Wampanoag

The Wampanoag, also called Wôpanâak, are a Native American people from the Northeastern Woodlands. Today, they live mainly in southeastern Massachusetts and parts of eastern Rhode Island. Their traditional lands include the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

Before Europeans arrived in the 1600s, the Wampanoag had around 40,000 people living in many villages. Sadly, a sickness brought by European ships greatly reduced their numbers. Later, they fought against the colonists in a big war called King Philip's War, which caused more loss of life.

Today, the Wampanoag keep their traditions alive through stories, ceremonies, music, and dancing. There are two recognized tribes: the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). Efforts are underway to teach and revive the Wampanoag language in schools.

Name

The name Wampanoag probably comes from Wapanoos, which was first shown on Adriaen Block’s map in 1614. This was the earliest European drawing of the Wampanoag area. The Wampanoag people say this word means "People of the First Light." Increase Mather wrote about this name in 1676 when describing the tribes who fought against the English in King Philip's War.

In 1616, John Smith called one of the Wampanoag tribes the Pokanoket. Early records used Pokanoket for the tribe that led the Wampanoag group when the English started settling in southeastern New England. The Pokanoket lived near where Warren, Rhode Island is today and on the land where Bristol, Rhode Island later grew. From Mount Hope Bay in Bristol, Metacomet started King Philip's War. This was the first big war where Native American tribes fought against English settlers in North America.

Wampanoag groups and locations

List

Culture

Further information: Massachusetts

The Wampanoag people moved between places in southern New England depending on the season. The men would travel far north and south along the coast for fishing, sometimes staying away for weeks or months. The women grew important crops like corn, beans, and squash, known as the "three sisters," and also added fish and game to their food.

In Wampanoag society, women owned property and passed family status through their mothers. When a couple married, they usually lived with the woman’s family. Women could help choose leaders called sachems, while men handled matters with other tribes and in warfare. Both women and men could become sachems, and they had to discuss important decisions with others before making choices.

Language and revival

The Wampanoag people originally spoke Wôpanâak, a dialect of the Massachusett language, which is part of the Algonquian languages family. In 1663, the first Bible published in America was translated into Wampanoag by a missionary named John Eliot. He also created a writing system that many Wampanoag people learned.

After the American Revolution, fewer people spoke the Wampanoag language.

Jessie Little Doe Baird, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, started the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project in 1993. Thanks to her work, some children have become the first speakers of Wôpanâak in over a hundred years. The project is training teachers to help more children learn the language and is working on creating materials for a school that teaches Wôpanâak. Baird has created a large dictionary and other books to support the language. In 2018, Mashpee High School began offering a course to teach the language.

History

See also: Wampanoag treaty

The Wampanoag began meeting colonists in the 1500s when European ships and fishing boats traveled along New England's coast. In 1524, Giovanni de Verrazano met tribes like the Wampanoag and the Narragansett in modern-day Rhode Island. Captain Thomas Hunt captured some Wampanoag in 1614 and sold them far away. A Patuxet named Tisquantum (or Squanto) was rescued by people who wanted to teach and help him. He later joined an expedition to Newfoundland and returned home in 1619, only to find his whole tribe had passed away from a sickness.

A big sickness affected the Wampanoag between 1616 and 1619, which many thought was smallpox brought by Europeans. But a study in 2010 suggested it might have been leptospirosis, a sickness carried by rats on European ships. The groups who traded a lot with the French were hit hardest. Alfred Crosby estimated that up to 90 percent of some groups like the Massachusett and Pokanoket were lost.

In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth, and Tisquantum and other Wampanoag taught them how to grow corn, squash, and beans (called the Three Sisters) and how to fish and gather seafood. This helped the Pilgrims survive their first winters. Tisquantum lived with them and helped connect them to Massasoit, the Wampanoag leader. Records show their first meeting happened in spring 1621.

The Wampanoag are often remembered for being part of the First Thanksgiving, but many Native Americans and historians say the story is more complicated than just a happy celebration.

Massasoit got very sick in 1623 but recovered with help from the colonists. In 1632, the Narragansetts attacked his village in Sowam, but the colonists helped the Wampanoag fight them back.

After 1632, more colonists called Puritans moved into areas around Boston, and the colony grew. In 1638, they attacked the Pequot Confederation. In 1643, the Mohegans defeated the Narragansetts with help from the colonists and became a strong tribe in southern New England.

Conversion to Christianity

After 1650, John Eliot and other Christian teachers tried to teach local tribes about their beliefs. Those who joined were called to live in special villages called Praying towns. They were encouraged to marry only one person, farm the land, and follow colonial rules. Some people think the many sicknesses made some Wampanoag look for new spiritual guidance.

Different places had different rules for those who joined. In many towns, people needed to follow colonial laws and live like colonists. Leaders like Eliot used praise and rewards for those who changed their ways, not punishment. On Martha's Vineyard, Wampanoag who joined kept many of their own traditions, like how they dressed and governed themselves. They were not forced to go to church all the time and kept some of their old rituals.

More Wampanoag women joined than men. A teacher named Experience Mayhew wrote that more women seemed to believe, which caused problems because the teachers wanted families to follow strict roles for men and women. Wampanoag women usually controlled property and family leadership, so some women took on more religious roles even if it wasn’t the usual way.

Metacomet (King Philip)

Massasoit adopted some colonial ways and gave his sons English names before he died. His older son Wamsutta was named Alexander, and his younger son Metacom was named Philip. After Massasoit died, Alexander became leader but fell ill and died on the way home from a meeting with colonists. Many Wampanoag thought he was poisoned. Philip then became the leader.

Philip worried that more and more colonists would take over their land, culture, and way of life. He started building alliances with other tribes who also wanted to push out the colonists. By 1671, he had to meet with colonists in Taunton, Massachusetts and agree to give up their weapons, though he didn’t actually give them up.

Philip brought in allies like the Nipmuck, Pocomtuc, and Narragansett. They planned to start a war in spring 1676, but it began early when a Christian Wampanoag named John Sassamon told colonial leaders that Philip was planning to fight. Sassamon was later found dead, and three Wampanoag were blamed and executed. This helped start the conflict.

King Philip's War

Main article: King Philip's War

On June 20, 1675, some Wampanoag attacked colonists in Swansea, Massachusetts, starting King Philip's War. The tribes attacked many colonial towns and damaged them.

At first, many Native Americans offered to help the colonists as fighters, guides, or spies, but the colonists eventually stopped accepting their help. The colony moved Christian Native Americans to Deer Island in Boston Harbor for safety and to prevent uprisings.

The war spread through New England. Tribes like the Kennebec, Pigwacket, and Arosaguntacook from Maine joined. The Narragansetts stopped being neutral after colonists attacked them, leading to a big battle called the "Great Swamp Massacre". Their leader Canonchet escaped and joined Philip’s fighters.

The war turned against Philip by spring 1676 after a hard winter. Colonial soldiers captured and executed Canonchet. Later, Philip hid on Mount Hope in Rhode Island but was finally shot and killed in August 1676 after soldiers surrounded his camp.

Consequences of the war

With Metacomet dead and many leaders gone, almost all the Wampanoag were lost; only about 400 survived. The Narragansetts and Nipmucks also lost many people. Many Wampanoag were taken away to work far from home. The colonists resettled the remaining Wampanoag in a few towns. About 5,000 Native Americans and 2,500 colonists were lost in the war.

18th to 20th century

Mashpee

The Wampanoag on the islands stayed neutral during the war. The mainland Wampanoag were moved to live with other groups. Mashpee on Cape Cod became the largest area set aside for them. In 1660, they were given about 50 square miles there and began self-government in 1665. In 1788, the state took away their right to govern themselves. In 1834, some self-government was returned. Over time, the state took much of their land, and by 1871, many non-Wampanoag bought parts of it.

Wampanoag on Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard had three areas for Wampanoag people—Chappaquiddick, Christiantown, and Gay Head. Chappaquiddick lost land over time. Christiantown, once a place for Christian teaching, lost most of its land by 1849. The Gay Head area kept much of its land and stayed strong in their traditions. The Wampanoag on Nantucket Island were almost all lost by 1855 from a sickness.

Sachems of the Wampanoag

The Wampanoag people have had many leaders called sachems. These leaders guided their communities and made important decisions for their people.

represents a list of these sachems, showing their names and the times when they led the Wampanoag.

Current status

Today, there are two federally recognized Wampanoag tribes and one state-recognized Wampanoag tribe. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has about 3,200 enrolled citizens. The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) had 1,364 enrolled tribal citizens. The state-recognized Herring Pond Tribe has not posted their citizen records.

A project began in 2015 to update reports on the cultural, linguistic, and economic state of Wampanoag peoples.

Federally recognized Wampanoag tribes

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

Main article: Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has more than 1,400 enrolled members. They have held an annual powwow since 1924. The tribe gained federal recognition in 2007. They own some land and have plans for development, though these plans face challenges.

Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) is located in Aquinnah, Massachusetts. They have a formal land reservation on Martha's Vineyard and were recognized by the federal government in 1987. The tribe has around 1,121 enrolled citizens.

State-recognized tribe

The Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe is recognized by the state of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey granted them this recognition in 2024.

Cultural heritage groups

Further information: List of organizations that self-identify as Native American tribes § Massachusetts, and List of organizations that self-identify as Native American tribes § Rhode Island

Many groups say they are part of the Wampanoag people. The Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs works with some of these groups.

Some of these groups have said they might want to be officially recognized, but none have finished the process yet. Groups that say they are Wampanoag but are not officially recognized include:

1. Assawompsett-Nemasket Band of Wampanoags
2. Assonet Band of Wampanoags
3. Chappaquiddick Wampanoag Tribe, South Yarmouth, MA (Letter of Intent to Petition 05/21/2007)
4. Massachuset-Ponkapoag Tribal Council, Holliston, MA
5. Nova Scotia Wampanoag Council, Clark's Harbour, NS
6. Pocasset Wampanoag Indian Tribe, Great Falls, MA (Letter of Intent to Petition 1/23/1995)
7. Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe, Warwick, RI (Letter of Intent to Petition 10/29/1998)

Demographics

Notable historical Wampanoag people

Here are some important Wampanoag people from history:

• Askamaboo, a leader from Nantucket in the 1600s
• Crispus Attucks, the first person killed in the Boston Massacre
• Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College
• Corbitant, a leader of the Pocasset in the 1600s
• Massasoit, the leader who became friends with the pilgrims on the Mayflower
• Metacom or Metacomet, also called Philip, Massasoit's second son who started King Philip's War (1675–1676)
• John Sassamon, an early translator
• Wamsutta, Massasoit's oldest son, also known as Alexander
• Weetamoo of the Pocasset, a woman who helped Metacom and died crossing the Taunton River during King Philip's War; one of her husbands was Wamsutta, brother to King Philip (Metacom)

Representation in other media

The Wampanoag people have appeared in books and films. In Moby Dick, a character named Tashtego is a Wampanoag harpooneer from Gay Head, written by Herman Melville. A documentary from 2009 called We Shall Remain shows Wampanoag history from 1621 until King Philip's War.