A dozen residents of Mashpee, Massachusetts filed a lawsuit on October 17 alleging the misappropriation of funds by selectmen. The selectmen are accused of paying the high-profile Boston law firm Hale & Dorr to hinder the Wampanoag tribe's petition for federal recognition and land claims in the 1970s. Residents allege the appeal was filed after Bureau of Indian Affairs and Justice Department officials met with Hale & Dorr lawyers and Mashpee selectmen in April and put the December deadline for the tribe's federal recognition petition on hold. An attorney for the town council countered that the selectmen only sought the firm out for expert advice on the legal ramifications of federal recognition and that there is not evidence to support the claim that the firm was retained to impede the Wampanoag's recognition bid. The goal of the lawsuit is to prevent the use of town funds to interfere with the federal recognition process. Both sides' arguments have been heard, and they now await a decision.
