[MassHistPres] ACHP Comments on the Cape Wind Project

Tue Apr 6 15:48:50 EDT 2010

Thank you, Ms. Nicholas.  The "authority  on these matters" you mention 
claims 10,000 years of stewardship  over this amphibious resource, once dry 
land.  

Barbara Durkin 
Northboro, MA

Resources:  

Video:  Noting the extraordinary leap of faith on the  part of the largest 
assembly in the history of our nation of Native American's,  President Obama 
made a promise to have meaningful consultation with Tribes.  "Today's 
conference is not lip service" stated our President, the adopted son of  the 
Crow:  
_http://www.ncai.org/Nation-to-Nation-The-United-S.447.0.html_ 
(http://www.ncai.org/Nation-to-Nation-The-United-S.447.0.html) 
"For those not familiar with Native culture, it can be  hard to see the 
sacred spaces of America as Native people have seen them for  thousands of 
years, but most Americans would understand that you could never  build a wind 
turbine farm on top of the Gettysburg battlefield."

“The  Wampanoag were the first people of Noepe. For thousands of years 
these People of  the First Light have been partners with Noepe. From the fishing 
shores to the  inland woodlands, from the sand plains to the glacial ponds, 
the Island has  provided for its people. And the Wampanoag have given back 
through wise  stewardship of the land and sea.”  

"Brian Patterson, president of the United South and Eastern Tribes, wrote 
to  Salazar on behalf of the organization's 25 federally recognized member 
tribes to  support the Wampanoags' efforts to assure that the Cape Wind 
project is not  developed "at the expense of ancient tribal cultural and spiritual 
practice  and beliefs." 
"The waterways around the United States are not vacant spaces. They  belong 
to the history and culture of the coastal peoples of America,"  Patterson 
wrote. 
"The particular waters of Nantucket Sound are essential to spiritual  
purposes that go to the heart of the Wampanoags' identity as the People of the  
First Light," Patterson wrote. 
_http://www.wampanoagtribe.net/Pages/Wampanoag_Way/other_ 
(http://www.wampanoagtribe.net/Pages/Wampanoag_Way/other)  
_http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/national/82379187.html_ 
(http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/national/82379187.html)  
Cheryl Andrews-Maltais Chairwoman of the
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head  (Aquinnah) said in my presence when Secretary 
Salazar visited Cape Cod: 
"The idea of blasting our ancients' remains is repugnant." 
An  excellent video presentation by Tribal Historic Preservation Officers,  
THPO, The Federally Recognized Wampanoag of Gay Head Aquinnah and the 
Federally  Recognized Mashpee Wampanoag, and Dr. Tom King:    
_http://www.allmediapro.com/drtomking.html_ 
(http://www.allmediapro.com/drtomking.html)   
ENERGY TRIBUNE
Apr. 06, 2010

By David G. Tuerck executive director of the Beacon Hill Institute and  
chairman and professor of economics at Suffolk University in  Boston. 

'Against the Wind: Some Promising Developments in New England' 
excerpt: 

"Over the past few days, there have been two unrelated but promising  
developments, both in New England, in the debate over wind power. The first was  
a finding by the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation that a 
wind  project slated for construction in Massachusetts coastal waters would 
inflict  “pervasive” and “destructive” harm on the seabed and on neighboring 
historic  properties. The second was a decision by the Rhode Island Public 
Utilities  Commission prohibiting the purchase of power from eight wind 
turbines also to be  situated in coastal waters..."  
_http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm?aid=3743_ 
(http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm?aid=3743)   

1970’s 1980’s Federal and State Efforts to Make Nantucket  Sound a 
National Marine Sanctuary Several  Document links:  
_http://www.house.gov/delahunt/nansound.shtml_ 
(http://www.house.gov/delahunt/nansound.shtml)  

In a message dated 4/5/2010 12:05:03 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
Wendy_Nicholas at nthp.org writes:

In fact, the tribes have been raising  these issues since the beginning of 
the review process many years ago, and  preservationists, including the 
National Trust, have called on the lead  federal agency to take those and other 
grave preservation concerns seriously  since that time. Our voices fell on 
deaf ears, for the most part, and Cape  Wind has inaccurately but 
successfully characterized preservation concerns as  frivolous and/or late. We strongly 
support MHC's opinion and NPS's  determination of NR eligibility, both of 
which were based on information from  the tribes (the authority on these 
matters), as well as extensive research.  Viewed in light of well-established 
criteria for Traditional Cultural  Properties and NR designation, this was not 
a stretch. For information on the  historic preservation issues related to 
Cape Wind and the deficiencies of the  federal process, you might be 
interested to read _http://blogs.nationaltrust.org/preservationnation/?p=9186_ 
(http://blogs.nationaltrust.org/preservationnation/?p=9186) . 

Wendy  Nicholas  | Director,  Northeast Office
National  Trust for Historic Preservation |  7 Faneuil Hall  Marketplace, 
4th Floor. Boston, MA 02109
Phone: 617-523-0885  |  Fax: 617-523-1199 |  Email: 
_wendy_nicholas at nthp.org_ (mailto:wendy_nicholas at nthp.org) .   _www.PreservationNation.org_ 
(http://www.preservationnation.org/)   

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