Construction of a pre-contact Wampanoag homesite on tribal lands was approved by Tribal Council last month. The traditional homesite project will be funded through the ARP-AIRE grant and is being facilitated by Grant Manager Talia Landry.
The home site, which will hold the name Maushop’s Village, is an effort to traditionally educate the tribal community and the general public on accurate Wampanoag history and culture through interactive pre-contact homestead exhibits. The community has discussed an initiative like this for decades. A similar project was in the works in the 70s but was halted indefinitely due to outside forces.
During the planning and development stages of Maushop’s Village, there has been an emphasis on community input. A Cultural Advisory Council made up of experienced Wampanoag culture keepers was established to advise on the site’s location, how it will be built, and to work directly with contractors to ensure quality and standards are upheld through the further advancement of the project.
The homesite will be comprised of different areas that would have been seen in a traditional Wampanoag Village. There will be space for a winter homesite and a summer homesite as well as areas for gardening, mat weaving, recreation, fishing/maritime activities, flint knapping, and cooking. Educational programming will be utilized throughout to teach skills on building and dressing the site. The entire village will take up 3 acres of space at most. Maushop farm has been approved as the temporary site to begin building the summer homesite as further archeological studies take place there. The traditional structures can be easily moved if another property is able to be secured.
The timeline of this project will span through the rest of the year and will last well into 2024. Tribal members will have hands-on involvement in all phases of production, and this process will act as a way for the community to learn about and practice our traditional ways. This home site will give the tribe an opportunity to hold onto traditional knowledge while also providing an accurate cultural and historical representation of the Wampanoag people.
For further information on the project please contact Talia Landry at Talia.Landry@mwtribe-NSN.gov or by phone at 508-477-0208 Ext. 166
