Wampanoag

The Wampanoag are a Native American people of the Algonquian language family. Their autonym is Wôpanâak, and the people are commonly referred to by the exonym Wampanoag in English. Historically, their territory covered parts of present-day southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

In the pre-contact era, Wampanoag communities lived along coastlines, rivers, and bays, practicing farming, hunting, and fishing. They organized into a loose confederacy of towns and villages under sachems, with Massasoit being a prominent leader during early relations with English settlers.

In 1621, the Wampanoag aided the Plymouth Colony by forming an alliance with the English and by supplying food, partly through the help of Squanto, who served as an interpreter and guide. The relationship fluctuated in the following decades, and the 1675-76 King Philip's War, led by Metacomet (King Philip), devastated many Wampanoag communities, resulting in high casualties and a substantial reduction of land and autonomy.

Today, the Wampanoag are represented by two federally recognized tribes: the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Mashpee, Massachusetts, and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) on Martha's Vineyard. Each maintains its own government, cultural programs, and initiatives focused on language revitalization, land rights, and economic development.

The traditional language, Wôpanâak, is part of the Algonquian family, with ongoing efforts to revitalize it through community classes, education programs, and archival resources. The Wampanoag continue to preserve ceremonial practices, crafts, and knowledge about harvesting, fishing, and seasonal cycles.