the wampanoag
DESCRIPTION
by Room 16TRANSCRIPT
Researched & Written by Room 16 Students
PRIMROSE HILL SCHOOL - December 2014
THE WAMPANOAG
The Wampanoag
Who were the Wampanoag People? The Wampanoags were,
and still are, a Native American tribe who lived in North
America for more than 10,000 years before Europeans arrived.
Wampanoag means ‘People of the First Light’ because they
lived in the east. Once there were many different tribes of
Wampanoag but now there are only a few. Still, Wampanoags
had an amazing culture. They lived very differently from the
way we live now but also had many similarities to us. Come
and learn about these interesting people!
Location, Location, Location
by Mrs. White
Where in the world did the Wampanoag live? Long ago, they lived in the
northeastern part of the United States in
what is now New England. Tribes lived
on Cape Cod, the islands of Martha’s
Vineyard and Nantucket in Massachusetts
and in eastern Rhode Island. The
Wampanoags lived in villages near the
ocean during the summer. They were
able to fish and grow food in gardens
there. In the winter, they moved inland
to the forests where they mainly hunted
for food. At one time, there were as
many as 69 villages of Wampanoag
people. Some were called Patuxets
(Squanto was a Patuxet), others were
Pokanoket, Natick, Chappaquidick and Nantucket. However, they were all
considered Wampanoag. Nowadays, there are about 300 Wampanoag people. Some
live on a Reservation on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. Others live in cities and
towns. The Wampanoags were the Native American tribe who first met the Pilgrims
in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Glossary
reservation land set aside
for Native
Americans
Wampanoag Houses
by:Alexandria
Have you ever wondered
how the Wampanoags
built their houses? Well,
first their houses were called
wetus [wee-toos] or
wigwams [wig-woms]. They
were a roundish shape. One
family, with both the
father’s and the mother’s parents, lived in one house including
the kids. So that would be about 11 people living in one house!
They built their houses by first digging a hole 3 to 6 feet deep,
Then they put saplings all the way over the hole. Then they put
saplings over the other saplings and that made the frame. They
made their houses out of bullrush, leaves, and reeds. That’s how
the Wampanoag built their houses.
Wampanoag Food
By Ali
Have you ever wondered what the Wampanoag [wham-
puh-no-ag] ate? Well, they ate many things. The men
were the hunters, gatherers and fishermen. The main
thing to hunt was deer, along with rabbit and bear. They
caught shellfish, cod, bass and lobsters. They used bows
and arrows and also large wooden hatchets. The women
were the farmers and cooks. They worked hard
harvesting and cooking. For example, they planted the
three sisters. The three sisters was corn, beans and
squash. First the corn was planted in soil. They waited
until it was a few inches tall. Then they planted the beans and squash. The corn held
up the beans. The beans put nitrogen in the ground so the
sisters had nutrients. The children did some gardening and
scared the birds away. The Wampanoag had the first
interactions with the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims brought many
other weapons to Plymouth. The Wampanoag taught the
Pilgrims how to hunt, plant and harvest. Then the Pilgrims
got the hang of things. They got better and better. Soon they
were experts. All Wampanoag were BIG on food.
Words
harvest reap, pick, collect
pilgrims wiki travelers
interactions wiki contact
Wampanoag Traditions
By Ava
Do you know what traditions the Wampanoags celebrated? Wampanoags
celebrated many traditions.The first one was Cranberry Day. Cranberry Day was
held in May. Cranberry Day was celebrated with food like cranberries, clambakes
and maybe soup. The Wampanoags did dances that their ancestors had done too to
celebrate. Every Cranberry Day the Wampanoags honored a special person.
Another tradition was the Spring Festival.
The Wampanoag celebrated the Spring
Festival like it was a festival for spring.
They did dances ,told stories and had lot of
food like turkey, vegetables and, for the
main course, soup.
Wampanoag children mostly decorated
their mom’s or dad’s hair and clothing for
ceremonies. Another tradition was
Nikomomo. It sounds like a Wampanoag
tradition only , and it is, but we celebrate it
today too. It’s called Thanksgiving today. In the past, the Wampanoags thy
celebrated with lots of food like corn, beans, squash, herbs, soup and deer meat.
The Wampanoags danced to music on Nickomo too.The Wampanoags had
traditions just like us!
Nikomomo Wampanoag Thanksgiving
Cranberry Day a Wampanoag tradition
Spring festival a celebration for spring
Wampanoag Weapons
by Charlie
Have you ever wondered
about Wampanoag
Weapons? Wampanoags
had war clubs, knives,
spears, tomahawks and bows
and arrows. They made their
bows by taking sticks and
putting feathers on to it. The
type of wood they had to
make it with was ashe or
hazel. The bows were 5 to 6
feet tall!!!!!. The
Wampanoag held their
arrows in quivers. They were made out of leather. The tips were made out of
bones or stones!!!!!!!! War clubs were rare. War clubs could only be held by the
leaders. Those are some facts about Wampanoag weapons.
Glossary
War clubs. A war hammer.
Tomahawk. Handle with an axe.
Wampanoag. A group of Native Americans.
What A Wampanoag Village Looks Like
by Chloe
Have you ever wondered what a Wampanoag
village looked like? The Wampanoag village
looked like a bunch of human-sized beehives.
The houses they made were called wetus or
wigwams. Their house was made with
spruce bark and saplings . First they cut
down a tree, then they took the bark off. After that they shaped
it into a dome. Now they had a nice wetu or wigwam. There
were about 65 people in a Wampanoag village, one family per
wetu, depending on how many kids. In one village there were
100 people because all of them had no kids! That’s what a
Wampanoag village looked like.
Wampanoag Weapons
By Evan
Wampanoags had many weapons. Wampanoags did not
have weapons like we have today. They had more of a
hand made weapon. All of the Wampanoags’ weapons
were made of wood and stone to make the weapon
deadly. A common weapon Wampanoags would use in
battle would be a bow and arrow for far shooting. Some
weapons were used for throwing and stabbing each other.
Wampanoags had some enemies including other tribes.
Wampanoags fought many different wars and many got
killed. Those are some Wampanoag weapons.
What Chores did Wampanoag
Men Do?
by Felix
Wampanoag men did a lot of
chores for their tribe. Two of
their main chores were making
mishoons and hunting. Mishoons (mish-oo-
ns) were canoes that were made by
Wampanoags. Wampanoag men burned trees and
scooped them out with clam shells. In the
winter, Wampanoag people sunk their
mishoons under the ice because it made the
wood more waterproof and stronger. Also,
Wampanoag men went hunting all year round.
They hunted for turkey and deer. In order to hunt
they had to have bows and arrows. They made them by
themselves. First, they found a piece of wood about
as tall as they were. Then they made two notches in
each side. At last, they put a piece of string and
attached it. Wampanoag did chores to make their
life better.
Wampanoag
Tools
By Fritz
Have you ever wondered what tools the Wampanoag had? They had many tools.
They hunted certain animals for certain tools. They made arrows by finding a
straight growing tree.
If they couldn't find
one, they would bend
a tree and little sprouts
would come which
were really good for
arrows. They would
also peel off the bark
of a strong branch so
it dried very quickly.
If the branch wasn't
straight, they would
bend the branch until
it was straight. Then it
would be fitted with
any sharp thing that
they could find. Bows
were a very important tool. Some bows were bigger than others. Western bows
were smaller than the longbow. Mishoons were a common tool for traveling.
Mishoons were Wampanoag boats. Mishoons were made by burning down a tree
and packing it with wet clay. The Wampanoag would then scrape the tree until it
fell. Then they would burn the inside to shape it and it would waterproof the boat.
Some could carry 20 to 40 people! Wampanoag people had an amazing history and
culture.
Wampanoag Body Paint
Grace A.
Have you ever wondered what the Wampanoag used
for body paint? Wampanoag used red, yellow,
black, white and ocher . Did you ever wonder how
the Wampanoag made those colors? They made red
by crushing berries. They made the yellowish color
by crushing flowers. They made black by crushing
charcoal. They made white by mixing clay. Finally,
they made ocher with crushed up flowers and tree bark. They took
bark off the trees, smashed up the bark, added a little water and
a tiny bit of mud. Then they mixed it all together to make ocher.The
Wampanoag used body paint because it meant signs to the Spirits.
They also did it for decoration. The men mostly wore body paint,
but once in a while the women would wear it around their ankle or
wrist. It was not important for the Wampanoag children to wear body
paint unless their parents said they had to. These are ways about
Wampanoag body paint.
Glossary
ocher: bark: decoration:
a yellow brown color the outside part of the tree the act of decoration
Wampanoag Names
by Gracie h.
Wampanoag names were very
important. Names gave people identity
and showed who their ancestors and
family were. Wampanoags weren’t
always named at birth. They were
given names such as Long Tooth or
Pale Eyes because of the way they
looked. Later, they were given new
names which described big events in
their lives such as Kills Two Eagles or
Runs From Bear. Out of respect,
Wampanoags used family names for
what was very close to them. For
example, fire or sky sometimes were
called “grandfather”, the sun might be
called “father, and the Earth was
“mother” or “grandmother”. Fathers
and uncles were called “nok” by the
children. Grandparents raised the
children while the parents were doing
important chores, like getting food and doing what they needed to do to help their
family survive. People older than the child’s parents were called ‘grandmother’ or
‘grandfather’ sometimes like us.
Do you know some Wampanoag names for animals?
wolf ontoquas
bear maske
fox whauksis
rabbit motuckquas
squirrel shannucke
gosse wawpatucke
crow kongkont
snake askooke
goldfish nammos
1 = e 2 = d 3 = a 4 = f 5 = c 6 = b
Some Wampanoag animal names are very different and some are similar to what
we call our animals. Some are hard to pronounce and some are not. It is amazing
what has changed over the years from when the Wampanoag lived and now!
Wampanoag Food
by Jace
In the spring, the Wampanoag women and children planted
seeds. They planted corn, beans, squash, onions, herbs and
melons. The picture shows the woman planting her seeds in
her garden. When she plants the corn she puts three
herring fish in the hole and puts the corn seeds on top of
the fish. The fish feeds the corn plant.
The women harvest the plants in the fall. Another word for
picking the plants is
harvesting. The other
picture shows the three
sisters, corn, beans and
squash, being harvested.
They saved the food to eat
all winter.
Glossary:
1. Herring: A small saltwater fish that is a
member of the sardine family.
2. Harvest: The picking of plants when it is ripe.
3. Squash: Vegetables with different shapes that grow on vines. They are
usually yellow or green.
Free Time with the
Wampanoags!
by: Kaylee
Have you ever wondered if Wampanoags had free time? They usually did. They
always found time to take a break and have fun. Wampanoag girls made dolls and
necklaces. When the girls made the dolls, they were learning because they were
practicing for when they got older to make their own clothing. The Wampanoag
girls used deer hide for the clothing. Wampanoag boys made little toy mishoons.
They were learning too so when they got older they
knew how to make real mishoons.
Both boys and girls played games together. One of the
games was called the Stick Game. A hoop was
attached to a stick and you had to try to flip the hoop
up and over, on to the stick.They also played the same
sports that we play today! Almost all Wampanoags
played lacrosse and football. They also had free time
in many different places, at ceremonies, in wetus, and
outside. At ceremonies they danced, feasted, prayed,
made things, and played games. That’s what
Wampanoags did in their free time.
Glossary
- mishoons: a kind of boat that the Wampanoags used
- deer hide: a skin from a deer
- wetus: a house that the Wampanoags lived in
WAMPANOAG PROTECTION
by Kevin
Wampanoag people use symbols and weapons for
protection. Wampanoag (wamp-an-o-ag) people put
mud on their faces for spiritual protection.
Spiritual protection would keep them from harm.
They also wore tattoos that mean something such as
peace symbols, strength symbols and a certain
animals like a bear or a deer. Wampanoags used
weapons to protect themselves and hunt animals.
After they killed the animals they cooked them then
ate them. Wampanoags usually used wooden bows and
arrows to hunt. They carved quartz to make the top
of an arrowhead and they carved wood to make the
bow. They also used axes and spears. They used a
feather at the end of the arrows as something to
make the arrow fly better. A bow and arrow was the
most popular weapon that they used. Wampanoags used
many weapons and symbols for protection.
Wampanoag Women’s Chores
by Lily
Have you ever wondered what Wampanoag women’s chores
were? Wampanoag women were
called squaws. Squaws made
every meal of the day. They
cooked turkey, corn meal cakes
and cranberries. They loved to
make meals. Girls learned how to
make dolls clothing so when
they’re older they would know
how to make their own. Squaws
made bags and baskets to store
stuff in. They did five to seven
chores a day and it took five to
ten minutes to do two chores.
Kids did not help with the chores because they were too young.
You had to be fifteen and older to do chores. Did you know that it
took two people to do certain chores? Cooking, gardening and
basket making took two people. Squaws didn’t do the same chores
as men because they had their own right to do different things
than men. This is what Wampanoag squaws did for chores.
squaws Native American women
How Wampanoag Children
Learned
by Madison
Wampanoag children would not
go to school but they still learned.
Girls would use dolls for learning.
They would make clothes and all
sorts of bags and mats. Girls
would learn how to collect
shellfish and berries when they
were very little. They would
learn a lot so when they were
older they would know a lot and
teach their children. The boys
would learn how to make small
canoes so when they were older
they knew how to make a bigger
one. They would also learn how to make a wetu when they were about thirteen or
fourteen. Boys would also learn how to be really good Wampanoag hunters. Boys
learned how to make bow and arrows and how to use them. Boys and girls were
both taught to respect nature and animals. If a child lied, the mother or father
would punish their kid. Girls and boys would learn from their grandmother or
grandfather. It was very important to learn these things
because they learned how to survive.
How Wampanoag
Travelled
by Owen
Have you heard of the Wampanoags? They are a
Native American tribe who travelled a lot. They mostly travelled
by foot and boat. One of the boats they made was the dugout
canoe. The dugout canoe was made by cutting down a tree.
First they cut off the bark. Then they found clay from the
riverside. Then they packed the clay up to where they cut off the
bark. After that they started to burn the tree down. The clay
stopped it from burning all the way. Once the tree fell, they
started to burn off the inside. They packed the sides with clay so
it wouldn't burn all the way. That process went on for up to one
week or 12 days . After the burning process. they used clam
shells to move the coals to make sure it didn't burn all the way
through. That is how the Wampanoag made a dugout canoe /
mishoon. The Wampanoag mishoons were used for fishing and
trading trips. The Wampanoag tribe sometimes had battles
against other tribes . A war boat was made the same way as the
mishoon. The war boat could hold up to 40 people . The
Wampanoag people traveled A LOT!
What the Wampanoag Women wore
bySonie
Have you you ever wondered what the
wampanoag girls wore? The types of
clothes they made were breeches, skirts,
moccasins, leggings, robes and belts. To
make the clothes they needed different
items. The items they used were deer hide,
plant fibers , bear skin , fox skin, bullrush
and moose hides. The colors that were on
their clothes were brown, hazelnut, red and
black. This is some information about the wampanoag women
and what they wore.
Glossary
1 } - Deerhide - a type of skin that comes from deer
2} - Hazelnut - a type of color
3} - Breechcloths - a type of clothing they wore
4} - moccasins - a type of shoes the wampanoag wore
Wampanoag Weapons and Tools
by Will
There are many different types of tools and weapons that were necessary in order
for the Wampanoag Indians to survive. Some of the types of tools and weapons
they used were tomahawks, bow and arrows, pestles, spears, knives, clay pots,
clubs, tobacco pipes, and farming hoes. These tools and weapons were made out of
materials like stone, shells, shale, soapstone, brewerton, granite and wood. They
gathered these materials from animals, trees and other objects from nature.
The Wampanoags made their own tools and weapons. Clubs were made by carving
them out of small trees and sharpening the roots. Arrows were made by sharpening
rocks and tying them to sticks. Their bows were made by carving wood then tying
string made of animal skin to them. Spears are similar to arrows but they had a
longer stick. Axes, hoes, and tomahawks were made by tying rocks to a stick.
Those were the weapons and tools of the Wampanoag.
How the Wampanoag Healed The
Sick
by Zoe
Have you ever wondered how the Wampanoag healed the sick? There was a man called
the medicine man. The medicine man was like a doctor when the Wampanoag lived, but
just called the medicine man. The mother or father would pay him to make them better,
just like today! The medicine man had tools. The medicine man would use the tools if
you had something in your skin like little small pebbles, twigs, rocks and dirt. But if you
were sick, he would sing and dance around you.
Have you ever wondered how the Wampanoags made medicine? The Wampanoags
picked a lot of berries. They would pick berries that were good for you. They would also
pick herbs and roots. The medicine man mixed all of the berries and herbs and roots to
make medicine.
Did you know that Europeans gave the Wampanoags a
bad disease called smallpox? That disease killed a lot of
Wampanoags. Europeans came to trade with the
Wampanoags. Back were Europeans lived, they owned
farms. The animals they had on the farm gave them
smallpox. But the Wampanoags didn’t own farms or
farm animals. So when the Europeans came to trade with
the Wampanoag, the disease traveled with the Europeans
and gave it to the Wampanoags. Few people survived.
Can you believe how much they did back then to heal the sick?
herb:
root
a plant used for medicine.
bottom of the plant that holds
it