The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is proud to have a long-standing archive documenting the Tribal community. This year, we have an opportunity for the community to contribute their personal histories to the Tribal Archive. In collaboration with UMass Boston, this project seeks to create a digital collection of individual and family stories to help preserve shared histories for Tribal members and future generations.

Community youth and elders will plan events where Tribal citizens will be invited to contribute photographs, documents, and personal stories to create a digital collection to be held by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. Working with Tribal Archivist Jackie Rider, UMass Boston will provide technical support to guide this process based on its experience with the Mass. Memories Road Show and RoPA (Roadmap for Participatory Archiving) programs. This project is funded by and produced in collaboration with the National Park Service Northeast Regional Office.

The project will place the power of cultural preservation and memory-making in the hands of the Mashpee community, creating opportunities for everyone to be remembered and pass on knowledge to the next generations. 

If you’d like to learn more, there will be an information session at the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Government and Community Center on Saturday, May 18th, 2024 from 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM.

The project is also seeking community members to join the team to plan the events and the collection of archival memories. All planning team members will meet regularly to coordinate and publicize a fall collecting event. They will recruit volunteers to be trained to work on the event day. All participants will be compensated for their time based on their respective responsibilities.

Contact Tribal Archivist Jackie Rider, jacqueline.rider@mwtribe-nsn.gov, for more information.