![CCB MEDIA PHOTO Ramona Peters, left, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, along with Stephanie Pollack, Secretary of the Massachusetts Transportation Department, and Pam Stephenson, Division Administrator of the federal Highway Administration, sign a historic agreement.](https://www.capecod.com/wp-content/uploads/TRIBE333-300x200.jpg)
CCB MEDIA PHOTOS
Ramona Peters, left, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, along with Stephanie Pollack, Secretary of the Massachusetts Transportation Department, and Pam Stephenson, Division Administrator of the federal Highway Administration, sign a historic agreement.
MASHPEE – The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe signed a historic agreement Monday, a memorandum of understanding that is the first such contract between a tribe and federal and state transportation agencies.
The agreement will have the Federal Highway Administration and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation consult with Wampanoag officials before construction of transportation projects near historic Native American burial grounds and cultural resources.
In a signing ceremony Monday afternoon at the Mashpee Wampanoag Community and Government Center on Great Neck Road South in Mashpee, the government-to-government agreement is being called the first of its kind and acknowledges the special relationship tribes have with the federal government.
Discussions between the three parties began in October 2014. The tribe’s director of historic preservation, Ramona Peters, led the Wampanoag effort to prepare the memorandum of understanding in accordance with section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which requires federal agencies to take into account how proposed projects impact historic properties.
![After the signing, Ramona Peters of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe shakes hands with Pam Stephenson of the Federal Highway Administration.](https://www.capecod.com/wp-content/uploads/TRIBE444-300x200.jpg)
After the signing, Ramona Peters of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe shakes hands with Pam Stephenson of the Federal Highway Administration.
Historically, Wampanoag ancestral lands included the entire eastern half of the state, according to a statement from the tribe.
“There are many transportation projects that run through Wampanoag territory,” Peters said. “And because we’re talking about pathways of our ancestors, it’s extremely important to protect and preserve our cultural heritage.”
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell lauded the Federal Highway Administration and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation for those agencies’ willingness to consult with the tribe to help preserve the historical and cultural contributions the Wampanoag have had in the founding of the state and nation, according to a statement from the tribe.
“Our people have been here for 12,000 years,” Cromwell said. “We are thrilled federal and state government leaders share our appreciation in honoring our ancestors and in forging a cooperative relationship moving forward.”