Why would Tribes claim wind farm would destroy sacred ritual (AP)?”
MASHPEE, Mass. – From a blustery perch over a Cape Cod beach, Chuckie Green gestures toward a stretch of horizon where he says construction of the nation’s first offshore wind farm would destroy his Indian tribe’s religion. The Wampanoag — the tribe that welcomed the Pilgrims in the 17th century and known as “The People of the First Light” — practice sacred rituals requiring an unblocked view of the sunrise. That view won’t exist once 130 turbines, each over 400 feet tall, are built several miles from shore in Nantucket Sound, visible to Wampanoag in Mashpee and on Martha’s Vineyard. Tribal rituals, including dancing and chanting, take place at secret sacred sites around the sound at various times, such as the summer and winter solstices and when an elder passes. The Wampanoag fight to preserve their ceremonies has become the latest obstacle — some say delay tactic — for a pioneering wind energy project that seemed at the cusp of final approval. “We, the Wampanoag people, who opened ou
From a blustery perch over a Cape Cod beach, Chuckie Green gestures toward a stretch of horizon where he says construction of the nation’s first offshore wind farm would destroy his Indian tribe’s religion. The Wampanoag — the tribe that welcomed the Pilgrims in the 17th century and known as “The People of the First Light” — practice sacred rituals requiring an unblocked view of the sunrise. That view won’t exist once 130 turbines, each over 400 feet tall, are built several miles from shore in Nantucket Sound, visible to Wampanoag in Mashpee and on Martha’s Vineyard. Tribal rituals, including dancing and chanting, take place at secret sacred sites around the sound at various times, such as the summer and winter solstices and when an elder passes. The Wampanoag fight to preserve their ceremonies has become the latest obstacle — some say delay tactic — for a pioneering wind energy project that seemed at the cusp of final approval. “We, the Wampanoag people, who opened our arms and allowe
