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PLYMOUTH, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is accused of breaking into the Plimoth Patuxet Museums and stealing some items from there last month.
Chairman Brian Weeden of Mashpee is being charged with breaking and entering and felony larceny over $1200, according to the Plymouth District Court.
In a Plymouth Police report, police said they were called to the museum (previously called "Plimoth Plantation") on Nov. 8. Staff there told a responding officer that four objects were missing from the museum's Wampanoag wetu hut.
Missing were two handwoven bullrush mats which were made by a Native American employee of the museum and two bearskin rugs, which were bought from elsewhere.
Police said security cam footage from the museum showed an SUV with four people pull up to the museum parking lot in the early morning of Nov. 7. The report says three people, including the driver, were seen getting out and disappearing for about 20 minutes. The individuals were then seen returning with the missing items. Museum staff identified Brian Weeden as the driver on the video, and Mashpee Police identified one of the other people as Philip Hicks Jr.
Weeden denied involvement in the case to Plymouth Police, but the items taken from the museum were returned to the museum last week. The museum told police that the objects were worth about $10,000 in total.
Things have been tense between the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the museum in recent months. The Mashpee Wampanoag called for a boycott of the museum in late August over disrepair at the Wampanoag exhibit and other concerns. In response, the museum said it had raised half of the $4 million dollars needed for a new Indigenous programs building, and had resolved to hire more indigenous leaders whenever possible.
WBZ NewsRadio reached out to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, which had no comment on the charges.
Weeden and Hicks are set to appear in court on Jan. 5.
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