The Cape Wind project, which would place 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound off the coast of Massachusetts, was put on hold in October when the Wampanoag Nation objected to the project, saying that their spiritual ceremonies require an unobstructed view of the sunrise. They also are objecting because they say the shoals on which the turbines would be built is a Wamapanoag burial ground. Both the Mashpee and Aquinnah tribes filed complaints with the state, saying that Nantucket Sound should be declared a traditional cultural property under the National Registry of Historic Places, an action that would add restrictions to any commercial activity on the sound. On November 6, Brona Simon, executive director of the Massachusetts Historical Society agreed that that claim has merit and deserves further study. Simon's decision now sends the question to the U.S. National Park Service for a final decision, which they must issue within 45 days. The Wampanoag refer to themselves as the People of the First Light, and sunrise ceremonies are a fundamental part of their spiritual practices and tradition.
