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The Mashpee Wampanoag have lived in present-day MA for more than 12,000 years. They're still here.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe march in DC in 2018, calling on supporters to stand with them as they continue to fight against the federal government for sovereign reservation rights.

On this edition of Your Call, Darius Coombs, a Mashpee Wampanoag, discusses the history of his people and the first English settlers who arrived on the Mayflower in 1620.

His people have been in what is now Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island for over 12,000 years and they're still here today. We discuss what life was like before the settlers arrived and what happened in the years after.

He says, "For us, Thanksgiving kicked off colonization. Our lives changed dramatically."

Guest:

Darius Coombs, Cultural & Outreach Coordinator for Education for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

Web Resources:

Mashpee Wampanoag Museum

The Washington Post, Dana Hedgpeth: Thanksgiving anniversary: Wampanoag Indians regret helping Pilgrims 400 years ago

Indian Country: The Wampanoag Side of the First Thanksgiving Story

Salon: Thanksgiving, a day of mourning for Native Americans

United American Indians of New England: National Day of Mourning

Lea is a producer for Your Call on KALW Local Public Radio. She graduated from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY in 2018.
Rose Aguilar has been the host of Your Call since 2006. She became a regular media roundtable guest in 2001. In 2019, the San Francisco Press Club named Your Call the best public affairs program. In 2017, The Nation named it the most valuable local radio show.