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135-620: The land of the park area was once owned by the Wampanoag Native American Tribe. It was later owned by the Lynde family in the early 18th century, and then the Converse Family (1881) who established it as the public park that it is today. The Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and opened to the public in 1889. The structure of Pine Banks was formed millions of years ago when volcanoes (now inactive) and earthquakes shaped

270-582: A casino . The tribe has moved its plans to Taunton, Massachusetts , but their territorial rights have been challenged by the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation , an organization not recognized as a tribe . Martha%27s Vineyard Martha's Vineyard , often simply called the Vineyard , is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts , lying just south of Cape Cod . It

405-799: A "non-white" or "colored" community. Hutchins appeared to require unchanged culture, including maintenance of a traditional religion and essentially total social autonomy from non-Indian society." A project titled "Massachusetts Native Peoples and the Social Contract: A Reassessment for Our Times" began in 2015 to serve as an updated report on the cultural, linguistic, and economic state of Wampanoag peoples, including those from federally and non-federally recognized tribes. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe consists of more than 1,400 enrolled members who must meet defined membership requirements including lineage, community involvement and reside within 20 miles of Mashpee. Since 1924 they have held an annual powwow at

540-516: A 2010 study suggests that the epidemic was leptospirosis , introduced by rat reservoirs on European ships. The groups most devastated by the illness were those who had traded heavily with the French and the disease was likely a virgin soil epidemic . Alfred Crosby has estimated population losses to be as high as 90 percent among the Massachusett and mainland Pokanoket . Since the late 20th century,

675-509: A Soviet fishing trawler and asking for asylum. The Coast Guard allowed a detachment of four seamen from the Soviet ship to board the cutter and "drag the kicking, screaming Kudirka back to their vessel." He was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor in the Soviet Union. In 1974, Steven Spielberg filmed the movie Jaws on Martha's Vineyard, most notably in the fishing village of Menemsha and

810-466: A century. The project is training teachers to reach more children and to develop a curriculum for a Wôpanâak -based school. Baird has developed a 10,000-word Wôpanâak-English dictionary by consulting archival Wôpanâak documents and using linguistic methods to reconstruct unattested words. For this project she was awarded a $ 500,000.00 grant from the Macarthur Fellows in 2010. She has also produced

945-507: A confederation in which a head sachem presided over a number of other sachems. The colonists often referred to him as "king", but the position of a sachem differed in many ways from a king. They were selected by women elders and were bound to consult their own councilors within their tribe, as well as any of the "petty sachems" in the region. They were also responsible for arranging trade privileges, as well as protecting their allies in exchange for material tribute. Both women and men could hold

1080-712: A councilor for the prior six years during which the Marshall and Abramoff scandals took place – including voting for the shunning of tribe members who tried to investigate. A challenge to Cromwell's election by defeated candidates following allegations of tampering with voting and enrollment records was filed with the Tribal Court, and Cromwell's administration has been hampered by a series of protest by Elders over casino-related finances. The Mashpee Wampanoag tribal offices are located in Mashpee on Cape Cod. After decades of legal disputes,

1215-847: A failure. It appointed a supervisory committee consisting of five European-American members, with no Wampanoag. In 1834, the state returned a certain degree of self-government to the First Nations People, and although the First Nations People were far from autonomous, they continued in this manner. To support assimilation, in 1842 the state violated the Nonintercourse Act when it illegally allocated plots from 2,000 acres (8.1 km ) of their communal 13,000 acres (53 km ), to be distributed in 60-acre (240,000 m ) parcels to each household for subsistence farming, although New England communities were adopting other types of economies. The state passed laws to try to control white encroachment on

1350-575: A grammar, collections of stories, and other books. Mashpee High School began a course in 2018 teaching the language. Contacts between the Wampanoag and colonists began in the 16th century when European merchant vessels and fishing boats traveled along the coast of New England . Captain Thomas Hunt captured several Wampanoag in 1614 and sold them in Spain as slaves. A Patuxet named Tisquantum (or Squanto )

1485-636: A grant to the Duke of York . In 1671, a settlement was arranged which allowed Mayhew to continue in his position while placing his territory under the jurisdiction of the Province of New York . In 1682, Matthew Mayhew succeeded his grandfather as Governor and Chief Magistrate, and occasionally preached to the Native Americans. He was also appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Dukes county in 1697, and remained on

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1620-497: A home in Aquinnah (formerly "Gay Head") until her death in 1994. In the summer of 2000, an outbreak of tularemia , also known as rabbit fever, resulted in one death and piqued the interest of the CDC , which wanted to test the island as a potential investigative ground for aerosolized Francisella tularensis . Over the following summers, Martha's Vineyard was identified as the only place in

1755-429: A law abolishing slavery and ordering that Africans be freed after a term of 10 years, just like indentured servants. In addition to that, "at no time during its history did people of color lose the right to use the courts to challenge their status. Nor did they lose the right to inherit property in certain circumstances." On October 15, 2020, Edgartown Harbor was officially recognized as an Underground Railroad Site by

1890-423: A roof. Many birthday parties are celebrated here, but reservations are required. North of the wooded area there are several fields: One softball field, two full size baseball fields, a 400 meter track with soccer field inside it, and a newly renovated Rugby field. Many sporting events are held at these fields, including soccer games. There are many lights that sufficiently light up the fields for night games. Parking

2025-466: A seasonal round of fishing, planting, harvesting, and hunting. Southern New England was populated by various tribes, so hunting grounds had strictly defined boundaries. The Wampanoag had a matrilineal system, like other indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands , in which women owned property, and hereditary status was passed through the maternal line. They were also matrifocal ; when

2160-650: A ship at Plymouth. They were then sold as slaves in the West Indies . On August 12, 1676, colonial troops surrounded Philip's camp, and soon shot and killed him. With the death of Metacomet and most of their leaders, the Wampanoags were nearly exterminated; only about 400 survived the war. The Narragansetts and Nipmucks suffered similar rates of losses, and many small tribes in southern New England were finished. In addition, many Wampanoag were sold into slavery. Male captives were generally sold to slave traders and transported to

2295-488: A stark example of severe income inequalities between year-round residents and their seasonal counterparts. Though many have suggested that the island was renamed after English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold 's daughter Martha, it is more likely that both the island and his daughter were namesakes of his wealthy mother-in-law, Martha (Judde) Golding, who partly funded his expedition in 1602 – the first recorded European expedition to Cape Cod . A smaller island to

2430-472: A substantial Wampanoag population on the Vineyard, mainly located in the town of Aquinnah . Aquinnah means "land under the hill" in the Wampanoag language. The island was the last refuge of the heath hen , an extinct subspecies of the greater prairie chicken , which was a once common game bird throughout the Northeastern United States . Despite 19th century efforts to protect the hen, by 1927,

2565-453: A testimony to the good relations cultivated by the Mayhews as the leaders of the colony. In 1657, the younger Thomas Mayhew was drowned when a ship he was travelling in was lost at sea on a voyage to England. Mayhew's grandsons Matthew Mayhew (1648–), John Mayhew (1652–), and other members of his family assisted him in running his business and government. In 1665, Mayhew's lands were included in

2700-524: A total of 4,500 Wampanoag descendants. Wampanoag activists have been reviving the Wampanoag language; Mashpee High School began a course in 2018 teaching the language. Wampanoag probably derives from Wapanoos , first documented on Adriaen Block 's 1614 map, which was the earliest European representation of the Wampanoag territory. The Wampanoag translate this word to "People of the First Light." Increase Mather first recorded it in 1676 to describe

2835-416: A very activist citizenry who are highly involved in the island's day-to-day activities. Tourism, overdevelopment, politics, and environmentalism are of keen interest to the community. Keeping the balance between the much needed tourist economy and the ecology and wildlife of the island is of paramount importance to residents. In contrast to the seasonal influx of wealthy visitors, Dukes County remains one of

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2970-456: A week later. A Christian Indian accused three Wampanoag warriors of his murder. The colonists took the three captive and hanged them in June 1675 after a trial by a jury of 12 colonists and six Christian Indians. This execution, combined with rumors that the colonists wanted to capture Philip, was a catalyst for war. Philip called a council of war on Mount Hope. Most Wampanoag wanted to follow him, except

3105-569: A weekend-long Jawsfest. In 1977, distressed over losing their guaranteed seat in the Massachusetts General Court, inhabitants of Martha's Vineyard considered the possibility of secession from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, either to become part of another state (having received offers from both Vermont and Hawaii ), reincorporating as a separate U.S. territory, or as the nation's 51st state . The separatist flag, consisting of

3240-584: A white seagull over an orange disk on a sky-blue background, is still seen on the island today. Although the idea of separation from Massachusetts eventually proved impracticable, it did receive attention in the local, regional, and even national media. On March 5, 1982, John Belushi died of a drug overdose in Los Angeles, California, and was buried four days later in Abel's Hill Cemetery in Chilmark. Belushi often visited

3375-539: A young couple married, they lived with the woman's family. Women elders could approve selection of chiefs or sachems . Men acted in most of the political roles for relations with other bands and tribes, as well as warfare. Women passed plots of land to their female descendants, regardless of their marital status. The production of food among the Wampanoag was similar to that of many American Indian societies, and food habits were divided along gender lines. Men and women had specific tasks. Women played an active role in many of

3510-696: Is a "dry" town. Martha's Vineyard is located approximately seven miles off the southern coast of Cape Cod . It is reached by a ferry that departs from Woods Hole, Massachusetts , and by several other ferries departing from Falmouth , New Bedford , Hyannis , Quonset Point, Rhode Island , and the East 35th Street ferry terminal in Manhattan . The Steamship Authority operates most of the shorter routes, while Martha's Vineyard Fast Ferry and Hy-Line Cruises run faster, longer distance ferries to Rhode Island and Hyannis. There are direct ferries to each place. SeaStreak operates

3645-588: Is evenly distributed throughout the year. The hardiness zone is 7a in the central and most of the western areas of the main island and 7b on the east end including Chappaquiddick and the southwest end. Martha's Vineyard is divided into six towns. Each town is governed by a select board elected by town voters, along with annual and periodic town meetings . Each town is also a member of the Martha's Vineyard Commission, which regulates island-wide building, environmental, and aesthetic concerns. Some government programs on

3780-454: Is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony , and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Island . It is the 58th largest island in the U.S., with a land area of about 96 square miles (250 km ), and the third-largest on the East Coast , after Long Island and Mount Desert Island . Martha's Vineyard constitutes the bulk of Dukes County, Massachusetts , which also includes

3915-403: Is located near the fields. Pine Banks once contained a golf course, but that is no longer in existence. The course was where the present-day fields are. There was once a zoo that was home to such animals as goats, donkeys, peacocks, ducks and other assorted animals. The zoo was removed in the early to mid-1990s. The park also contains an international regulation-size rugby pitch and is home to

4050-539: Is popular with private pilots; it is located near South Beach. . Bus service is provided on the island year-round by the Martha's Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA). Martha's Vineyard is served by Martha's Vineyard Public Schools: Five of the six towns have their own elementary schools, while Aquinnah residents usually attend nearby Chilmark's elementary school. The Chilmark school serves only grades pre-K to 5, so students in grades 6–8 must attend another middle school—usually

4185-502: Is possible that Coddington only wanted to annex Martha's Vineyard due to its proximity to Rhode Island and the fact that it would have taken more labor for colonists in Massachusetts to reach Martha's Vineyard before Rhode Island could obtain full control of the island. The plan flopped: on the week that was taken to go to the island, Rhode Island militiamen were deployed in a group of three boats and "upon seeing men on Martha's Vineyard,

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4320-454: Is referred to in the 1691 Massachusetts Charter (which transferred the island from the Province of New York during the breakup of the Dominion of New England ) as Cappawock . The island was originally inhabited by Wampanoag people , when Martha's Vineyard was known in the Massachusett language as Noepe , or "land amid the streams". In 1642, the Wampanoag numbered somewhere around 3,000 on

4455-458: Is the highest point, but not the only point of elevation in the park. There are other, smaller hills and cliffs. There is a small shallow pond north of Mount Ephraim that was sometimes called Island Pond but now is usually not named. The pond's banks are fairly marshy, making it a good home for frogs, turtles and snakes. It is highly unlikely that any fish call this pond home. It is sometimes stocked with fish for fishing tournaments. In addition to

4590-731: Is thought to have originated in the Weald , a region that overlaps the borders of the English counties of Kent and Sussex , prior to immigration. Researcher Nora Groce estimates that by the late 19th century, one in 155 people on the Vineyard was born deaf (0.7 percent) — about 37 times the estimate for the nation at large (1 in 5,728, or 0.02 percent) — because of a "recessive pattern" of genetic deafness, circulated through endogamous marriage patterns. Deaf Vineyarders generally earned an average or above-average income (proved by tax records) and they participated in church affairs with passion. The deafness on

4725-497: Is widely recognized as a seminal work in the foundation of sociolinguistics . The island received international notoriety after the " Chappaquiddick incident " of July 18, 1969, in which Mary Jo Kopechne was killed in a car driven off the Dike Bridge by U.S. Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy . The bridge crossed Poucha Pond on Chappaquiddick Island (a smaller island formerly connected to the Vineyard and part of Edgartown). The bridge

4860-463: The Elizabeth Islands and the island of Nomans Land . The island's year-round population has considerably increased since the 1960s. In the 2023 Martha's Vineyard Commission report, the year-round population was 20,530, an increase from 16,460 in 2010. The summer population swells to more than 200,000 people. About 56 percent of the Vineyard's 14,621 homes are seasonally occupied. A study by

4995-629: The Mohegans defeated the Narragansetts in a war with support from the colonists, and they became the dominant tribe in southern New England. After 1650, John Eliot and other Puritan missionaries sought to convert local tribes to Christianity, and those that converted settled in 14 Praying towns . Eliot and his colleagues hoped that the Indians would adopt practices such as monogamous marriage, agriculture, and jurisprudence. The high levels of epidemics among

5130-670: The Mystic River Rugby Club ( Rugby Union ), the current 2018 Division 1 USA Rugby Champions. 42°26′33.54″N 71°03′44.03″W  /  42.4426500°N 71.0622306°W  / 42.4426500; -71.0622306 Wampanoag The Wampanoag ( / ˈ w ɑː m p ə n ɔː ɡ / ) , also rendered Wôpanâak , are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and formerly parts of eastern Rhode Island . Their historical territory includes

5265-540: The National Park Service . This recognition was given after a submission from a nonprofit corporation, the African American Heritage Trail of Martha's Vineyard. The corporation was founded in 1998 by Martha's Vineyard NAACP vice president Carrie Camillo Tankard and teacher Elaine Cawley Weintraub. Their mission is to "continue to research and publish previously undocumented history and to involve

5400-689: The Nauset on Cape Cod and the small groups on the offshore islands. Allies included the Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, some Pennacook , and eastern Abenaki from farther north. The Narragansett remained neutral at the beginning of the war. On June 20, 1675, some Wampanoag attacked colonists in Swansea, Massachusetts , and laid siege to the town. Five days later, they destroyed it completely, leading to King Philip's War . The united tribes in southern New England attacked 52 of 90 colonial settlements and partially burned them down. At

5535-458: The West Indies , or on plantations and farms run by colonists in New England . Today, Wampanoag people continue to live in historical homelands and maintain central aspects of their culture while adapting to changing socioeconomic needs. Oral traditions, ceremonies, song and dance, social gatherings, and hunting and fishing remain important traditional ways of life to the Wampanoag. In 2015,

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5670-590: The ferries during the summer season. The most crowded weekend is July 4, followed by the late-August weekend of the Agricultural Fair. In general, the summer season runs from June through Labor Day weekend, coinciding with the months most American children are not in school. In 1985, the two islands of Martha's Vineyard and Chappaquiddick Island were included in a new American Viticultural Area designation for wine appellation of origin specification: Martha's Vineyard AVA . Wines produced from grapes grown on

5805-485: The " praying Indians" from vigilantes, but also as a precautionary measure to prevent rebellion and sedition from them. Mary Rowlandson 's The Sovereignty and Goodness of God is an account of her months of captivity by the Wampanoag during King Philip's War in which she expressed shock at the cruelties from Christian Indians. From Massachusetts, the war spread to other parts of New England. The Kennebec, Pigwacket ( Pequawkets ), and Arosaguntacook from Maine joined in

5940-716: The Atlantic ( Porto , Portugal ) or the Pacific coast of the United States ( Crescent City ) at similar latitudes. As a result, winter temperatures tend to be a few degrees warmer while summer temperatures tend to be cooler than inland locations. Winters are cool to cold with a January average of just slightly below 32 °F (0.0 °C). Owing to the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, temperatures below 0 °F (−17.8 °C) are rare, occurring at one day per year, with most days during

6075-550: The Bureau of Indian Affairs, the historian Francis Hutchins said that the Mashpee "were not an Indian tribe in the years 1666, 1680, 1763, 1790, 1834, 1870, and 1970, or at any time between 1666 and 1970." In his opinion, an Indian tribe was "an entity composed of persons of American Indian descent, which entity possesses distinct political, legal, cultural attributes, which attributes have descended directly from aboriginal precursors." Without accounting for cultural change, adaptation, and

6210-470: The Eastern seaboard for seasonal fishing expeditions, and sometimes stayed in those distant locations for weeks and months at a time. The women cultivated varieties of the " three sisters " (maize, climbing beans, and squash) as the staples of their diet, supplemented by fish and game caught by the men. Each community had authority over a well-defined territory from which the people derived their livelihood through

6345-754: The Farm Institute at Katama Farm in Edgartown; and the Flying Horses Carousel in Oak Bluffs, the oldest operating platform carousel in the United States. Across the Edgartown Vineyard Haven Road from the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School in the town of Oak Bluffs, the Martha's Vineyard Skatepark is a concrete skatepark open to the public, offering a range of ramps and obstacles. Its relatively small year-round population has led to

6480-428: The Indians may have motivated some conversions. Salisbury suggests that the survivors suffered a type of spiritual crisis because their medical and religious leaders had been unable to prevent the epidemic losses. Individual towns and regions had differing expectations for Indian conversions. In most of Eliot's mainland praying towns, religious converts were also expected to follow colonial laws and manners and to adopt

6615-661: The Indians." After living in Northampton , Thaxter, a lawyer, returned home to Edgartown, where he took over the school founded by his father, Rev. Joseph Thaxter, and served in the State House and the Senate , was a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council , and later served as U. S. Customs Collector for Martha's Vineyard. Having rechristened his father's Edgartown school Thaxter Academy, on February 15, 1845, Thaxter

6750-525: The Island community in the identification and celebration of the contributions made by people of color to the island of Martha's Vineyard." The trail consists of 31 sites all marked by a descriptive plaque. Martha's Vineyard became known as an "everyone signs" community after three centuries of an unusually high level of hereditary deafness caused Martha's Vineyard to be labeled a "deaf utopia". The island's deaf heritage cannot be traced to one common ancestor and

6885-492: The Martha's Vineyard Commission in 2006 found that the cost of living on the island is 60 percent higher than the national average, and housing prices are 96 percent higher. A study of housing needs by the Commission found that the average weekly wage on Martha's Vineyard was "71 percent of the state average, the median home price was 54 percent above the state's and the median rent exceeded the state's by 17 percent," all leading to

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7020-666: The Mashpee Wampanoag obtained provisional recognition as an Indian tribe from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in April 2006, and official Federal recognition in February 2007. Tribal members own some land, as well as land held in common by Wampanoag descendants at both Chapaquddick and Christiantown. Descendants have also purchased land in Middleborough, Massachusetts , upon which the tribe under Glenn A. Marshall's leadership had lobbied to build

7155-525: The Pilgrims to survive their first winters, and Squanto lived with them and acted as a middleman between them and Massasoit , the Wampanoag sachem . In Mourt's Relation , initial contact between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag was recorded as beginning in the Spring of 1621. The Wampanoag suffered from an epidemic between 1616 and 1619, long thought to be smallpox introduced by contact with Europeans. However,

7290-452: The Vineyard and his family felt it fitting to bury him there. On his gravestone is the quote: "Though I may be gone, Rock 'N' Roll lives on." Because of the many visitors to his grave and the threat of vandalism, his body was moved somewhere near the grave site. His grave remains a popular site for visitors to Chilmark and they often leave tokens in memory of the late comedian. Since the 1990s, Bill Clinton has spent regular vacation time on

7425-554: The Wampanoag. In 1849 they had 2,400 acres (9.7 km ) there, of which 500 acres were distributed among the tribe members. The rest was communal property. In contrast to the other reservation groups, the tribe had no guardian or headman. When they needed advice on legal questions, they asked the guardian of the Chappaquiddick Reservation, but other matters they handled themselves. The band used usufruct title, meaning that members had no legal claim to their land and allowed

7560-761: The West Indies, Bermuda , Virginia , or the Iberian Peninsula . The colonists used the women and children as slaves or indentured servants in New England, depending on the colony. Massachusetts resettled the remaining Wampanoags in Natick , Wamesit, Punkapoag, and Hassanamesit, four of the original 14 praying towns. These were the only ones to be resettled after the war. Overall, approximately 5,000 Indians (40 percent of their population) and 2,500 colonists (5 percent) were killed in King Philip's War. The exception to relocation

7695-507: The West Tisbury school. The Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School, located in West Tisbury, provides grades K–12 and serves the entire island; it also welcomes off-island students. Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, which is located in Oak Bluffs , serves the entire island. The Vineyard grew as a tourist destination primarily because of its very pleasant summer weather (during summers,

7830-468: The accusations of the colonists and signed an agreement that required the Wampanoag to give up their firearms. To be on the safe side, he did not take part in the subsequent dinner. His men never delivered their weapons. Philip gradually gained the Nipmuck , Pocomtuc , and Narragansett as allies, and the beginning of the uprising was first planned for the spring of 1676. In March 1675, however, John Sassamon

7965-514: The alliance of tribes who fought against the English in King Philip's War. In 1616, John Smith referred to one of the Wampanoag tribes as the Pokanoket . The earliest colonial records and reports used Pokanoket as the name of the tribe whose leaders (the Massasoit Ousemequin until 1661, his son Wamsutta from 1661 to 1662, and Metacomet from 1662 to 1676) led the Wampanoag confederation at

8100-560: The allotment would " for ever not to be sold or given or alienated from them [his descendants] or any part of these lands." Property deeds in 1671 recorded this area known as the Mashpee Plantation as consisting of around 55 square miles of land. The area was integrated into the district of Mashpee in 1763. In 1788 after the American Revolutionary War , the state revoked the Wampanoag ability to self-govern, considering it

8235-411: The area. As a result, there are rocky cliffs throughout the park, and even a fault line just south of the park. In addition to that, thousands of years ago, receding glaciers formed an esker which can be seen at the park as an elevated path. The largest cliff, which is made of solid bedrock, rises 40–50 feet straight up to form Mount Ephraim, which overlooks the whole park from the southern border. This

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8370-687: The beginning of July in Mashpee . This first powwow was held at the New Light Baptist Church, at the time called Pondville Church, in Pondville, Massachusetts. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council was established in 1972 under the leadership of its first president, Russell "Fast Turtle" Peters. In 1974 the Council petitioned the Bureau of Indian Affairs for recognition. In 1976 the tribe sued the Town of Mashpee for

8505-438: The bench until 1700. He was judge of probate from 1696 to 1710. In 1683, Dukes County, New York was incorporated, including Martha's Vineyard. In 1691, at the collapse of rule by Sir Edmund Andros and the reorganization of Massachusetts as a royal colony, Dukes County was transferred to the Province of Massachusetts Bay , and split into the county of Dukes County, Massachusetts and Nantucket County, Massachusetts . Following

8640-450: The early Native American graduates died shortly after completing their course of study. Many native preachers on the island, however, also preached in the Christian churches from time to time. Mayhew's successor as leader of the community was the Hon. Leavitt Thaxter, who married Martha Mayhew, a descendant of Thomas Mayhew, and was an Edgartown educator described by Indian Commissioner John Milton Earle as "a long and steadfast friend to

8775-435: The east coast as far as Wessagusset (today called Weymouth ), all of what is now Cape Cod and the islands of Natocket and Noepe (now called Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard ), and southeast as far as Pokanocket (now Bristol and Warren , Rhode Island ). The Wampanoag lived on this land for over 12,000 years. From 1615 to 1619, a leptospirosis epidemic carried by rodents arriving in European ships dramatically reduced

8910-404: The effects of non-Indian society, Hutchins argued the Mashpee were not an Indian tribe historically because they adopted Christianity and non-Indian forms of dress and appearance, and chose to remain in Massachusetts as "second-class" citizens rather than emigrating westward (note: to Indian Territory) to "resume tribal existence." Hutchins also noted that they intermarried with non-Indians to create

9045-414: The event celebrated as the first Thanksgiving has been debated in the United States. Many American Indians and historians argue against the romanticized story of the Wampanoag celebrating together with the colonists. Some say that there is no documentation of such an event. One primary account of the 1621 event was written by a firsthand observer. Massasoit became gravely ill in the winter of 1623, but he

9180-418: The federal government declared 150 acres of land in Mashpee and 170 acres of land in Taunton as the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe ’s initial reservation, on which the Tribe can exercise its full tribal sovereignty rights. The Mashpee tribe currently has approximately 3,200 enrolled citizens. The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head currently has 901 enrolled citizens. Early 21st-century population estimates indicated

9315-406: The first settlement on the island in 1642 at Great Harbor (later Edgartown, Massachusetts ). The younger Mayhew began a relationship with Hiacoomes , a Native American neighbor, which eventually led to Hiacoomes' family converting to Christianity . During King Philip's War later in the century, the Martha's Vineyard band did not join their tribal relatives in the uprising and remained armed,

9450-405: The further expansion of colonial settlements. The Wampanoag numbered only 1,000, and Philip began to visit other tribes to build alliances among those who also wanted to push out the colonists. At that time, the population colonists in southern New England was already more than double that of the Indians, at 35,000 to 15,000. In 1671, Philip was called to Taunton, Massachusetts , where he listened to

9585-599: The geographical, time, and population proximities state that MVSL and ASL are impossible to develop in complete isolation from each other. MVSL was commonly used by hearing residents as well as deaf ones until the middle of the 20th century. No language barrier created a smooth communication environment for all the residents of the island. In the 20th century, tourism became a mainstay in the island economy, and new tourism-related jobs appeared. However, jobs in tourism were not as deaf-friendly as fishing and farming had been. Consequently, as intermarriage and further migration joined

9720-566: The hazardous trades of whaling and shipping. They posit that many Wampanoag women married outside their linguistic groups, making it difficult for them to maintain the various Wampanoag dialects. Jessie Little Doe Baird , a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, founded the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project in 1993. They have taught some children, who have become the first speakers of Wôpanâak in more than

9855-659: The historic Capawock and Strand theatres, also run by the Martha's Vineyard Film Society, the Martha's Vineyard Film Festival, which runs a winter film festival in March, a Summer Film Series and Cinema Circus every Wednesday in July and August, the Martha's Vineyard African-American Film Festival, which showcases the works of independent and established African-American filmmakers in August, and Martha's Vineyard International Film Festival in September;

9990-451: The island affected both females and males in approximately the same percentage. In the late 19th century, the mixed marriages between deaf and hearing spouses comprised 65 percent of all deaf marriages on the island, as compared to the rate of 20 percent deaf-hearing marriage in the mainland. The sign language used by Vineyarders is called Martha's Vineyard Sign Language (MVSL) , and it is different from American Sign Language (ASL). However,

10125-431: The island borders between a humid continental climate ( Dfa / Dfb ), a humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ), and an oceanic climate ( Cfb ), the latter a climate type rarely found on the east coast of North America. Martha's Vineyard's climate is highly influenced by the surrounding Atlantic Ocean , which moderates temperatures throughout the year, although this moderation is nowhere near as strong as on opposite sides of

10260-415: The island during and after his presidency, along with his wife, Hillary Clinton , and their daughter, Chelsea . Clinton was not the first president to visit the islands; Ulysses S. Grant visited the vacation residence of his friend, Bishop Gilbert Haven on August 24, 1874. As a coincidental footnote in history, Bishop Haven's gingerbread cottage was located in Oak Bluffs at 10 Clinton Avenue. The avenue

10395-423: The island out of New York's Kennedy Airport , Boston , Newark , New York–LaGuardia , and Washington–National . Delta Connection also operates seasonal service to New York-LaGuardia and New York-JFK . Seasonal service flights are also available out of White Plains, New York once a day on Elite Airways to and from MVY. The airport also handles much general aviation traffic. Katama airpark, with grass runways,

10530-512: The island, such as the community of Harthaven established by William H. Hart, and later, the community of Ocean Heights, developed near Sengekontacket Pond in Edgartown by the prominent island businessman, Robert Marsden Laidlaw. Although the island struggled financially through the Great Depression , its reputation as a resort for tourists and the wealthy continued to grow. There is still

10665-418: The island. Commuter airline Cape Air offers frequent service to the island via the Martha's Vineyard Airport (MVY). It provides year-round service to and from Boston , Hyannis , New Bedford , and Nantucket , and seasonal service to White Plains, New York. American Airlines operates seasonal service to Washington-Reagan , New York-LaGuardia , Philadelphia and as well Charlotte . JetBlue serves

10800-470: The island. By 1764, that number had dropped to 313. European settlement began with the purchase of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket , and the Elizabeth Islands by Thomas Mayhew of Watertown, Massachusetts , from two New England settlers. He had friendly relations with the Wampanoags on the island, in part because he was careful to honor their land rights. His son, also named Thomas Mayhew, established

10935-474: The islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket . Today, two Wampanoag tribes are federally recognized : The Wampanoag language , also known as Massachusett , is a Southern New England Algonquian language. Prior to English contact in the 17th century, the Wampanoag numbered as many as 40,000 people living across 67 villages composing the Wampanoag Nation. These villages covered the territory along

11070-530: The island—such as the public school system, emergency management, and waste management—have been regionalized. There is a growing push for further regionalization areas of law enforcement, water treatment, and possible government regionalization. Each town also follows certain regulations from Dukes County. The towns are: The three "Down-Island" towns of Edgartown , Tisbury , and Oak Bluffs are "wet" towns—serving alcohol. West Tisbury and Aquinnah are "soggy" towns that serve only beer and wine, and Chilmark

11205-417: The land should be cultivated, as the colony had leased the better sections to the whites at low interest. The original goal of creating an undisturbed center for missionary work was quickly forgotten. The state finally created a reservation on a peninsula on the western point of Martha's Vineyard and named it Gay Head. This region was connected to the main island by an isthmus; it enabled the isolation desired by

11340-474: The last Nantucket Wampanoag died in 1855. Today, there are two federally recognized Wampanoag tribes and no state-recognized Wampanoag tribes. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has about 3,200 enrolled citizens in 2023. The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) had 1,364 enrolled tribal citizens in 2019. Some genealogy experts testified that some of the tribes did not demonstrate the required continuity since historic times. For instance, in his testimony to

11475-517: The late 19th century, apostrophes were dropped. Thus for a time Martha's Vineyard was officially named Marthas Vineyard , but the Board reversed its decision in the early 20th century, making Martha's Vineyard one of the five placenames in the United States that takes a possessive apostrophe . According to historian Henry Franklin Norton, the island was known by Native Americans as Noepe or Capawock . It

11610-635: The material trappings of colonial life. Eliot and other ministers relied on praise and rewards for those who conformed, rather than punishing those who did not. The Christian Indian settlements of Martha's Vineyard were noted for a great deal of sharing and mixing between Wampanoag and colonial ways of life. Wampanoag converts often continued their traditional practices in dress, hairstyle, and governance. The Martha's Vineyard converts were not required to attend church and they often maintained traditional cultural practices, such as mourning rituals. The Wampanoag women were more likely to convert to Christianity than

11745-466: The men immediately fled the vicinity of the island and returned home after The Governor dispatched them from their duties and made the plan defunct". There is still wide debate as to who told leaders from Massachusetts about the plan. One story has prevailed, that a traveler going to and from Rhode Island and Massachusetts for business purposes heard the claim and reported it back to officials in Massachusetts. Massachusetts, specifically Martha's Vineyard,

11880-587: The men. Experience Mayhew said that "it seems to be a Truth with respect to our Indians, so far as my knowledge of them extend, that there have been, and are a greater number of their Women appearing pious than of the men among them" in his text "Indian Converts". The frequency of female conversion created a problem for missionaries, who wanted to establish patriarchal family and societal structures among them. Women had control of property, and inheritance and descent passed through their line, including hereditary leadership for men. Wampanoag women on Martha's Vineyard were

12015-650: The migrants were flown there unannounced. For nearly two days, island residents provided clothing, food, toys, toiletries, and temporary shelter, before removing the migrants from the island. People were bought, sold, and probated as property on Martha's Vineyard. In 1700, Reverend Samuel Sewall , a seasonal resident of Martha's Vineyard, was one of the first to publicly oppose slavery in the New England Colonies. In 1646, magistrates in Massachusetts ruled that two Africans who had been enslaved and imported be returned to their native country. In 1652, Rhode Island passed

12150-584: The nearby island of Nantucket , Martha's Vineyard was brought to prominence in the 19th century by the whaling industry, during which ships were sent around the world to hunt whales for their oil and blubber . The discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania gave rise to a cheaper source of oil for lamps and led to an almost complete collapse of the industry by 1870. After the Old Colony railroad came to mainland Woods Hole in 1872, summer residences began to develop on

12285-462: The outbreak of the war, many Indians offered to fight with the colonists against King Philip and his allies, serving as warriors, scouts, advisers, and spies. Mistrust and hostility eventually caused the colonists to discontinue Indian assistance, even though they were invaluable in the war. The Massachusetts government moved many Christian Indians to Deer Island in Boston Harbor , in part to protect

12420-456: The people of Martha's Vineyard to the mainland, the island community more and more resembled the oral community there. The last deaf person born into the island's sign-language tradition, Katie West, died in 1952, but a few elderly residents were able to recall MVSL as recently as the 1980s when research into the language began. According to the Köppen climate classification system, the climate of

12555-453: The pond, there are other small creeks and wetlands throughout the park. One of these small creeks once connected to the Malden River . In addition to being a natural forest area, Pine Banks is also a recreational park. Centered in the park near the pond is a child's playground, containing swings, slides, and other equipment. In the playground there are also two long picnic tables sheltered by

12690-492: The population of birds had dropped to 13. The last known heath hen, named "Booming Ben", perished on Martha's Vineyard in 1932. Martha's Vineyard was used by the Army, Navy and Air Force from 1941 through 1945 for training missions that ranged from landings on beaches to climbing cliffs and bombing practice. The linguist William Labov wrote his master's thesis on changes in the Martha's Vineyard dialect of English. The 1963 study

12825-614: The population of the Wampanoag and neighboring tribes. Indigenous deaths from the epidemic facilitated the European invasion and colonization of the Massachusetts Bay Colony . More than 50 years later, Wampanoag Chief Sachem Metacom and his allies waged King Philip's War (1675–1676) against the colonists. The war resulted in the death of 40 percent of the surviving Wampanoag. The English sold many Wampanoag men into slavery in Bermuda ,

12960-427: The position of sachem, and women were sometimes chosen over close male relatives. Pre-marital sexual experimentation was accepted, although the Wampanoag expected fidelity within unions after marriage. Roger Williams (1603–1683) said that "single fornication they count no sin, but after Marriage... they count it heinous for either of them to be false." Polygamy was practiced among the Wampanoag, although monogamy

13095-434: The reservation; some stole wood from its forests. A large region, once rich in wood, fish, and game, it was considered highly desirable by the whites. With competition between whites and the Wampanoag, conflicts were more frequent than for more isolated native settlements elsewhere in the state. In 1870, each member of the Mashpee tribe over the age of 18 was granted 60 acres of land for private ownership, effectively dismantling

13230-419: The residents moved to nearby Edgartown , so that they could practice a trade and obtain some civil rights. Christiantown was originally a praying town on the northwest side of Martha's Vineyard, northwest of Tisbury . In 1849 the reservation still consisted of 390 acres (1.6 km ), of which all but 10 were distributed among the residents. The land, kept under community ownership, yielded very few crops and

13365-415: The return of ancestral homelands. The case was lost but the tribe continued to pursue federal recognition for three decades. In 2000 the Mashpee Wampanoag council was headed by chairman Glenn Marshall. Marshall led the group until 2007 when it was disclosed that he had a prior conviction for rape, had lied about having a military record and was under investigation associated for improprieties associated with

13500-564: The revocation of the Massachusetts Bay Colony Charter in 1684, William Coddington Jr. , who was governor of Rhode Island at the time, attempted to seize Martha's Vineyard through a group of militia as "reparations for former damages of past leaders made by the settlers," most likely referring to the Puritan actions on Rhode Island leaders Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson , as well as annex threats made by Massachusetts. It

13635-498: The same name and was located on the eastern point of that island. As the result of the sale of land in 1789, the natives lost valuable areas, and the remaining land was distributed among the Indian residents in 1810. In 1823 the laws were changed, in order to hinder those trying to get rid of the natives and to implement a visible beginning of a civic organization. Around 1849, they owned 692 acres (2.80 km ) of infertile land, and many of

13770-502: The seasonal, weekend New York City to Martha's Vineyard route. One ferry departs New York City on Friday afternoon and returns on Sunday night. The trip through Long Island Sound and along the shoreline of Rhode Island and Massachusetts takes about five and a quarter hours. In the era before modern highways and jet planes, travelers took New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad trains from New York City or Boston to Woods Hole or Hyannis, at which point they would embark on ferries to

13905-608: The son of Hiacoomes, Joel Hiacoomes . "The ship Joel Hiacoomes was sailing on, as he was returning to Boston from a trip home shortly before the graduation ceremonies, was found wrecked on the shores of Nantucket Island. Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk , the son of a sachem of Homes Hole, did graduate from Harvard in the class of 1665." Cheeshahteaumauk's Latin address to the corporation (New England Corporation), which begins "Honoratissimi benefactores" (most honored benefactors), has been preserved. In addition to speaking Wampanoag and English , they studied Hebrew, classical Greek, and Latin. All of

14040-529: The south was first to be named "Martha's Vineyard" but this later became associated with this island. It is the eighth-oldest surviving English place-name in the United States. The island was subsequently known as Martin's Vineyard (possibly after a captain in the exploratory party, John Martin); many people and maps up to the 18th century called it by this name. When the United States Board on Geographic Names worked to standardize placename spellings in

14175-649: The spiritual leaders of their households. In general, English ministers agreed that it was preferable for women to subvert the patriarchal model and assume a dominant spiritual role than it was for their husbands to remain unconverted. Experience Mayhew asked, "How can those Wives answer it unto God who do not Use their utmost Endeavors to Perswade and oblige their husbands to maintain Prayer in their families?" In some cases, Wampanoag women converts accepted changed gender roles under colonial custom, while others practiced their traditional roles of shared power as Christians. Massasoit

14310-622: The spring of 1676, following a winter of hunger and deprivation. The colonial troops set out after Canonchet and took him captive. After a firing squad executed him, colonists quartered his corpse and sent his head to Hartford, Connecticut , where it was set on public display. During the summer months, Philip escaped from his pursuers and went to a hideout on Mount Hope in Rhode Island. Colonial forces attacked in August, killing and capturing 173 Wampanoags. Philip barely escaped capture, but his wife and their nine-year-old son were captured and put on

14445-420: The stages of food production and processing, so they had important socio-political, economic, and spiritual roles in their communities. Wampanoag men were mainly responsible for hunting and fishing, while women took care of farming and gathering wild fruits, nuts, berries, and shellfish. Women were responsible for up to 75 percent of all food production in Wampanoag societies. The Wampanoag were organized into

14580-646: The temperature rarely breaks 90 °F (32 °C)) and many beautiful beaches. It is primarily a place where people go to relax, and the island offers a range of tourist accommodations including large hotels such as the Harbor View Hotel, Mansion House Hotel and Winnetu Resort, modern boutique hotels like the Nobnocket Boutique Inn, as well as traditional inns and bed and breakfasts such as Outermost Inn, Beach Plum Inn, Ashley Inn, Pequot House and Oak Bluffs Inn. Many visitors also rent private homes. During

14715-406: The thousands of acres of common tribal lands, and by 1871, non-Mashpee land ownership of the choicest portions of land purchased from impoverished Mashpee, leading to significant loss of Mashpee land ownership. On Martha's Vineyard in the 18th and 19th centuries, there were three reservations— Chappaquiddick , Christiantown and Gay Head . The Chappaquiddick Reservation was part of a small island of

14850-779: The time the English began settling southeastern New England. The Pokanoket were based at Sowams, near where Warren, Rhode Island , developed and on the peninsula where Bristol, Rhode Island, arose after King Philip's War. The Seat of Metacomet, or King Philip's seat, at Mount Hope Bay in Bristol, Rhode Island became the political center from which Metacomet began King Philip's War, the first intertribal war of Native American resistance to English settlement in North America. The Wampanoag people were semi-sedentary (that is, partially nomadic), with seasonal movements between sites in southern New England . The men often traveled far north and south along

14985-425: The town of Chilmark . Spielberg selected island natives Christopher Rebello as Chief Brody's oldest son, Michael Brody; Jay Mello as the younger son, Sean Brody; and Lee Fierro as Mrs. Kintner. Scores of other island natives appeared in the film as extras . Later, scenes from Jaws 2 and Jaws: The Revenge were filmed on the island, as well. In June 2005 the island celebrated the 30th anniversary of Jaws with

15120-507: The tribal council records detailing the council's involvement in this scandal via a complaint filed in Barnstable Municipal Court were shunned by the council and banned them from the tribe for seven years. In 2009 the tribe elected council member Cedric Cromwell to the position of council chair and president. Cromwell ran a campaign based on reforms and distancing himself from the previous chairmen, even though he had served as

15255-515: The tribal members free rein over their choice of land, as well as over cultivation and building, in order to make their ownership clear. They did not allow whites to settle on their land. They made strict laws regulating membership in the tribe. As a result, they were able to strengthen the groups' ties to each other, and they did not lose their tribal identity until long after other groups had lost theirs. The Wampanoag on Nantucket Island were almost completely destroyed by an unknown plague in 1763;

15390-537: The tribe members left it to get paying jobs in the cities. Wampanoag oral history tells that Christiantown was wiped out in 1888 by a smallpox epidemic. The third reservation on Martha's Vineyard was constructed in 1711 by the New England Company (founded in 1649) to Christianize the natives. They bought land for the Gay Head natives who had lived there since before 1642. There was considerable dispute about how

15525-420: The tribe's casino lobbying efforts. Marshall was succeeded by tribal council vice- chair Shawn Hendricks. He held the position until Marshall pleaded guilty in 2009 to federal charges of embezzling, wire fraud, mail fraud, tax evasion and election finance law violations. He steered tens of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions to politicians through the tribe's hired lobbyist Jack Abramoff , who

15660-488: The two islands can be sold with labels that carry the Martha's Vineyard AVA designation. Martha's Vineyard was the home to the winemaker Chicama Vineyards in West Tisbury, though it closed after 37 years on August 10, 2008. Other popular attractions include the annual Grand Illumination in Oak Bluffs; the Martha's Vineyard Film Center, an arthouse cinema which is run by the non-profit Martha's Vineyard Film Society, and which screens independent and world cinema all year long;

15795-513: The unanimous consent of the tribe, writing "We freely give these lands forementioned unto the South Sea Indians and their children forever: and not to be sold or given away from them by anyone without all their consents thereunto." An Indian Deed relating to the Petition of Reuben Cognehew presented a provision established by a representative of the community named Quatchatisset establishing that

15930-438: The war against the colonists. The Narragansetts of Rhode Island gave up their neutrality after the colonists attacked one of their fortified villages. The Narragansetts lost more than 600 people and 20 sachems in the battle which became known as the " Great Swamp Massacre ". Their leader Canonchet was able to flee and led a large group of Narragansett warriors west to join King Philip's warriors. The war turned against Philip in

16065-519: The way home and died shortly after. The Wampanoag were told that he died of fever, but many Indians thought that he had been poisoned. The following year, his brother Philip (Metacom) became sachem of the Wampanoag. Under Philip's leadership, the relationship changed dramatically between the Wampanoag and the colonists. Philip believed that the ever-increasing colonists would eventually take over everything — not only land, but also their culture, their way of life, and their religion — so he decided to limit

16200-504: The whaling era, wealthy Boston sea captains and merchant traders often created estates on Martha's Vineyard with their trading profits. Today, the Vineyard has become one of the Northeastern United States ' most prominent summering havens, having attracted numerous celebrity regulars. The island now has a year-round population of about 20,530 people in six towns; in summer, the population increases to 200,000 residents, with more than 25,000 additional short-term visitors coming and going on

16335-470: The winter months rising above freezing. The average annual snowfall is 25.3 inches (643 mm). Summers are warm and mild with temperatures rarely exceeding 90 °F (32.2 °C), with only one or two days reaching or exceeding it. During the summer months, the island's warmest months (July and August) average around 71.5 °F (21.9 °C) Spring and fall are transition seasons with spring being cooler than fall. The highest daily maximum temperature

16470-631: The world where documented cases of tularemia resulted from lawn mowing . The research could prove valuable in preventing bioterrorism . In the television show The X-Files , Fox Mulder 's parents live on the island, and it was also the setting for Robert Harris' 2007 novel The Ghost . In September 2022, Florida governor Ron DeSantis flew two planeloads of Venezuelan migrants to Martha's Vineyard in an effort to draw attention to what Republican governors consider "the Biden administration's failed border policies". Some observers criticized DeSantis because

16605-423: Was 99 °F (37.2 °C) on August 27, 1948, and the highest daily minimum temperature was 76 °F (24.4 °C) on September 4, 2010. The lowest daily maximum temperature was 7 °F (−13.9 °C) on December 26, 1980, and the lowest daily minimum temperature was −9 °F (−22.8 °C) on February 2 and 3, 1961. Martha's Vineyard receives 46.94 inches (1,192 mm) of precipitation per year, which

16740-553: Was a 1663 translation into Wampanoag by missionary John Eliot . He created an orthography , which he taught to the Wampanoag. Many became literate, using Wampanoag for letters, deeds, and historic documents. The rapid decline of Wampanoag speakers began after the American Revolution . Neal Salisbury and Colin G. Calloway suggest that New England Indian communities suffered from gender imbalances at this time due to premature male deaths, especially due to warfare and their work in

16875-469: Was among those Indians who adopted colonial customs. He asked the legislators in Plymouth near the end of his life to give both of his sons English names. The older son Wamsutta was given the name Alexander, and his younger brother Metacom was named Philip. After his father's death, Alexander became the sachem of the Wampanoag. The colonists invited him to Plymouth to talk, but Wamsutta became seriously ill on

17010-428: Was convicted of numerous charges in a much larger scheme. Following the arrests of Abramoff and Marshall, the newly recognized Mashpee Tribe led by new chair Shawn Hendricks, continued to work with Abramoff lobbyist colleague Kevin A. Ring pursuing their Indian gaming-related interests. Ring was subsequently convicted on corruption charges linked to his work for the Mashpee band. Tribal elders who had sought access to

17145-660: Was granted the sum of $ 50 per year for "the support of William Johnson, an Indian of the Chappequiddic tribe." By this time, Leavitt Thaxter had taken on the role, described in an act passed by the General Court of Massachusetts , as "guardian of the Indians and people of color resident at Chappequiddic and Indiantown in the County of Dukes County." Thaxter Academy, founded by Leavitt Thaxter as first principal in 1825, became known for educating both white and Native American youth. Like

17280-436: Was intended for people on foot and bicycles , as well as the occasional emergency vehicle when conditions warranted. Currently, 4×4 vehicles with passes are allowed to cross the reconstructed bridge. On November 23, 1970, in the Atlantic Ocean just west of Aquinnah, Simas Kudirka , a Soviet seaman of Lithuanian nationality, attempted to defect to the United States by leaping onto a United States Coast Guard cutter from

17415-709: Was kidnapped by Spanish monks who attempted to convert him before setting him free. He accompanied an expedition to Newfoundland as an interpreter, then made his way back to his homeland in 1619, only to discover that the entire Patuxet tribe had died in an epidemic. In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth , and Tisquantum and other Wampanoag taught them how to cultivate the varieties of corn, squash, and beans (the Three Sisters ) that flourished in New England, as well as how to catch and process fish and collect seafood. They enabled

17550-461: Was murdered. Sassamon was a Christian Indian raised in Natick, one of the praying towns. He was educated at Harvard College and had served as a scribe, interpreter, and counselor to Philip and the Wampanoag. But, a week before his death, Sassamon reported to Plymouth governor Josiah Winslow that Philip was planning a war against the colonists. Sassamon was found dead under the ice of Assawompsett Pond

17685-593: Was named in 1851 and was designated as the main promenade of the Martha's Vineyard Campmeeting Association campgrounds . In December 2019, President Barack Obama completed the purchase of a 30-acre (12 ha) homestead on the Edgartown Great Pond. On July 16, 1999, a small plane crashed off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, claiming the lives of pilot John F. Kennedy Jr. , his wife Carolyn Bessette , and her sister Lauren Bessette. Kennedy's mother, former U.S. first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis , maintained

17820-457: Was not intimidated by this attempt and thought Rhode Island to be weaker because of their immediate retreat. As for the history following the attempted annexation, Native American literacy in the schools founded by Thomas Mayhew Jr. and taught by Peter Folger (the grandfather of Benjamin Franklin ) was such that the first Native American graduates of Harvard were from Martha's Vineyard, including

17955-639: Was nursed back to health by the colonists. In 1632, the Narragansetts attacked Massasoit's village in Sowam , but the colonists helped the Wampanoag to drive them back. After 1632, the Plymouth Colony was outnumbered by the growing Puritans settlements around Boston. The colonists expanded westward into the Connecticut River Valley . In 1638, they destroyed the powerful Pequot Confederation. In 1643,

18090-771: Was the coastal islands' Wampanoag groups, who had stayed neutral through the war. The colonists forced the Wampanoag of the mainland to resettle with the Saconnet (Sekonnet), or with the Nauset into the praying towns in Barnstable County . Mashpee is the largest Indian reservation set aside in Massachusetts, and is located on Cape Cod . In 1660, the colonists allotted the natives about 50 square miles (130 km ) there, and beginning in 1665 they had self-government, adopting an English-style court of law and trials. Mashpee sachems Wepquish and Tookenchosin declared in 1665 that this land would not be able to be sold to non-Mashpee without

18225-567: Was the norm. Some elite men could take several wives for political or social reasons, and multiple wives were a symbol of wealth. Women were the producers and distributors of corn and other food products. Marriage and conjugal unions were not as important as ties of clan and kinship. The Wampanoag originally spoke Wôpanâak, a dialect of the Massachusett language , which belongs to the Algonquian languages family. The first Bible published in America

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