Narragansett Council approves free access to town beach for Narragansett Indian Tribe members

NARAGANSETT, R.I (WLNE) — The Narragansett Town Council voted to finally resolve a long-standing back and forth issue: beach pass access for members of the Narragansett Indian Tribe. 

The council voted in favor of the free access on a 3-2 margin, paving the way to allow members of the Narragansett Indian Tribe to have free access to the Town Beach for the 2022 season.

The two dissenting councilors cited concerns that members of the public did not have enough time to weigh in on the matter. Members of the public and Tribe spoke for several hours about the the issue.  Supporters argued the land belongs to the Narragansett Indian Tribe.

“I see these hats, t-shirts, everything named after my tribe. Perhaps we should start charging you for using our name,” Bella Noca said, a Narragansett Tribe member.

“All 3,000 tribe members are not going to go to the beach at once. All 3,000 tribe members are not going to want beach passes. This isn’t going to be this type of crazy overcrowding issue that it’s being made into,” added Rachel Weiszsmith, a Narragansett resident in favor of the approval.

However, not all in attendance were in support of the approval. Those opposed cited concerns of loss revenue.

“If you’re going to give anybody a free pass, it should be the tax payers of this town,” said Joe Cardello, a Narragansett Resident speaking against approving free passes for tribe members. 

The vote did not wave parking fees for Tribe members.