In 1600 the Wampanoag lived in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as within a territory that encompassed current day Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and the Elizabeth Islands. Their population numbered about 12,000. Historical Wampanoag leaders included:
* Massasoit, who met the English; * Massasoit’s oldest son Wamsutta (known by the English as King Alexander) who died under mysterious circumstances after visiting with English colonial administrators in Plymouth; * His second son Metacom or Metacomet (King Philip), who initiated the war against the English known as King Philip’s War in retaliation for the death of his brother at the hands of the English; * Sachem Weetamoo of the Pocasset, a woman who supported Metacom and drowned crossing the Taunton River while fleeing the English; * Sachem Awashonks of the Sakonnet, a woman who at first fought the English but then changed sides; and * Annawan, a war leader. -Courtesy Wikipedia
If there’s anything I can do to help bring to light important Wampanoag issues regarding the Tribe please contact me. When I wrote the song “Secrets To Tell” I purposely included the Wampanoag in the lyrics. Secrets To Tell is the first song of the story. Here’s hoping future accountings of the Landing of the Mayflower in history books includes accurate depictions of the Wampanoag Tribe. The Landing of the Mayflower is indeed a moment worth celebrating. It’s also a moment that requires acknowledgment of the brutality, pain and suffering the Wampanoag people endured as more and more immigrants came. The Pilgrims were truly America’s first immigrants and they asked the Wampanoag people for help. The rest is history.
The Wampanoag Indian Tribe of Massachusetts
WAMPANOAG PRODUCTS
The Wampanoag (Wôpanâak in the Wampanoag language; alternate spellings Wompanoag or Wampanig) are a Native American nation which currently consists of five affiliated tribes. In 1600 the Wampanoag lived in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as within a territory that encompassed current day Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and the Elizabeth Islands. Their population numbered about 12,000. Historical Wampanoag leaders included: * Massasoit, who met the English; * Massasoit’s oldest son Wamsutta (known by the English as King Alexander) who died under mysterious circumstances after visiting with English colonial administrators in Plymouth; * His second son Metacom or Metacomet (King Philip), who initiated the war against the English known as King Philip’s War in retaliation for the death of his brother at the hands of the English;
Sachem Weetamoo of the Pocasset, a woman who supported Metacom and drowned crossing the Taunton River while fleeing the English; * Sachem Awashonks of the Sakonnet, a woman who at first fought the English but then changed sides; and * Annawan, a war leader. —————– Mashpee: With the exception of the Wampanoag groups on the coastal islands, who had stayed neutral through the war, the Wampanoag of the mainland were resettled with the Saconnet, or brought, together with the Nauset, into the praying towns in Barnstable County. In Massachusetts, Mashpee, on Cape Cod, was the biggest reservation. In 1660 the Indians were allotted about 50 square miles (130 km²) there, and beginning in 1665 they governed themselves with a court of law and trials. The area was integrated into the district of Mashpee in 1763, but in 1788 the state revoked their ability to self-govern, which it considered a failure. It then appointed a committee to supervise, consisting of five white-only members.
A certain degree of self-government was returned to the Indians in 1834, and although the Indians were far from completely autonomous, one could say that this time the experiment was successful. Their land was divided up in 1842, with 2,000 acres (8 km²) of their 13,000 acres (53 km²) distributed in 60 acre parcels to each family. Many laws attest to constant problems of encroachments by whites, who stole wood from the reservation. It was a large region, once rich in wood, fish and game, and therefore desirable for the whites. Some had trouble ignoring the constantly growing community of non-whites, and so the Mashpee Indians had more conflicts with their white neighbors than the other Indian settlements in the state.
Wampanoag Indians Fact Sheet
Wampanoag Language Resources
Narragansett-Wampanoag Language Revival: Series of language revival articles, pronunciation and vocabulary charts by Dr. Frank Waabu O’Brien.
Wampanoag Language Lessons and Linguistic Descriptions
Wampanoag Sound Archives Recordings of spoken Wampanoag, Onondaga, and Highland Chontal, as well as native music. Wampanoag Scanned-in Massachusett grammar and excerpts from a collection of Wampanoag texts. Language Museum: Wampanoag: Christian prayers translated into Wampanoag.
Wampanoag Language Preservation and Usage
Speak, Cultural Memory: Article about Miami and Massachuset language revival. Wampanoag/Massachuset: Demographic information about Wampanoag from the Ethnologue of Languages.
Wampanoag Dictionaries, Audio Tapes and Language Resources
Additional Resources, Links, and References
La Lengua Massachusett: Article on the Wampanoag language in Spanish. With a language map.
Learn more about the Wampanoag Indian tribe