Welcome
Welcome to the official website of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), a federally recognized Tribal Nation located on the western end of Martha’s Vineyard. Our Tribe has maintained a continuous connection to these homelands for thousands of years, preserving our culture, traditions, language, and sovereignty while serving our Tribal Citizens and community today.
Whether you are a Tribal Citizen, community member, partner agency, or visitor, this website is your resource for Tribal government, programs, services, announcements, and upcoming events.
Tribal Departments & Services
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Community Resources
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About Our Tribe
The Wampanoag Nation once included all of Southeastern Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island, encompassing over 67 distinct tribal communities. The Wampanoag people have undergone a very difficult history after assisting pilgrims in the early 1600s. With the European settlers came much adversity for our tribe - disease that virtually wiped out whole villages, systems of government that bore little resemblance to our tribal practices and values, missionaries intent on converting us to Christianity, and private models of land use and ownership that conflicted with our tribe's own communal practices and values. The vast majority of these tribal communities were killed in battles initiated by colonists to secure land. Today, only six visible tribal communities remain. Mashpee and Aquinnah have maintained physical and cultural presence on their ancestral homelands. Linking these tribal communities through preservation efforts is essential for survival of the many cultural arts and traditions at risk of being lost.