Lesson updated Nov. 26, 2024. For a Google doc version of this lesson, click here.
We know that we, the Mashpee Wampanoag, have occupied the same region for over 12,000 years. But what many do not know today is that we are in a struggle to maintain homelands that were placed in trust by the United States of America Department of the Interior in 2015- some 400 years after sustained European contact and settlement and the same number of years of struggle to maintain our homelands.
Also lost on most is the level of irony in this situation- that while the Tribe struggles to ensure that these lands are not taken out of trust -we, along with 8 other sister tribes, paved the way for the formation of these United States via treaties and Indian Land Title granted to the Pilgrims on lands within the very same territory that is now being stripped away. — Jessie Little Doe Baird, Sept. 2018
Introduction
With the Thanksgiving holiday in mind, students will learn about today's Wampanoag People, the Native people who welcomed the Pilgrims at Plymouth nearly 400 years ago only to have atrocities ensue against them by the same group. "The lands of the Mashpee Wampanoag Reservation today represent less than one half of one percent of our original territory," according to Jessie Little Doe Baird, Mashpee Wampanoag, "a mere scrap of our original territory - and this reservation is vital to the future sustainability of our tribal nation; a nation central to the history of the United States."
You can learn more about Jessie Little Doe Baird in this video lesson by PBS Learning Media.
Overview
In this lesson, students will study the story of Thanksgiving from the Wampanoags' perspective. Throughout the lesson, keep in mind that Native news continues to this today and is made up of exciting and important events.
For example, did you know the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) just held elections? Check out the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's website to learn about the Tribe today and see Native news sites, including ICT News (Indian Country Today) and National Native News.
Students will also decide to examine one of three current issues that have faced members of Wampanoag tribes in recent years, including the continued fight for their ancestral lands, preservation of native language and the right to build gambling casinos.
A variety of extension activities are also included. You may wish to use one of those for a shorter lesson.
Subject(s)
Social studies, U.S. History, English, Government
Estimated time
One 45-minute period (or with extension activities, two 45-minute periods)
Grade level
Grades 6-12
Objective
Students will learn about today’s Wampanoag People, the Native American tribe who interacted with the Pilgrims at Plymouth nearly 400 years ago.
Students will also examine current issues in which Wampanoag tribes continue to fight for their homelands and preserve their Native language for future generations and discuss the meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Main activities: Choose one of the two main activities below
1. Wampanoag side of the story:
Read the ICT News' (Indian Country Today) article by Michelle Tirado, The Wampanoag side of the first Thanksgiving story.
If short on time, read the third paragraph and the last three paragraphs of the article.
Discuss the following questions:
- How did the first arrival of European settlers at Plymouth in 1616 impact the Wampanoag tribe?
- Why do you think the story of Thanksgiving described in the article changed so radically over the years?
- What is your reaction after reading that some Wampanoag and other Native American tribes refer to Thanksgiving as the Day of Mourning?
2. Debate over land continues today in 3 different examples:
Choose one or more examples to learn about:
A. Tribal government, the U.S. Dept. of the Interior and 321 acres in Massachusetts:
Tribal sovereignty (the right of American Indians and Alaska Natives to govern themselves under the U.S. Constitution) over land originally belonging to the Wampanoag People continues to be called into question. Read both articles below.
Background: In March 2020, a federal judge in Boston ruled to take away the Wampanoag tribes’ trust status over 321 acres of land in Mashpee and Taunton, Mass. This decision was overturned by Judge Paul Friedman a few months later. The Department of Interior appealed that ruling in late July 2020, with no outcome yet upon the last update of this lesson. Be sure to check to see if there was an update on the judge's decision using a web search.
Having land "held in trust" means individuals or a group of people, in this case, Wampanoag tribes, have full control over the land to tax, develop and manage -- not the U.S. government.
Read this response from Chairman Cedric Cromwell (Qaqeemasq, Running Bear) of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe from March 27, 2020.
Read this article about Judge Friedman ruling in favor of Mashpee Wampanoag People on June 5, 2020. If short on time, just read the first 5 paragraphs.
- Who do you think is entitled to the land?
- What evidence do you think is the strongest to support your point-of-view?
- Are you surprised that we are still having debates over American Indian land hundreds of years later? How do these debates affect relationships between Native Americans and the government?
B. Family land dispute
Read the article Three witnesses speak during Vineyard land case trial; no verdict yet from judge (Oct. 17, 2022). Be sure to check to see if there was an update on the judge's decision using a web search.
- Who are the Devine family and Louisa Pocknett? What is the Vineyard Conservation Society? Who is the Kennedy family?
- What are the different arguments being made by the plaintiff and defendant?
- What do you think the judge's ruling should be?
C. Gambling debate
Read the article Court Denies Tribe Rights to Pursue Gambling on Martha's Vineyard about the Aquinnah Wamponoag's efforts to build a casino on their land. In recent years, several casinos have been built on Native American land, bringing in much needed revenue for the community.
- Why did the judge rule against the tribe in this case?
- What are some arguments for and against gambling casinos on Native American land?
- Do you think the judge's decision was fair? Why or why not?
NCSS 2024 presentation by Rebecca Gomez, director of education of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, and Joshua Carter, executive director of the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center. Credit: PBS News Hour Classroom
Extension activities
A. Teacher's note: This extension activity is based on and inspired by a discussion led by Joshua Carter (Eye of the Hawk), Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, and executive director of the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, and Rebecca Gomez, director of education of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, with teachers at the National Council for the Social Studies' (NCSS) 2024 conference. In their session, "Still here today: Pequot resilience after war and attempted genocide," Carter and Gomez asked attendees to examine different maps showing where the people of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation lived in the 1600s at the time the European colonizers arrived.
Now, take a look at the maps on this page showing the location of the Wôpanâak (Wampanoag) Tribal Nation, or if short on time, just the two maps below. What do you notice about the different maps? When were they produced? What might the sources tell you about the point-of-view or accuracy of the maps? What questions come to mind as you examine the boundaries outlined in each of the maps? How could you find out more?
Source: Native Land Digital, a Canadian non-profit organization
Tribal territories of Southern New England tribes about 1600. Source: Wikimedia Commons - Image:Wohngebiet_Südneuengland.png, as of 5 July 2006.
B. Critically reflective response: Choose one of the following questions facing Wampanoag People today and the continued role of the U.S. government and business in their lives. Have students write a one-two paragraph response and discuss it with a classmate, family member or neighbor this holiday season.
- How do these conflicts reflect the ways in which the U.S. government and business interact with Native American individuals and groups today?
- Do you think it’s possible to celebrate Thanksgiving, a day which many cherish as a time of showing thanks to friends and family, while learning about the effects of colonization on Wampanoag and other Native American peoples?
C. Check out Classroom's video lesson Native American history through one Wampanoag family's journey for truth. The lesson spotlights an organization on Martha's Vineyard that has worked for several years to revive the Wampanoag history by educating children and adults about the Native culture and traditions while also aiming to protect the planet.
Additional resources
- Read In an historic move, state formally recognizes Plymouth Wampanoag Tribe. What that means. (Nov. 23, 2024)
- Listen to this one-hour long WBUR public radio special, Wampanoag historians and activists discuss Indigenous Peoples Day (Oct. 10, 2022).
- Find out why Wampanoag tribal elder Tall Oak and fellow activists started the Day of Mourning in 1970, the same day as Thanksgiving, to tell the story of the subjugation of the Wampanoag and other Native Americans. Discuss how some members of the Wampanoag Tribe work at Plimoth Plantations as a way to share their story and let visitors know how they embrace their culture 400 years later.
- Learn more about how the Wampanoag tribe took part in the 400th anniversary in 2020 of the Mayflower's arrival at Plymouth in these two history exhibits, which provide the Native American perspective on colonization and Thanksgiving. But others Wampanoag members, including Ramona Peters, chief historical preservation officer for the Mashpee Wampanoag, did not feel like celebrating.
A wooden sign advises motorists of the location of Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal lands in Massachusetts in 2018. (Steven Senne/AP)
Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.6 Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.8 Evaluate an author’s premises, claims, and evidence by corroborating or challenging them with other information.
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