People Of The First Light; 107; The Wampanoags Of Mashpee

<v Host>When the white man first came to Cape Cod in Massachusetts, he found a wild and <v Host>beautiful land and sprawling beaches and marshlands teeming with wildlife. <v Host>There were deer and muskrat. The bald eagle and the Osprey. <v Host>The oceans offered clams and mussels, bluefish and cod. <v Host>It was a land of plenty. It was the land of the Wampanoag. <v Host 2>The Native American television project presents People of the First <v Host 2>Light: The Mashpee Wampanoags. <v Host 2>[singing and drumming] <v Host>Although much of Cape Cod today is unchanged, the quiet marshlands still

<v Host>stretch for miles and the forests still shelter the pheasant and the deer. <v Host>It is not as it was. <v Host>There are traffic jams and shopping centers, gas stations, airports <v Host>and marinas. Tourists flock to the beaches and clog the highways with their <v Host>cars and trucks. The towns are filled to overflowing each summer <v Host>and the towns themselves are changing. <v Host>Mashpee is a town like many on Cape Cod, but there is something different <v Host>about Mashpee. Something special. <v Host>It is the home of the Wampanoag Indians, a tribe whose history goes back to long <v Host>before the arrival of the Europeans. <v Host>In the years since the Wampanoags first welcomed white men to the shores of Cape Cod, <v Host>they have seen their lands taken from them by deceit and by treachery. <v Host>Their hunting and fishing grounds are now gone. <v Host>And yet, in Mashpee, the tribe has survived even to this day.

<v Host>Vernon ?Pocknet? Is a Wampanoag Indian who has lived in Mashpee all his life. <v Host>He has seen the town grow and change over the years, and often the changes <v Host>have brought destruction, destruction to the land and destruction <v Host>to the Indian way of life. <v Vernon Pocknet>I've seen a lot. I'm 43 years old and I've seen a lot in 43 years in <v Vernon Pocknet>this town. <v Vernon Pocknet>In fact, I've seen so much it hurts bad stuff, real <v Vernon Pocknet>bad stuff, such as ripping our earth mother to <v Vernon Pocknet>pieces. <v Vernon Pocknet>This is what an Indian lives on, thrives on, his Mother Earth. <v Vernon Pocknet>When you tear her to pieces, it's like tearing your mother to pieces. <v Vernon Pocknet>When you do that, you don't have no respect for anybody <v Vernon Pocknet>else. <v Vernon Pocknet>I can show you the good, bad and the evil around here. <v Vernon Pocknet>I can do it because I've seen it myself.

<v Vernon Pocknet>The food is where the land is still in its own habitat, and the birds sing free, <v Vernon Pocknet>fish swim well and the animals still run and play. <v Vernon Pocknet>What white man calls it Mother Nature is the same thing as an Indian calls it Mother <v Vernon Pocknet>Earth. The same thing. <v Vernon Pocknet>We have to work with Mother Earth to balance our life. <v Vernon Pocknet>If we appreciate her, she turns around and pays us back with letting us live, <v Vernon Pocknet>providing our food and water and warmth. <v Vernon Pocknet>When I look around me, I see all of Mother Earth's <v Vernon Pocknet>blessings, green trees, pure water, marsh <v Vernon Pocknet>land and the singing of the birds. <v Vernon Pocknet>We love our land here. <v Vernon Pocknet>This is what we were put here for. <v Vernon Pocknet>Keep it this way, not destroy it.

<v Vernon Pocknet>Our creator, the Great Spirit, this is the way he wanted the land to stay. <v Vernon Pocknet>We'll then journey down, and I'll show you what what the other people think. <v Vernon Pocknet>I can show you what man's destruction has done. <v Vernon Pocknet>I've seen the great bald eagle disappear, which is pretty <v Vernon Pocknet>common here. <v Vernon Pocknet>I've seen different fish disappear. <v Vernon Pocknet>I've seen little bird life disappear in my time. <v Vernon Pocknet>And some of our Indian provinces tells us this is going to happen anyway. <v Vernon Pocknet>But I'm seeing it. Some of those Indian prophecies say when you see the tops <v Vernon Pocknet>of those trees start to die, that's when the Creator's <v Vernon Pocknet>coming back and start all over again. <v Vernon Pocknet>When I was a child, my younger days, this is where <v Vernon Pocknet>we used to hunt and kill our deer and

<v Vernon Pocknet>trap raccoon, muskrat. <v Vernon Pocknet>This is all man made. Now, everybody thinks it's so beautiful here. <v Vernon Pocknet>It might be beautiful to them, but for me, it's disaster <v Vernon Pocknet>because it ruined a part of my way of my life. <v Vernon Pocknet>And when you do that to me, you kill my soul. <v Vernon Pocknet>Now we're going to leave this little inlet here, which was manmade. <v Vernon Pocknet>This is a natural inlet where we're coming into right now. <v Vernon Pocknet>These had natural oysters in there. There's no more here <v Vernon Pocknet>today because of a shorage <v Vernon Pocknet>of gas from the boats. <v Vernon Pocknet>Pollution. Period. <v Vernon Pocknet>When this happens, everything dies. <v Vernon Pocknet>This was always our territory, was all open to everyone, not only Indian, white <v Vernon Pocknet>man, too. He had the same privileges that we did. <v Vernon Pocknet>We all enjoyed it.

<v Vernon Pocknet>No more, There are signs up, private property, keep away, <v Vernon Pocknet>fences. Even these individual houses up here. <v Vernon Pocknet>If you notice, they have fences in between themselves, the fence themselves in. <v Vernon Pocknet>That's what they call privacy. <v Vernon Pocknet>They get Doberman pinchers, police German shepherds, <v Vernon Pocknet>and in fact, the law. The law stands by these people. <v Vernon Pocknet>They may be pretty, but to me, it's the end. <v Host>By preserving the traditions of their forefathers, the Mashpee Wampanoags have maintained <v Host>their heritage even as the town around them has changed. <v Host>If the tribe is to survive, however, these traditions must be passed from generation <v Host>to generation. For this reason, the knowledge that Vernon Pocknet has acquired, <v Host>he freely shares with the younger members of the tribe by teaching them to <v Host>gather and prepare food the Indian way.

<v Vernon Pocknet>In order to do this, I have to go collect the children around town, gather a group of <v Vernon Pocknet>kids, get them together. Pile them in a boat. <v Vernon Pocknet>Get the gear together. Bring 'em on this island here where it's peaceful. <v Vernon Pocknet>You hear the birds. You hear the wind, hear the ocean roar. <v Vernon Pocknet>There's wild berries here. There's even wild animals if you want to hunt 'em. <v Vernon Pocknet>Also plenty shellfish. <v Vernon Pocknet>There's everything there that an Indian can use. <v Vernon Pocknet>This is where I teach these children, where I was taught, where a lot of the children <v Vernon Pocknet>have been taught. Because this is one of the last places we have that is still <v Vernon Pocknet>in its own habitat. <v Vernon Pocknet>You guys know what these are don't 'ya? <v Vernon Pocknet>[children: herron] Herron. <v Vernon Pocknet>Anyway, do any of you know how to cut up a herron? [child: cut of the head] Ah <v Vernon Pocknet>huh, and the tail, right. [Child: Then you put the knife through the skin] Ok, <v Vernon Pocknet>how do you start out smoking a herron?

<v Vernon Pocknet>You got to catch him first. Right. [Children: Yeah] Then after you catch the heron, what <v Vernon Pocknet>do you do to it. <v Vernon Pocknet>Domingo knows, no. Domingo, you know what to do. [Domingo: salt it] Right, for <v Vernon Pocknet>how long? <v Vernon Pocknet>Then what happens after that? We take 'em, hang 'em up in the sun and dry them. <v Vernon Pocknet>Right. <v Vernon Pocknet>The next step is putting them in the smoke rack. <v Vernon Pocknet>All right. <v Vernon Pocknet>We have three different herbs, some have four, some Indians have- won't tell you what <v Vernon Pocknet>they got. In fact, I don't tell nobody what I do it with. <v Vernon Pocknet>Well, I'm tired of doing this now for you children. <v Vernon Pocknet>No, let me see one of you guys clean one. <v Vernon Pocknet>That ain't much good see. Some of these- [Child: I'll try] OK, can one of you try it? <v Vernon Pocknet>[Child: I can try] Watch your fingers. <v Vernon Pocknet>Now, take it that way, see. <v Vernon Pocknet>Now, can you peel that skin off? See the back fin, that's the only part of the meat

<v Vernon Pocknet>there is. See you start there. <v Vernon Pocknet>That part's no good anyway. <v Vernon Pocknet>[Child: How come I can't get the skin off?] That's no good anyway. <v Vernon Pocknet>Don't be scared of it. <v Vernon Pocknet>There you go. OK. <v Vernon Pocknet>Now we ate these herons, and now we've got to have more food. <v Vernon Pocknet>So we've got to go to the water and hunt for more food. <v Vernon Pocknet>[Child: right now?] Right now. OK. <v Vernon Pocknet>I've learned ever since I was a child from my father. <v Vernon Pocknet>He learned from his father, and it's been handed down in the tribe for <v Vernon Pocknet>years to live this way. <v Vernon Pocknet>And this is why I've got to teach these children our way <v Vernon Pocknet>of life. So we do not lose it. <v Vernon Pocknet>OK, you guys. How many you guys ever felt quahogs with <v Vernon Pocknet>your feet. [Child: Feels like a rock] It does. <v Vernon Pocknet>Have you ?inaudible name? ever done it? No. <v Vernon Pocknet>Well, we're going to do this. We're going to do this and Domingo will show you. <v Vernon Pocknet>You never done it either?

<v Vernon Pocknet>No. OK. Gonna be you first time, huh? <v Vernon Pocknet>First time for everything. <v Vernon Pocknet>We better get some too, because if we want to eat tonight, you guys want to eat tonight. <v Vernon Pocknet>We better get some quahogs. All right. Here's how we do it now. <v Vernon Pocknet>You got to learn how to do this by yourself. <v Vernon Pocknet>Feel with your feet, remember like I told you. <v Vernon Pocknet>Do you feel like a this rock or a stone down there? <v Vernon Pocknet>Might- you might feel a crab. Sometimes, you know, he'll let you know he's there. <v Vernon Pocknet>I think I got one. Hey, hey. Come over here and feel with your foot. <v Vernon Pocknet>You feel with your foot. You feel that? <v Vernon Pocknet>Does that feel? What's it feel like? <v Vernon Pocknet>You don't feel nothing. <v Vernon Pocknet>OK. OK. <v Vernon Pocknet>Let me look. Reach down. See if you can get it. <v Vernon Pocknet>[Child: I got it! I got it!] Hey, how is that? OK. Throw him to shore. <v Vernon Pocknet>There you go. Feel for some more now. <v Vernon Pocknet>We've got to get enough of supper, you know. <v Vernon Pocknet>[Child: I got one!] Oh, yeah? That's a dead shell. [Child: It's a crab!] <v Vernon Pocknet>He's OK. He's OK. He won't bother you. He'll grow up so we can eat him, too, you know.

<v Vernon Pocknet>Try over here. <v Vernon Pocknet>Where you find one, there's another one you know. <v Vernon Pocknet>Feel- you feel anything with your feet. <v Vernon Pocknet>You do. <v Vernon Pocknet>Hey. You got one!It's very important to teach these children the Indian way <v Vernon Pocknet>of life because it's hard to be an Indian you see. <v Vernon Pocknet>Everything in this day of life is just against the <v Vernon Pocknet>Indians way of life. <v Vernon Pocknet>Anything that we can do to protect our way of life. <v Vernon Pocknet>That's what we should do. [children and Vernon talking] <v Host>Many of the areas where the Mashpee Wampanoags traditionally gathered clams and <v Host>quahogs are now closed to them. They can no longer move freely along the shore as they <v Host>once did. For this reason, they have turned to other methods <v Host>to ensure that there will be enough of the traditional foods for all the members of the <v Host>tribe.

<v Bill Peters>My name is Bill Peters, and I'm a Wampanoag Indian. <v Bill Peters>I am known to my people as Little Owl. <v Bill Peters>I work on the tribal aquafarm, which is pretty much like any other farm. <v Bill Peters>We cultivate, plant and harvest, but it's all done under water. <v Bill Peters>Our crop is quahogs. <v Bill Peters>Quahog is like a clam, and quahogs come in all sizes. <v Bill Peters>There are little necks, cherry stones and the bulls, which are the largest. <v Bill Peters>Quahogs are used in stews, chowders and other dishes. <v Bill Peters>The Wampanoags have always lived near the sea and seafood, especially <v Bill Peters>quahogs have always been an important part of our diet. <v Bill Peters>It used to be that members of the tribe could just go to the sea and get quahogs. <v Bill Peters>But it's not that easy now. <v Bill Peters>A lot of people have moved into the area, and they've fenced off beaches in areas <v Bill Peters>where the quahogs grow.

<v Bill Peters>And now they're only a few areas left where we can go to get quahogs. <v Bill Peters>That's why we started the aquafarm. Quahogs grow <v Bill Peters>on the ocean bottom either in mud or sand, depending on the area. <v Bill Peters>The best bottom for growing them is light sand with a fairly swift current. <v Bill Peters>We plant quahogs when they're about the size of your fingernail, and it takes <v Bill Peters>about a year for them to grow. When they're ready to harvest, they're <v Bill Peters>about the size of your fist and weigh up to about half a pound. <v Bill Peters>From time to time throughout the year, we go down and check on how they're doing. <v Bill Peters>They're easy enough to find because their shell's color is usually lighter than the <v Bill Peters>sand around them. <v Bill Peters>Just like any crop, quahogs have to be tended, cold winters <v Bill Peters>can kill the little ones and the crabs and fish will attack them if there shell's broken. <v Bill Peters>The shell is very hard and good protection. <v Bill Peters>But sometimes crabs get them open or the shells will break <v Bill Peters>and the shell is broken. The quahog is as good as gone.

<v Bill Peters>Besides crabs, there's red tide, starfish and other problems in aqua farming. <v Bill Peters>Once the aquafarm gets going full scale, there should be plenty of seafood for the tribe <v Bill Peters>once again. Members will be able to come to the aquafarm and take what they <v Bill Peters>need. They won't have to pay anything because it's as much their food <v Bill Peters>as it is ours. It is for the whole tribe, not just for those <v Bill Peters>of us who work here. <v Bill Peters>The tribe is like a big family and every member is like a brother or a sister. <v Bill Peters>We share what we have. That's the Indian way. <v Host>The Aqua Farm is just one of many activities in which individual members <v Host>of the Wampanoag tribe work for the good of all another <v Host>and a very popular activity is the annual clambake, which takes place <v Host>each year during the Mashpee powwow.

<v Host>The powwow activities go on for several days, and on the final day, a <v Host>huge dinner is prepared for the hundreds of people who attend because of the <v Host>number of people who must be fed. <v Host>A very large cooking area must be prepared the night before <v Host>the fire pit is done and the cooking stones are laid in place. <v Host>At the day of the clambake, a huge bonfire is built on top of the stones <v Host>and it burns throughout the morning. <v Host>The stones, which are heated by the fire, must be very solid and have no air bubbles in <v Host>them, or they will explode or turn to ash and lose their heat. <v Host>Hundreds of pounds of stones are needed for a clambake the size of the Mashpee Powell <v Host>clambake, and the fire must be kept burning for several hours. <v Host>Once the stones are sufficiently heated, the real work of the clambake begins. <v Host>First all of the ashes and embers must be raked off and those <v Host>that are still burning must be extinguished. <v Host>The town fire truck is brought in to supply the water needed to hose down the entire

<v Host>cooking area. An incredible amount of heat is given off by the stones. <v Host>They serve as a huge oven, and in order for members of the tribe to work in the area, <v Host>the edge of the fire pit must be cooled with water. <v Host>After all the coals and embers have been raked off, the seaweed is brought up. <v Host>But before it is thrown on the stones, it too must be soaked with water. <v Host>Bag after bag of wet seaweed is heaped on the stones, giving off huge clouds <v Host>of steam which let everyone know that the actual cooking is about to begin. <v Host>While the seaweed is being spread on the stones, other members of the tribe begin to <v Host>unload the food and lay it out on the ground around the pit. <v Host>Clams and lobsters from the sea, corn and sweet potato from the fields. <v Host>These are the foods that are traditional to the Wampanoag. <v Host>It is at times like this that the rich bounty which the Great Spirit has provided for his <v Host>children is plain to see. <v Host>As the food is placed on the steaming seaweed, the cooking process begins immediately.

<v Host>Members of the tribe must move quickly to get all food into place before too much of the <v Host>steam and heat is lost. <v Host>The final step in the cooking process consists of covering the food with wet sheets <v Host>which hold the heat, and this, in turn, is covered with a huge sheet of plastic <v Host>to capture the steam. <v Host>Once these are in place, it's only a matter of hours and the food will be ready. <v Host>While the main course is cooking, people began to line up for the fish chowder, which <v Host>will begin the meal. The clambake is part of the Mashpee powwow, which <v Host>is an event attended by visiting tribes as well as townspeople and tourists. <v Host>And the line stretches around the powwow grounds as the chowder is scooped from steaming <v Host>cauldrons and served. <v Host>The most exciting moment of the clambake, of course, is when the covering is thrown off <v Host>and the food which has been cooking is exposed for all to see. <v Host>It is quickly loaded into baskets and carry to the tables where the plates are piled high

<v Host>and hungry. Visitors, both Indian and white alike, began to enjoy a traditional <v Host>Mashpee clambake. <v Host>For many of the tourists and visitors who attend each year, the clambake is the <v Host>high point of the powwow. <v Host>This is not the case, however, for the Wampanoags and Narragansetts, the Pequots and <v Host>Schaghticokescatter, the Mi'kmaq and the Mohegan. <v Host>Members of these and other tribes who come from throughout New England and beyond come <v Host>not for the clambake, but rather to simply spend this weekend together. <v Host>Casual visitors to Mashpee see the food stands and the jewelry for sale. <v Host>They hear the drumming and chanting and watch the dance contests. <v Host>What they do not see and cannot feel is the spirit of brotherhood <v Host>and harmony that exists for the Native Americans who are. <v Host>The powwow is a time for tribal leaders to meet and exchange greetings,

<v Host>to talk of the successes and failures of the past year. <v Host>It is a time to give and seek counsel. <v Host>The powwow is also a time for religious ceremonies. <v Host>Some of these are held in public, like the passing of the pipe and the prayers to the <v Host>Great Spirit for guidance. <v Host>Presiding over the powwow and all the ceremonies of the weekend is the medicine <v Host>man who is the spiritual leader of the tribe. <v John Peters>My name is John Peters. <v John Peters>I'm a supreme medicine man of the Wampanoag Nation. <v John Peters>My role as a medicine man takes on several different things. <v John Peters>And the first one, the most important one is the religion. <v John Peters>The religious part of being the medicine man is to be able <v John Peters>to deal with the people, talk <v John Peters>about religion with them and show 'em the way of life that the great spirit <v John Peters>or God has taught me to bring to

<v John Peters>my people and the life that God or the Great Spirit <v John Peters>would like them to live. <v John Peters>This meeting house, which at times is called the old Indian Church, <v John Peters>has a great amount of sentimental attachment to us. <v John Peters>With all of ancestors been so here, this forever will be <v John Peters>a very important part of our life. <v John Peters>[singing]Yes, we can stand together any priest or minister and myself, <v John Peters>and we can talk about the religious things, which are both the same. <v John Peters>When we are talking about Christianity? We talk about love. <v John Peters>Christianity means loving everything that God has provided. <v John Peters>The Indian religion, we're talking about the same thing. <v John Peters>That's- I mean, the main number one part of our religion is love and <v John Peters>respect and trust. <v John Peters>The Great Spirit has brought his religious part into us

<v John Peters>and told us, given us instruction, how to live <v John Peters>and how to live in balance. <v John Peters>Balance is a very important part of our whole <v John Peters>religious and social structure. <v John Peters>Try. <v John Peters>We are very close to the area where people at the believe that <v John Peters>the Earth is on mother. <v John Peters>And therefore, we're very close to Mother Earth because we know <v John Peters>that the Earth provides all food for us. <v John Peters>Provides a place that you can rest your head. <v John Peters>It provides a place which you can feel loved. <v John Peters>And you can have respect. <v John Peters>And I'm talking about respect for all living things. <v John Peters>Our religion doesn't just stop on Sunday, eight hours every day and a week.

<v John Peters>So Sunday is just another day for us because our <v John Peters>minds are in terms of the Great Spirt all the time. <v John Peters>If it wasn't for the Great Spirit we wouldn't be existing, and we're <v John Peters>very much aware of that fact. <v John Peters>And we given thanks for just the mere fact of being here, going <v John Peters>to church on Sunday for an hour. That means nothing to us. <v John Peters>And our church is not in a confined building. <v John Peters>Our church is wherever we walk and where we're at. <v John Peters>And this church, Holy Mother Earth, is our church. <v John Peters>So we're not compelled or confined to a whole building because we <v John Peters>feel that the Great Spirit provided this whole earth for us. <v John Peters>So why should we hide underneath that building? <v John Peters>We want to be out where we can see his works and see him and <v John Peters>be able to see the sun and the things that he's provided for us to be with. <v John Peters>When we do a dance similar to them praying, you know, they go

<v John Peters>and they go in the church and they sit and they sing in unison. <v John Peters>You know, and they sing a song. The song books we are praying <v John Peters>with, are thanking the Great Spirit for planting season for a <v John Peters>harvest. And each dance has a significant part in <v John Peters>the life of the people. And so when we dance, we're not dancing <v John Peters>to entertain you. We're dancing because we're praying and <v John Peters>we're not getting on our knees like you do. <v John Peters>Rather than we're dancing around in a circle. <v John Peters>And the circle is a very important part of the thing is that the circle <v John Peters>of unity is a circle. <v John Peters>That is a cycle of life. <v John Peters>And I spoke about walking in balance. <v John Peters>We dance in one direction for the good spirit and we dance to the other direction for the <v John Peters>best period. It sort of balance at all.

<v John Peters>So when you see us reverse, I say, OK, let's what we're doing, because we had to talk to <v John Peters>him, too. <v John Peters>So most everything that we talk about deals with a cycle. <v John Peters>A cycle in life with your bond, <v John Peters>you grow, your die. <v John Peters>And each bed in each animal and each bug fly <v John Peters>that you see around has a certain part in life. <v John Peters>And he may be the food for another bird or animal, or the <v John Peters>bird or the animal might be the fuel, food for the human being. <v John Peters>And the Great Spirit has provided all of us. <v John Peters>He has provided man, and he's provided things <v John Peters>for man to survive with.

<v John Peters>These are the things that we're talking about. <v John Peters>And one thing most of all I'd like to impress upon your mind <v John Peters>is these couple of words that I'm going to say. <v John Peters>Walk in balance. Balance is <v John Peters>what we need. We need to balance everything off. <v John Peters>We need the birds to be of a sufficient number. <v John Peters>We need the fish, and we need the animals that roam the earth to <v John Peters>be in a sufficient number. <v John Peters>We need the human beings to be in a sufficient number. <v John Peters>So they are all in balance. <v John Peters>So no one is starving to death. <v John Peters>This will make a better life for you and your children's children and their children. <v John Peters>And this will ensure that we'll be on this earth for a long time. <v John Peters>So keep those words in mind to be able to be in balance, walk <v John Peters>and balance and be in balance. <v John Peters>These are the things that need to be impressive on all people's minds so that we can <v John Peters>continue the cycle that the Great Spirit has provided.

<v Host>By walking in balance and living and working with nature, the Mashpee Wampanoags <v Host>have survived even to this day. <v Host>They have seen many changes and many more are yet to come. <v Host>But Mashpee will always be the land of the Wampanoag.