Mashpee Wampanoag Museum

For more information about the Museum events or scheduling a visit, please call (508) 477-9339. You can also stay up to date by following the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Museum on Facebook.

Through Our Doors...

Through the door of our Museum the history and culture of the Wampanoag from the Stone Age to the present is carefully detailed through a range of exhibits. First established under the guidance of the Mashpee Historical Commission, the Museum is the only one in existence devoted exclusively to Wampanoag history.

Housed in a fine example of an old half Cape Cod house, the Museum contains displays of ancient artifacts and other Native American heirlooms that form a chronological commentary on life among the Wampanoag for thousands of years. Displays include a variety of tools, baskets, hunting and fishing implements, weapons and domestic utensils. The focal point in the exhibits is a large diorama depicting a typical scene from an early Wampanoag settlement.

Visit the Museum

414 Main Street
Mashpee, MA 02649

P: 508-477-9339
 

Admission

Adults $8  
Children (6-18) $5
Groups (3 or more people) $6.00
Seniors $7

The Mashpee Wampanoag Museum is Managed by the Tribal Historic Preservation Office.

Phone: 508-477-0208 ext. 102

400 Years Ago: A New exhibit at the museum

In 2020 The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe designed and fabricatde a museum exhibit called “400 Years Ago” in response to the Plymouth 400, 1620/2020 commemorative events, marking the anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower in Wampanoag territory. The Mayflower landing took place 24 miles north of Mashpee. The impact it had upon Wampanoag people is a story only Wampanoag people can truly tell.

This exhibit allows the visitor to explore the events and cultural implications during the first five
years of the English settlement at what has become known as Plymouth, MA. The story itself is difficult to tell; colonization is a delicate matter that we hope to approach in a mature comprehensive way for the variety of age groups and language abilities.

This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

the Museum...

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Museum was a dream, then a passion of Amelia Peters Bingham, in which she saw the opportunity to highlight the rich indigenous culture and historic significance of the Town of Mashpee, on Cape Cod, known as the Land of the Wampanoag. The idea also coincided with the 100th anniversary of the 1870 incorporation of the Town of Mashpee. The Native Community embraced the concept of self-determination to show the world who we are and how we survived the conquest of America.

The Bourne-Avant house situated on Snake Pond Road, also known as Main Street or Route 130, was chosen as an ideal historic structure to start this small museum. This building is one of the oldest remaining homesteads located near the historic center of town, adjacent to the Mashpee River and the Herring Run across from the Mill Pond and within close proximity to the Mashpee Wakeby Lake. It was originally built approximately 1793 by Sherjashub Bourne, great grandson of the missionary Richard Bourne.

Since that time there have been many occupants of this historic dwelling the last being George and Mabel (Nakoomis) Avant. For many years Mabel fulfilled a variety of roles including Town Clerk, Tribal Historian, and mortician. This house was considered the story telling center as Mabel is remembered for this very important role.

The Museum is the geographic core of the Mashpee Wampanoag people. Eighty-five percent of Wampanoag people live within 20 miles of the Museum.

The Restoration...

During the May 1997 Annual Town Meeting it was unanimously voted to transfer this building and its contents to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council.

This major renovation project is expected to exceed $220,000 and will include a new roof, gutters, sills and windows. A separate project will be to renovate the parking lot and create a drainage system to protect the Mashpee River from road runoff. The Museum was placed on to the National Register of Historic Places in January 1999.

The return of our Museum, housed in this historic building provides exciting opportunities to portray our history from our own perspective. The museum will be the centerpiece of a long-range plan that includes the Parsonage across the street, the Herring Flume recreating the Bourne Mill and a Traditional Village setting on adjacent private property.

For this endeavor to come to fruition, it will be necessary to initiate an aggressive fundraising campaign. This campaign will concentrate not only on the building renovation at hand, but also to develop new and innovative exhibits and educational programs. We can only achieve this goal with a network of friends and supporters.

The Museum falls under the administration of the Historic Preservation Department.

Grant Opportunity for Artists

Deadline : October 26th, 2024

Mass Cultural Council believes creativity is the key to solving many of society’s concerns. Advancing this asset helps to make the Commonwealth a preeminent place in the nation for it to thrive.

Grants for Creative Individuals are unrestricted grants of $5,000 to Massachusetts artists, culture bearers, and creative practitioners to equitably advance creative expression throughout our diverse communities.

We encourage you to apply if you are:

An artist, culture bearer, or creative practitioner active in any artistic/creative discipline. For this program, the definition of “artist/culture bearer/creative practitioner” includes individuals whose creative expression is based in: community-based arts, crafts, dance, design, digital, film/video, folk/world/traditional arts, native/indigenous arts, literature, music, performance, photography, theater, and visual arts.

If you have any questions about whether your work is eligible for this grant, contact us.

AND you meet all the following requirements:

• You are 18 years of age or older.

• You are a full-year resident of Massachusetts for calendar year 2024 continuing through June 2025. This means you maintain your “legal residence” in Massachusetts, and you meet the definition of a “full-year resident”. Both terms are defined in the Massachusetts tax code.

• You are not currently enrolled at a college or university as a full-time undergraduate student or as a graduate student in the arts.

• You did not receive a Grants for Creative Individuals grant, Cultural Sector Recovery Grant, Artist Fellowship grant, or a Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grant over $2,000 in 2022, 2023, or 2024.

• You are not a governor-appointed Mass Cultural Council member. Mass Cultural Council staff and family are likewise ineligible to apply.