Native Peoples

WHO WERE THE NATIVE PEOPLE?
THE WAMPANOAG

Before European colonization here in the Northeast, The Wampanoag Nation's domain extended from the Neponset estuary, south of what is now Boston, to the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, including Cape Cod and the nearby islands... Before English settlement there were 67 tribes and bands of The Wampanoag Nation... Through a combination of disease, battles and colonial encroachment many of our tribes were dispersed or destroyed.
Wampanoag Confederation Repatriation Statement

The men employ themselves wholly in hunting, and other exercises of the bow, except at some times they take some pains in fishing. The women... carry all their burdens, set and dress their corn, gather it in, seek out for much of their food, beat and make ready the corn to eat, and have all household care lying upon them. The younger sort reverence the elder, and do all mean offices, whilst they are together, although they be strangers.
Edward Winslow, Good Newes from New England

Wampanoag people have lived in southeastern New England for thousands of years. Both archaeological evidence and oral traditions suggest that Native people have lived here for 10,000 years. In the Algonquian language Wampanoag means "People of the Dawn." The Natives farmed, fished and hunted in different parts of the land in a seasonal cycle. A plague struck the northeast coast circa 1616. While many villages suffered terrible losses, others survived. One band of Wampanoag, the Pokanoket, led by sachem [chief] Massasoit, helped the Pilgrims adapt to their new land. Today there are four Wampanoag communities in southeastern Massachusetts and one in Rhode Island. Others are re-forming into active groups.

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Archaeological objects made of stone survive but represent only a small part of local Native material culture before 1600. Some activities represented by these stone artifacts are fishing, hunting, woodworking, cooking and recreation. Artifacts made of other materials, such as wood, plant fibers and hide, seldom survive.