Tribe builds on history of emergency preparation

Tribe builds on history of emergency preparation

The native Wampanoag people used to ease the effects of winter storms by moving their longhouses and wetus away from the coasts and burying their agricultural goods in holes they had dug in the ground.

“Our ancestors practiced emergency management principles well before our time,” said tribe member Nelson Andrews Jr., director of the Emergency Preparedness Department for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

Granny Squannit: Memories Of Mashpee Wampanoag Indigenous Recipes

Granny Squannit: Memories Of Mashpee Wampanoag Indigenous Recipes

I was looking in my archives and what pops up is a cookbook titled “Cook Book—Mashpee Baptist Church, Mashpee, Mass.” The dedication reads: “In Loving Memory, Deacon Adolphus G. Miller—Chairman of Diaconate (1978).”

This brought to mind that 40 years ago, I loved this cookbook to pieces. I found both traditional and contemporary Wamp food recipes, flavored with wisdom that originates from our ancestors and young adults.