Rene Kokmeyer: "The Cape Wind project is trying to provide us with clean and natural electricity and is now delayed by a couple of tribes that say that Horseshoe Shoal may have been used by their ancestors, they may have fished or hunted there, they may have even buried a few people there, etc.

If there is any truth to this at all, they should be proud that this area would be used for such a noble thing. It's OK for senators Kennedy and Kerry to build their castles on tribe hunting and fishing land.

If, indeed, this project is discontinued, folks might want to think about leaving here, because tribes used to fish and hunt all over the place, and this will be used as a precedent to halt any local building or construction."

Richard Elrick: "Certainly it is undeniable that the Native American population was treated abysmally by our ancestors, but it is equally unacceptable for the Aquinnah and Mashpee tribes now, in an effort to deny the badly needed Cape Wind project from going forward, to assert that they are entitled to an "unobstructed view of the horizon" because it is somehow "essential to their spiritual well-being."

Such logic would essentially make impossible the installation of any wind farm that might be visible from any location on any shore in North America, as almost all these locations were at some point the home to native populations."

Sarah Cote: "The time has come for the citizens of the Cape and Islands, the residents of the state of Massachusetts and our nation as a whole to embrace renewable energy and look beyond our views and beyond our inherent dislike of change. I adore every aspect of Cape Cod, from the nature trails to the marshes to the horizon, and I realize that in order for us to protect this unique environment we need to change the way we produce, obtain and consume energy."

Get the Story:
Rene Kokmeyer: Everyone on Earth has ancestral land somewhere (The Cape Cod Times 7/16)
Richard Elrick: Tribes silent on dumping of raw sewage into Sound (The Cape Cod Times 7/16)
Sara Cote: Vocal supporters defuse bad news on Cape Wind (The Cape Cod Times 7/16)

Related Stories:
Massachusetts tribes oppose wind turbine site (7/15)