Wampanoag Tribe

The Wampanoag are a group of Native Americans of the Algonquian family whose historical territory includes southeast Massachusetts (excluding Cape Cod), and parts of Rhode Island. Wampanoag History

The Wampanoag were the first Native Americans encountered by the Pilgrims. Like most groups in the region, their numbers had been reduced by roughly 90% by the time the Mayflower landed, due to the introduction of smallpox to North America. James Madison University: The Wampanoag

Relations with the Pilgrims were initially friendly, and included the canonical first Thanksgiving, although Pilgrim lore maintained that God had arranged the near-extinction of the Wampanoag to provide empty land for colonization -- a belief that would lead to less neighborly relations as the Pilgrims grew more independent and able to provide for themselves. Jackson Snyder: The Who's Who of Thanksgiving

With a current total population of roughly 3,300, many more Wampanoag live today at a reservation on Martha's Vineyard. Formerly the Gay Head Wampanoag, this group of roughly 1,000 benefited from a 1998 decision to change the name of the surrounding municipality to 'Aquinnah.'U.S. Census Bureau: Wampanoag Tribe Statistics: 2000 Wampanoag Tribe: Aquinnah Wampanoag History & Government

• 1620: Wampanoags encounter the new settlers

• 1621: Squanto and Samoset bring Massasoit to the pilgrims and The treaty is made

• 1621: October, Three day harvest celebration we now refer to as Thanksgiving

• 1632: The English helped with the war between Narragansett and Wampanoag

• 1633: An outbreak of disease kills many natives

• 1640: Several Wampanoags converted to Christianity

• 1675: King Philip's War began

• 1673: Epidemic killed most of the Nantucket Wampanoag

• 1974: Mashpee Wampanoag community create Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council

• 1990: Mashpee Wampanoag submits recognition petition to Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs

• 2007: Mashpee Wampanoag are granted Federal recognition