Location: The Wampanoag formerly occupied parts of the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, Martha’s Vineyard, and adjacent islands. Nowadays, they reside in southeastern Massachusetts between the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island to the western end of Cape Cod.
Language: They speak their own language, Algonquin, north- dialect like the Massachuset, Nauset, and Narragansett.The name Wampanoag means 'eastern people' or 'people of the dawn'. They are also called Massasoit or Philip’s Indians. In the early historic records they were very commonly referred to as Pokanoket (Poncakenet).
Culture: They were semi sedentary, with seasonal movements between fixed sites. Corn (maize) was the staple of their diet, supplemented by fish and game. More specifically, each community had authority over a well-defined territory from which the people derived their livelihood through a seasonal round of fishing, planting, harvesting and hunting. The Wampanoag way of life fostered a harmonious relationship between the people and their natural environment, both physical and spiritual. Also, they respected the traditions and the elders of their nation.
History: The Pilgrims settled at Plymouth in 1620. Massasoit, the Wampanoag Chief, made a peace treaty with the English that was observed until his death in 1660. Wamsutta, (known as Alexander by the British), Massasoit's son, was charged with selling land that had been promised to the settlers. While in Plymouth, Wamsutta became ill and died later at his home. He was succeeded by his brother, Metacom (known as Philip by the English) who was able to placate the English leaders and thus, reduce the increasing tensions between the two groups. Later, he organized a confederacy of tribes to drive out the settlers. King Philip and other leading chiefs were killed during this war, known as King Philip’s War. The Wampanoag and Narraganset were almost exterminated. Some survivors fled to the interior, while others joined their kinsmen on the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard where the people had remained neutral. Disease and epidemics destroyed most of the Nantucket Indians, but mixed descendants survive to the present, particularly on Martha’s Vineyard.
The work of making a living was organized on a family level. Families gathered together in the spring to fish, in early winter to hunt and in the summer they separated to cultivate individual planting fields. Boys were schooled in the way of the woods, where a mans skill at hunting and ability to survive under all conditions were vital to his families well being. The women were trained from youth to work diligently in the fields and around the family wetu.
References:
“ Wampanoag Indians” Media3 Technologies( 1995 – 2000 )
http://www.pilgrims.net/native_americans/ April 10, 2001
http://tc.bostonkids.org/
“ The Wampaonoag” Plimoth Plantation, Inc. ( 2000-2001 ) http://www.plimoth.org/Library/Wampanoag/wamp.htm April 8, 2001
“ Wanpaonoag of Gay Head” Indian Health Service ( 2001 ) http://www.ihs.gov/FacilitiesServices/AreaOffices/Nashville/WAMPANOAG.asp
March 25, 2001 “ Wanpaonoag History ” http://www.tolatsga.org/wampa.html
Written by, Takanori Shimodate