Water nearly reaches the dune barrier at Ballston beach, Friday, Nov. 13, 2015, in Truro, Massachusetts. Some seaside communities in New England are providing free beach access to Native Americans as the 2022 summer season kicks off this Memorial Day weekend. Earlier this month, officials in Narragansett, Rhode Island approved free seasonal beach passes for anyone with a valid identification card from the Narragansett Indian tribe.
Brian Weeden, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe on Cape Cod that traces its ancestry to the Native Americans that encountered the Pilgrims, commended the towns for taking the “symbolic steps” to recognize the importance of the ocean to their tribe's heritage. “We’re not acting like we’re doing the biggest favor to the tribe,” he said. “This is just something that we thought was right and that we can do. Hopefully it adds momentum to some kind of relationship with the tribe.”
The policy is only in place for this season so far. During council meetings, some residents spoke up against granting the free passes to nonresidents and worried about the new policy’s impact on overcrowding at the beaches. The tribe, which didn’t respond to emails seeking comment this week, has roughly 3,000 enrolled members, but a significant number are likely children under the age of 12 who would already be free to enter town beaches, Pugh said.