The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts has cut programs and suspended the salaries of council members due to a budget crisis.

The tribe gained federal recognition in May 2007. At the time, it was receiving regular payments from a wealthy investor.

But the flow of money has stopped and the tribe only has $200,000 in its general fund, according to documents released by elders, who staged a sit-in at the tribal headquarters yesterday. They want more information about the tribe's finances.

"The backers dumped us," elder Ann Peters Brown told The Cape Cod Times. "They don't want to have anything to do with us."

The tribe is the most recent to gain federal recognition through the Bureau of Indian Affairs process.

Get the Story:
Wampanoag elders again seek financial update (The Cape Cod Times 9/24)

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Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe pushed on finances (9/23)