer months, Philip escaped from his pursuers and went to a hideout on Mount Hope in Rhode Island. Colonial forces attacked in August, killing and capturing 173 Wampanoags. Philip barely escaped capture, but his wife and their nine-year-old son were captured and put on

12500-420: The stages of food production and processing, so they had important socio-political, economic, and spiritual roles in their communities. Wampanoag men were mainly responsible for hunting and fishing, while women took care of farming and gathering wild fruits, nuts, berries, and shellfish. Women were responsible for up to 75 percent of all food production in Wampanoag societies. The Wampanoag were organized into

12625-526: The swamp remains untouched by development, in large part due to many years of pushing for environmental protection legislation. In 1971, approximately one year after the United States Environmental Protection Agency was established, Massachusetts House of Representatives member John Ames presented findings from several intellectual leaders in the field. A modern-day proponent of conservation, Mr. Ames ensured that

12750-412: The swamp to be worthless, barren land, and attempted to drain it and convert it into profitable farmland. Reverend and historian William L. Chaffin of Easton was an early advocate of drainage schemes. However, the natives of the region placed a higher value on the swamp. For centuries, natives had relied on hunting game there, and the swamp had gained a revered status among them. They named it Hockomock,

12875-406: The thousands of acres of common tribal lands, and by 1871, non-Mashpee land ownership of the choicest portions of land purchased from impoverished Mashpee, leading to significant loss of Mashpee land ownership. On Martha's Vineyard in the 18th and 19th centuries, there were three reservations— Chappaquiddick , Christiantown and Gay Head . The Chappaquiddick Reservation was part of a small island of

13000-846: The time the English began settling southeastern New England. The Pokanoket were based at Sowams, near where Warren, Rhode Island , developed and on the peninsula where Bristol, Rhode Island, arose after King Philip's War. The Seat of Metacomet, or King Philip's seat, at Mount Hope Bay in Bristol, Rhode Island became the political center from which Metacomet began King Philip's War, the first intertribal war of Native American resistance to English settlement in North America. The Wampanoag people were semi-sedentary (that is, partially nomadic), with seasonal movements between sites in southern New England . The men often traveled far north and south along

13125-518: The tribal council records detailing the council's involvement in this scandal via a complaint filed in Barnstable Municipal Court were shunned by the council and banned them from the tribe for seven years. In 2009 the tribe elected council member Cedric Cromwell to the position of council chair and president. Cromwell ran a campaign based on reforms and distancing himself from the previous chairmen, even though he had served as

13250-515: The tribal members free rein over their choice of land, as well as over cultivation and building, in order to make their ownership clear. They did not allow whites to settle on their land. They made strict laws regulating membership in the tribe. As a result, they were able to strengthen the groups' ties to each other, and they did not lose their tribal identity until long after other groups had lost theirs. The Wampanoag on Nantucket Island were almost completely destroyed by an unknown plague in 1763;

13375-551: The tribe members left it to get paying jobs in the cities. Wampanoag oral history tells that Christiantown was wiped out in 1888 by a smallpox epidemic. The third reservation on Martha's Vineyard was constructed in 1711 by the New England Company (founded in 1649) to Christianize the natives. They bought land for the Gay Head natives who had lived there since before 1642. There was considerable dispute about how

13500-420: The tribe's casino lobbying efforts. Marshall was succeeded by tribal council vice- chair Shawn Hendricks. He held the position until Marshall pleaded guilty in 2009 to federal charges of embezzling, wire fraud, mail fraud, tax evasion and election finance law violations. He steered tens of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions to politicians through the tribe's hired lobbyist Jack Abramoff , who

13625-526: The unanimous consent of the tribe, writing "We freely give these lands forementioned unto the South Sea Indians and their children forever: and not to be sold or given away from them by anyone without all their consents thereunto." An Indian Deed relating to the Petition of Reuben Cognehew presented a provision established by a representative of the community named Quatchatisset establishing that

13750-438: The war against the colonists. The Narragansetts of Rhode Island gave up their neutrality after the colonists attacked one of their fortified villages. The Narragansetts lost more than 600 people and 20 sachems in the battle which became known as the " Great Swamp Massacre ". Their leader Canonchet was able to flee and led a large group of Narragansett warriors west to join King Philip's warriors. The war turned against Philip in

13875-519: The way home and died shortly after. The Wampanoag were told that he died of fever, but many Indians thought that he had been poisoned. The following year, his brother Philip (Metacom) became sachem of the Wampanoag. Under Philip's leadership, the relationship changed dramatically between the Wampanoag and the colonists. Philip believed that the ever-increasing colonists would eventually take over everything — not only land, but also their culture, their way of life, and their religion — so he decided to limit

14000-562: Was a 1663 translation into Wampanoag by missionary John Eliot . He created an orthography , which he taught to the Wampanoag. Many became literate, using Wampanoag for letters, deeds, and historic documents. The rapid decline of Wampanoag speakers began after the American Revolution . Neal Salisbury and Colin G. Calloway suggest that New England Indian communities suffered from gender imbalances at this time due to premature male deaths, especially due to warfare and their work in

14125-474: Was among those Indians who adopted colonial customs. He asked the legislators in Plymouth near the end of his life to give both of his sons English names. The older son Wamsutta was given the name Alexander, and his younger brother Metacom was named Philip. After his father's death, Alexander became the sachem of the Wampanoag. The colonists invited him to Plymouth to talk, but Wamsutta became seriously ill on

14250-619: Was based on ideas that had been discussed in the 1959 and subsequent hearings. The Richard Nixon administration made the environment a policy priority in 1969-1971 and created two new agencies, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and EPA. Nixon signed NEPA into law on January 1, 1970. The law established the CEQ in the Executive Office of the President. NEPA required that a detailed statement of environmental impacts be prepared for all major federal actions significantly affecting

14375-428: Was convicted of numerous charges in a much larger scheme. Following the arrests of Abramoff and Marshall, the newly recognized Mashpee Tribe led by new chair Shawn Hendricks, continued to work with Abramoff lobbyist colleague Kevin A. Ring pursuing their Indian gaming-related interests. Ring was subsequently convicted on corruption charges linked to his work for the Mashpee band. Tribal elders who had sought access to

14500-500: Was illegal, and additionally charged that the EPA's system of cap-and-trade to lower average mercury levels would allow power plants to forego reducing mercury emissions, which they objected would lead to dangerous local hotspots of mercury contamination even if average levels declined. Several states also began to enact their own mercury emission regulations. Illinois's proposed rule would have reduced mercury emissions from power plants by an average of 90% by 2009. In 2008—by which point

14625-726: Was kidnapped by Spanish monks who attempted to convert him before setting him free. He accompanied an expedition to Newfoundland as an interpreter, then made his way back to his homeland in 1619, only to discover that the entire Patuxet tribe had died in an epidemic. In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth , and Tisquantum and other Wampanoag taught them how to cultivate the varieties of corn, squash, and beans (the Three Sisters ) that flourished in New England, as well as how to catch and process fish and collect seafood. They enabled

14750-465: Was murdered. Sassamon was a Christian Indian raised in Natick, one of the praying towns. He was educated at Harvard College and had served as a scribe, interpreter, and counselor to Philip and the Wampanoag. But, a week before his death, Sassamon reported to Plymouth governor Josiah Winslow that Philip was planning a war against the colonists. Sassamon was found dead under the ice of Assawompsett Pond

14875-667: Was nursed back to health by the colonists. In 1632, the Narragansetts attacked Massasoit's village in Sowam , but the colonists helped the Wampanoag to drive them back. After 1632, the Plymouth Colony was outnumbered by the growing Puritans settlements around Boston. The colonists expanded westward into the Connecticut River Valley . In 1638, they destroyed the powerful Pequot Confederation. In 1643,

15000-667: Was reflected in the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act and in new approaches by the agency, such as a greater emphasis on watershed -based approaches in Clean Water Act programs. In 1992 EPA and the Department of Energy launched the Energy Star program, a voluntary program that fosters energy efficiency. Carol Browner was appointed EPA administrator by President Bill Clinton and served from 1993 to 2001. Major projects during Browner's term included: Since

15125-493: Was reported that a $ 3 million mapping study on sea level rise was suppressed by EPA management during both the Bush and Obama administrations, and managers changed a key interagency report to reflect the removal of the maps. Between 2011 and 2012, some EPA employees reported difficulty in conducting and reporting the results of studies on hydraulic fracturing due to industry and governmental pressure, and were concerned about

15250-536: Was supposed to be released the day before a controversial energy bill was passed and would have provided backup for those opposed to it, but the EPA delayed its release at the last minute. EPA initiated its voluntary WaterSense program in 2006 to encourage water efficiency through the use of a special label on consumer products. In 2007 the state of California sued the EPA for its refusal to allow California and 16 other states to raise fuel economy standards for new cars. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson claimed that

15375-847: Was the coastal islands' Wampanoag groups, who had stayed neutral through the war. The colonists forced the Wampanoag of the mainland to resettle with the Saconnet (Sekonnet), or with the Nauset into the praying towns in Barnstable County . Mashpee is the largest Indian reservation set aside in Massachusetts, and is located on Cape Cod . In 1660, the colonists allotted the natives about 50 square miles (130 km ) there, and beginning in 1665 they had self-government, adopting an English-style court of law and trials. Mashpee sachems Wepquish and Tookenchosin declared in 1665 that this land would not be able to be sold to non-Mashpee without

15500-578: Was the norm. Some elite men could take several wives for political or social reasons, and multiple wives were a symbol of wealth. Women were the producers and distributors of corn and other food products. Marriage and conjugal unions were not as important as ties of clan and kinship. The Wampanoag originally spoke Wôpanâak, a dialect of the Massachusett language , which belongs to the Algonquian languages family. The first Bible published in America

15625-544: Was vocal about environmental issues. Following his election victory, he appointed William K. Reilly , an environmentalist, as EPA Administrator in 1989. Under Reilly's leadership, the EPA implemented voluntary programs and initiated the development of a "cluster rule" for multimedia regulation of the pulp and paper industry. At the time, there was increasing awareness that some environmental issues were regional or localized in nature, and were more appropriately addressed with sub-national approaches and solutions. This understanding

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