HARWICH – A new program callled the Native Cultural Initiative is being launched by the Friends of Pleasant Bay to educate residents of the indigenous history and culture in the Pleasant Bay area.
The Wampanoag Tribe has called Cape Cod home for more than 12,000 years and the new program will show their history to any Cape Codders who are unfamiliar.
Through a series of educational walks, lectures, and signage programs, the Initiative will provide opportunities for public engagement with the history of Indigenous people around Pleasant Bay.
“Well known place names surrounding the bay such as Monomoy, Nauset, Wequassett, Quanset, Namequoit, PawWah, Portanimicut and many others reflect the Indigenous presence so deeply embedded in the history of the Pleasant Bay area. And yet, so few of us truly understand this history. The aim of the Native Cultural Initiative is to change that,” said Friends of Pleasant Bay President Allison Coleman.
In launching the Initiative, FoPB has engaged the services of Noogaahsjun, a descendent of the Nauset tribe and member of the Wolf Clan of the Wampanoag Nation to coordinate much of the program effort.
Noogaahsjun will lead a series of free walks in collaboration with the Harwich and Orleans Conservation Trusts beginning this fall.
FoPB also plans to work with municipalities and conservation trusts in Chatham, Harwich, Orleans, and Brewster to locate and/or improve informational signage at key Indigenous sites to reflect their historical importance.
Programs will commence this fall and continue through winter and spring.
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