The Aquinnah Wampanoag and Change: Gender among the Wampanoag

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Gender among the Wampanoag

The Wampanoag people base their way of making a living on a family level. The family’s sole duty is to support itself independently. Families support themselves through seasonal movements. After spring and summer pass they leave the shores and move inland for winter. During spring the families come together to fish, they hunt game in the winter, and they spread out during the summer in order to cultivate particularized planting fields. Boys are taught the ins and the outs of the woods. Qualities such as being a skillful hunter, and being able to survive under all conditions are vital to the family’s well-being. Women are taught how to work diligently around the wetu (portable oval house that the Wampanoag people live in) and in the fields. They're also taught how to gather fruits, nuts, and produce from the habitat.

Production of food among the Wampanoag is also divided along gender lines. Men and women both have specific tasks, but the women play an active role in most of the stages of food production. Women are responsible for 75% of all food production in Wampanoag societies. They take care of the farming and gathering of nuts, berries, fruit, etc.. Wampanoag men are mainly responsible for the fishing and hunting. Women have economic, socio-political, and spiritual roles within their communities because the Wampanoag society relies so heavily on this kind of work.

“Who Are the Wampanoag?”. Plimoth Plantation. Accessed March 24, 2015. http://www.plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/homework-help/who-are-wampanoag

“The Wampanoag Tribe”. Abcteach.com. Accessed March 24, 2015. http://www.abcteach.com/free/r/rc_native_wampanoag_upperelem.pdf

2 comments:

UnknownMarch 29, 2015 at 11:36 AM
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UnknownApril 8, 2015 at 11:26 AM
I learned that women play a huge role in their society. In some civilizations women are actually looked down upon, but Wampanoag women play such a vital role in the society. One article stated that Wampanoag women are responsible for 75% of the food production. I thought this was interesting and found that I could relate because that’s how it is in my household. My Mother takes care of about 80% of food production, while working full time. She plays the most vital role in supporting our family. I find it remarkable because without the women and the vital roles they play, the Wampanoag would suffer detrimentally.

The Wampanoag are extremely resourceful as a whole. They know to migrate between seasons in order to prevent over-exploitation of animals and resources. Also, the wetu is an amazing creation in order to adapt to a life of constant migration. This was accomplished by their immense amount of intelligence which really surprised and impressed me.

I was able to find some substantial info on gender roles within the Wampanoag society. I find it amazing that the Wampanoag are so willingly dependent upon their women. They broke down the barrier between genders several centuries prior to there even being a gender barrier in western civilization.
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Geographic Location

The Wampanoag tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) received Federal recognition as an Indian tribe in 1987. There are 1099 members enrolled today, in which sixty-eight live on tribal lands in the Town of Aquinnah and 298 live within the Tribe's service area (Dukes County).

The Aquinnah Tribal Lands are situated at the southwestern part of Martha's Vineyard, a ninety-three square mile island located six miles south of mainland Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and eighty miles south of Boston. The Wampanoag owns approximately 481 acres of land, including approximately 160 acres of private and 325 acres of common lands.

http://www.wampanoagtribe.net/pages/wampanoag_planning/profile

Background Information

The Wampanoag are a Native American tribe that originated in Massachusetts and are associated by the First Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims in 1620. Unfortunately, the Wampanoag were driven out of their land by white immigrants shortly after befriending them with food. Many were killed by war that ensued after their chief, Metacomet, attempted to outlaw documents that gave their native land to the British. Their language was forbidden and eventually suppressed. Now, there are only 2000 Wampanoag left in the Plymouth region today.

Native Languages of the Americas: Wampanoag (Massachusett, Natick, Massassoit, Nantucket, Mashpee). Electronic Document,

http://www.native-languages.org/wampanoag.htm

Vision

The iCross-Cultural Citizen Project’s vision is to create an online cross-cultural space for students, professionals, and youth to learn and exchange cross-culturally sensitive information about contemporary indigenous experiences. From that outsider student’s perspective, we will try to theoretically explore possible collaborative solutions to problems that affect the indigenous populations of our planet. Finally, we hope for the future creation of a space where indigenous youth can share their experiences and their realities with us for real mutual collaboration to take place.