It would appear that the Wampanoag Tribe is conceding a bit of defeat here…

The Mashpee Wampanoag are still focusing their attention on opening an Indian casino in Middleboro, but the tribe’s new leaders say it’s not their singular focus.

With well-documented hurdles to that plan — a Supreme Court decision that limits taking land into trust for tribes recognized after 1934 and a recession, among other things — tribe Chairman Cedric Cromwell and Vice Chairman Aaron Tobey said in a recent interview that it’s important for the tribe to diversify its efforts.

Developing renewable energy sources, wastewater treatment solutions and the possible takeover of land at the Massachusetts Military Reservation for development are just some of the possibilities on Cromwell and Tobey’s radar screens.

The ideas have not been fully developed into proposals, but both leaders see the tribe as being helpful to finding a solution to the Cape’s wastewater concerns, they said. Land at the military base could be used to develop an industrial park that might attract scientific and medical research companies using federal grants made available to tribes, Cromwell said.

Rather than bullying the state into negotiating a casino compact, the new leaders want to develop relationships with state officials that could help in the long run.

They must also rebuild some relationships in Middleboro tainted by Marshall’s lies and the scandal that followed.

The tribe will meet with Middleboro selectmen within 30 days, Cromwell said. After that, the tribe will seek meetings with Mashpee and the state.

The immediate focus is being able to take land into trust for a reservation, Cromwell said. Without it, the tribe would not have the land it needs to build housing for tribe elders and a health center, or possibly a charter school, he said.

Cromwell and Tobey do have contingency plans in the works in case land into trust is not an option because of the Supreme Court decision, they said, but declined to elaborate on what they might be.

They are also looking to President Barack Obama’s federal stimulus money to boost the tribe. Obama has targeted renewable energy with $60 billion in guaranteed loans, as well as tax credits for wind, solar and hydro projects. (Cape Cod Times, March 15, 2009)