Latest news with #Wampanoag
Boston Globe
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘We dance for our ancestors': Mashpee Powwow marks 104 years
The Powwow is an annual three-day celebration, where Native American dancers, drummers, artists, and food vendors from around the Northeast convene in Mashpee, Mass., home of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. 'Our culture is rooted in kindness and hospitality —values that helped early English settlers find success here and still guide how we welcome others today," the Powwow program read. The Mashpee are one of two federally recognized tribes in Massachusetts and one of three remaining tribes of the Advertisement The Mashpee have lived on In 2015, the federal government granted the Mashpee Wampanoag full tribal sovereignty over 320 acres of land in Mashpee and Taunton, the tribe's website said. Approximately 3,200 people are enrolled tribal citizens, many of whom are performing at this weekend's Powwow. Advertisement Robert DeGaetano, 23, has danced for his Mashpee relatives since he was a toddler holding his parents' hands in the arena. He said he never practices for the performance, just lets the drum beat carry him across the grass. 'It's kind of like freedom,' DeGaetano, a professional boxer and artist, said. 'It's just being able to express yourself and show your culture, and you're walking in the footsteps of your ancestors.' Robert DeGaetano stands for a portrait during 104th Annual Mashpee Wampanoag Powwow in Mashpee. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff Dawn Falling Star Hendricks, a Blackfoot and Mashpee Wampanoag native, greeted old friends as she walked out of the dance arena on Saturday — the same place where she was crowned Powwow princess in 1976 and again in 1977. She went on to become an advocate for the Mashpee Wampanoag, campaigning for her tribe at the White House during Bill Clinton's administration. 'We deserve more respect, and I've been fighting for that for the longest time,' Hendricks said. 'But we haven't lost ourselves during the fight for recognition.' Now 65, the Mashpee Wampanoag healer considers the annual gathering proof of the tribe's cultural autonomy, even as this year's event coincided with Independence Day celebrations around Cape Cod. For DeGaetano, and many others in his Tribe, Independence Day stands in opposition to their Mashpee Wampanoag identity. 'I don't celebrate the Fourth of July,' he said. 'None of us really do.' Roman Isom, 9, of the Narragansett Tribe wore a headdress made of turkey feathers. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff In some ways, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is still recovering from colonization. It is slowly regaining access to some or private donations to the Native Land Conservancy, including a recent 5.1-acre donation from the estate of a Mashpee Wampanoag woman. Advertisement The Tribe has also embarked on a mission to revive the Wampanoag language, which had not been spoken since the middle of the nineteenth century. In the 1990s, Mashpee linguist 'The language was always there, but no one spoke it. There was no way to learn it,' said Eva Blake, a Wampanoag language instructor. She now helps teach it to other tribal citizens at 'The most important thing is to keep it alive for generations and it not just be a flash in the pan,' Blake added. On Saturday, the Powwow was one more example of keeping traditions alive. Nakeesha Brown, a 37-year-old hospital coordinator from Rhode Island, watched the dances with her three children, father, sister, and her sister's family. She has attended the Powwow since she was a baby, a tradition she is upholding for her kids. 'Generation from generation, we've continued with our traditions, our culture, and I just want to make sure that my kids have that instilled in them, as well,' Brown said. Sookunon Nushkeesuqot, left, and Justin Maddox drum with the Youngblood Singers. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff Lance A. Gumbs, the vice chairman of the Shinnecock Nation on Long Island and part of the Youngblood Singers drum circle on Saturday, said summer powwows are a way for tribes on the East Coast to come together around their shared past. Advertisement 'The historic trauma still exists,' Gumbs said. 'We still have our traditions, our cultures, our songs, our dances. And this is the way for us to continue to pass that down through the generations.' Jade Lozada can be reached at
New York Times
04-07-2025
- General
- New York Times
In My Parents' Gift Shop, I Learned About Being Native
Every summer from when I was old enough to make change until after I graduated from college, I worked in my family's gift store on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. I grew up in the rhythm of the store. The season began in the spring and steadily ramped up throughout the summer, reaching a crescendo with the August crowds. I learned how to fold a T-shirt and talk to strangers. But one thing I never fully got used to was customers' surprise when they found out that my family was Aquinnah Wampanoag and the few shops in our town were all owned by tribal members. Or, to be more precise, I never got used to the things they said when they found out. But even as I resisted their ignorance, I was forced to reckon with how little I knew about my own identity and community. People would tell me they wished they were Native or that they must have been in a past life because of their spiritual connection to nature. Sometimes they asked me my tribal name or wanted to take a picture with me. I still wonder what they do with those pictures. I've been asked if Wampanoags use iPhones and live in houses. Although few of them said it, I knew what they were looking for: a kind of combination of Crazy Horse legends and the infamous crying Indian from the 1971 'Keep America Beautiful' ad. When I — who spent fall, winter and spring in Newton, Mass., and would later move to New York City — didn't meet those expectations, they often seemed disappointed. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The National
22-06-2025
- The National
Finding a city of contrasts in Rhode Island
Jamie-Lyn Daley at the beachfront Harbor Hotel Provincetown beams: 'Welcome to P'Town, we don't get many Scottish visitors but – like everyone here – you're very welcome.' The native Wampanoag people welcomed the pilgrims aboard the Mayflower too, who were blown off course here in 1620. 'I wonder what the pilgrims would have thought now,' smiles Tara as we flick through the Queer Adventure Guide & Map To LGBTQ+ Provincetown. P'Town today is far from the pilgrims' puritanical ways – rainbow flags proudly flutter along Commercial Street, with cannabis dispensaries, bijou art galleries and Scott Cakes, who plead proudly in pink, 'Legalise Gay Cupcakes'. My daughter learns about LGBTQ+ communities at school and from a web of online influences. I wonder how she'll react to this visual onslaught of progressive positivity. 'It's good to see so many people just being themselves, it's not what you might expect in America when you see all the videos on TikTok,' she says. You could lose all sense of time chilling on Commercial Street enjoying its left-field bookshops, outdoor art gallery and relaxing in the waterfront terraces that demonstrate why so many Americans flock to Cape Cod – but we're drawn to the natural world. John F Kennedy adored Cape Cod and was instrumental in the establishment of the protected Cape Cod National Seashore. We explore this world of sweeping sand dunes, big skies and cobalt waters with the help of Art's Dune Tours. Owner Robert Costa is third-generation Portuguese: 'My ancestors came here with many others from the Azores and Algarve. We found a welcome new home and we've still retain that positivity and sense of community in P'Town today.' READ MORE: Arab Strap on Kneecap, free speech and gigging in Glasgow Also finding a home in P'Town is a large community of artists who seek – and find – inspiration. Writers too. Renting a bike with Gale Force Bikes, Tara and I stumble across beach shacks in the dunes where Eugene O'Neill, Jack Kerouac and Tennessee Williams once held court. We return early one morning to hike. It's just us, the circling vultures, the odd rabbit and the hulking coyote crossing our path. It's with heavy hearts we leave P'Town, but we've another 'P' to explore – Providence. The city may now be putting itself on the tourist map, but The Wall Street Journal in 1983 savaged it as 'little more than a smudge beside the fast lane to Cape Cod'. An American friend told me 'Providence has done a Glasgow'. I see what my Providence-loving pal means. Providence's impressive renaissance has been grassroots-led with creative groups blossoming. Massive infrastructure projects have put real emphasis on riverside rejuvenation. The symbol of new Providence is 195 District Park, a green oasis staging arts events, named after the highway offramp it replaced. We take a very Providence tour. I've taken Tara to Venice, but she's never been on a gondola. 'I didn't think my first gondola ride would be in America,' she laughs with 'Giovanni' and 'Figaro'. The surreal experience of easing around with skyscrapers soaring above is heightened when they belt out commendable barcaroles. Providence's playfulness is helped by the students of Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), one of the world's great design centres; among its alumni Dumbarton-born Talking Heads frontman David Bryne. I find darker Scottish connections too. Scottish captain William Duddingston enforced taxes on shipping in 1772 with such zeal that the locals rebelled and burned his Royal Navy ship, the Gaspee. There is constant interest walking the Providence River. There are memorials to the Irish Famine, Easter Rising and the Rhode Island marines who died in the 1983 Beirut Bombing. A wee green oasis sees native trees growing riverside and fountains. Above it all is the hulking portrait of Lynsea Montanari, 24, in turn holding a portrait of a tribal elder, a reminder we're on native land. We are also in a thoroughly American city. The skyline looks like a computer game or cartoon version of a US city with hulking skyscrapers crowding around the iconic 'Superman Building'. This art deco gem looks like the offices of the Daily Planet, though sadly it is currently unoccupied – Providence's urban regeneration is promising but not there yet. Providence, though, is full of surprises. 'Popping into' the RISD Museum became a triumphant couple of hours. As well as American art, three rooms burst with world-class works. The first has Degas, Manet and Cezanne, the second Van Gogh, Pissarro and Gauguin, and the third shares two of my favourite artists with Tara – Picasso and Matisse. We found no foodie joy in P'Town, but then we didn't have Michelle. She is a larger-than-life Italian-American guide with Downcity Providence Food Tour, who graduated from Brown University. She sweeps us off to savour the brilliant Rhode Island Clam Chowder, then to the world's first plant-based food hall and on to West Africa, France and Mexico. Our time in Providence reaches a spectacular crescendo with the WaterFire burning torch show, savoured from a fantastic restaurant, Café Nuovo, where we dine on boat-fresh local seafood. It's the perfect end for a trip to two New England 'P's' that has shown a reassuringly open and welcoming side to modern America. JetBlue ( flies to Boston from Edinburgh. Tourist information at
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Former Mashpee employee files race-based discrimination complaint against the town
MASHPEE — After experiencing what she calls racial discrimination as a town employee, a woman has filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination against the town of Mashpee. Stephanie Coleman, a former administrative secretary for Town Manager Rodney Collins, filed the race, color, and retaliation complaint on March 25. The commission has scheduled an investigative conference with the town and Coleman on Aug. 6. The race specifically identified is African American. Coleman, 39, of Mashpee, identifies as Wampanoag and African American. She alleges she was underpaid compared to a white co-worker and that the town retaliated against her for speaking openly about wages. She resigned from her job Feb. 7. "Mashpee deserves a government that values fairness, integrity, and equal treatment for all employees," Coleman said in an interview with the Times. In an email on April 22 to the Times, Collins said the town strongly denies any discriminatory practices or decisions related to Coleman. The complaint is "filled with factually inaccurate information," he said. The town won't comment any further, while the matter is pending, he said. Coleman has not hired a lawyer related to her complaint against the town, she said. She was not a member of a union, and instead worked under a personnel administration plan, she said. The commission, a state agency, enforces Massachusetts anti-discrimination laws by investigating complaints in employment, housing, public accommodations, and other aspects of everyday life. There is no cost to file a complaint, and no lawyer is needed. The commission first reviews a complaint to see that it falls within its jurisdiction, according to the agency's online guide. An investigator is assigned, and the complaint is then sent to the person filing the complaint and the entity or persons named in the complaint for a response. The complainant can then give an answer to the response. An investigative conference may be held, mediation may lead to a settlement, or an investigation and disposition will be made on whether unlawful discrimination may have occurred. From there, a number of avenues exist to move forward, such as appeal, settlement or a public hearing. In fiscal 2024, the commission recorded 3,553 new complaints, according to the annual report. The top three protected classes in the complaints were retaliation, disability and race. Since 2020, two other complaints were filed with the commission against the town of Mashpee, both against the town school department and school officials, according to information provided by the commission to the Times. One complaint was closed in July 2021, and the second was closed in January 2024. The commission does not confirm or deny the existence of an open complaint filed with the agency, Justine LaVoye, the press secretary for the commission said. Coleman started her work in town hall in 2017 in the town treasurer and tax collector department, and in 2023 she was working in the the four-person town manager and Select Board office with a salary of $60,000, according to the town reports. Coleman's supervisor, the administrative assistant, was making $90,000 in 2023. The four people in the office at that time were Collins, an assistant town manager, an administrative assistant and Coleman. In the 2023 town report, the Select Board describes Coleman and the administrative assistant as "vital intermediaries" with the public. In total, the town paid about 800 people for work in 2023, ranging from $241,168 for a firefighter with overtime to a building department worker for $31, according to the town report. In March 2024, Coleman learned her supervisor — the administrative assistant — was retiring. To prepare for that retirement, Coleman trained for the supervisor's position, according the the complaint. In September 2024, Collins offered another town employee, from the health department, a pay increase to assist with administrative assistant duties for the town manager's office, according to the complaint. Coleman said she learned about the pay increase because in her job she regularly handled salary paperwork. She knew the increase was higher than her pay and that she was working her normal duties and also training to replace her supervisor. She talked to an assistant town manager about it. The town then dropped the other employee's pay increase, according to the complaint. In September 2024 Coleman's supervisor retired, and she was hired in October 2024 to fill the job, at $37 an hour, according to the complaint. In November 2024, the town posted an additional administrative assistant role externally for the town manager's office, and the other town employee, from September, who is white, was hired at $45 per hour, according to the complaint. Because the pay was more than what Coleman was offered she asked Collins to increase her pay so it was comparable. He refused, according to the complaint. In December 2024, Coleman spoke to a town human resource manager about the difference in pay and her claim of discrimination based on race, according to the complaint. At a meeting, then, with Coleman, Collins and the human resource manager, Coleman repeated that she felt the difference in pay was discriminatory. Collins raised his voice at that meeting and said he would not be accused of being a racist, according to the complaint. On Dec. 30, 2024, Coleman formally withdrew any request for an increase in pay, according to the complaint. She became fearful, she said to the Times, that she could lose her job for speaking out. "I felt really alone. I felt no one was listening to me," Coleman said. Throughout January, 2025, Coleman continued working full time. The town gave her back pay for the extra work she performed in September and October, according to the complaint. In or around January, 2025, an anonymous letter was sent to Collins, stating that the town was paying people differently based on race, according to Coleman's complaint filed with the state agency. On Feb. 3, 2025, Collins held a meeting with Coleman and others about the letter, according to the complaint. In that meeting, Coleman denied knowing who wrote the letter. At the meeting, Collins became angry and said the letter was Coleman's fault, for discussing salaries in the office, according to the complaint. In an email Feb. 4, Coleman told an assistant town manger that she was uncomfortable in the office and wouldn't be back to work the next day, according to the complaint. Coleman was placed on paid administrative leave on Feb. 6, and told to attend an administrative hearing on Feb. 11, according to the complaint, due to unprofessional conduct and falsified sick time. Coleman denied these allegations and did not attend the hearing, the complaint stated. "This isn't about me," Coleman said to the Times. "It's about ensuring that no other employee of color faces the same discrimination and retaliation that I have endured." Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@ Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @RachaelDevaney. Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans. This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: A former secretary to Mashpee Town Manager Rodney Collins claims bias
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mass. destination makes 2025 list of top 40 family-friendly vacations
One of the world's top family-friendly vacations is in Massachusetts, according to a new report from TODAY. The top 40 list includes beaches, museums, amusement parks and outdoors meccas — and one of the entries is close to home for Bay Staters. Under its 'Historical outings' heading, TODAY lists Plimoth Patuxet Museums, also known under its former name of Plimoth Plantations Museums. 'As a Massachusetts native, Plimoth Plantation was a hot field trip destination during my school years, and for good reason,' wrote TODAY senior social media editor Kate McCarthy. 'The outdoor recreation of a 17th-century village makes kids (and adults) feel like they're stepping back into time.' The article highlights the costumed actors, Native American cooking, crafts and culture, taking home corn ground at the Plimoth Grist Mill, and of course a view of Plymouth Rock. 'You won't believe how tiny it is,' the article reads. TODAY recommends the vacation particularly with children ages 8 to 12. 'The best part is that there are actors who fully stay in character like it's the year 1627, so while there are plenty of moments to learn about what life was like then, kids will also get a kick out of asking them questions about modern life and seeing the confusion on the actor's faces,' McCarthy wrote. The museum announced its name change in 2020, saying they would be changing the name to Plimoth Patuxet in honor of the Wampanoag name for the region. More information about Plimoth Patuxet Museums can be found at Other destinations on the TODAY list include: Aspen Snowmass, Colorado Cedar Point Amusement Park, Ohio Cooperstown, New York Denver, Colorado Disney World Florida's Space Coast Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Jackson Hole, Wyoming Miami Beach, Florida Niagara Falls, New York The San Diego Zoo Sesame Place, Pennsylvania Strong National Museum of Play, New York The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Florida Waikiki Beach, Hawaii Snack, sip and sing at Boston's new underground piano bar Boston's make-your-own charcuterie board shop pops up at Cambridge hotel Here are some of the best restaurants for Mother's Day brunch in Mass. Mass. Hidden Gems: A world-class distillery in a historic mill building at GlenPharmer From Guinness to giveaways, this Irish pub in Boston is turning 25 in style Read the original article on MassLive.
