} The Pokanoket Nation, also known as the Pokanoket Tribe, is one of several cultural heritage organizations of individuals who identify as descendants of the

Wampanoag people The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and formerly parts of eastern Rhode Island.Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Isl ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

and

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. They formed a nonprofit organization called the Council of Seven & Royal House of Pokanoket & Pokanoket Tribe & Wampanoag Corporation in 1994. The Pokanoket Nation is an unrecognized organization. They are neither a

federally recognized tribe A federally recognized tribe is a Native American tribe recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs as holding a government-to-government relationship with the US federal government. In the United States, the Native American tribe ...

nor a

state-recognized tribe State-recognized tribes in the United States are Native American tribes or heritage groups that do not meet the criteria for federally recognized Indian tribes but have been recognized by state government through laws, governor's executive orders ...

. In 2015, they dropped "Wampanoag" from their name. They should not be confused with other unrecognized heritage groups, such as the Pokanoket/Wampanoag Federation, based in Warwick, Rhode Island; Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation, based in Auburn, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island; or the

Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation The Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation is one of several cultural heritage organizations of individuals who identify as descendants of the Wampanoag people in Rhode Island. They formed a nonprofit organization, the Pocasset Pokanok ...

in Cranston, Rhode Island. Their chief or sagamore, William Guy, is also known as Po Wauipi Neimpaug. Guy claims descent from

Massasoit Massasoit Sachem ( ) or Ousamequin (1661)"Native People" (page), "Massasoit (Ousamequin) Sachem" (section),''MayflowerFamilies.com'', web pag was the sachem or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. ''Massasoit'' means ''Great Sachem''. Although ...

. The

Narragansett Indian Tribe The Narragansett people are an Algonquian American Indian tribe from Rhode Island. Today, Narragansett people are enrolled in the federally recognized Narragansett Indian Tribe. They gained federal recognition in 1983. The tribe was nearly la ...

, the only federally recognized tribe in Rhode Island, does not recognize the Pokanoket Nation as a Native American tribe. The

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (formerly Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council, Inc.) is one of two federally recognized tribes of Wampanoag people in Massachusetts. Recognized in 2007, they are headquartered in Mashpee, Massachusetts, Mashpee on ...

, one of the only two federally recognized Wampanoag tribes, states the Mashpee are the descendants of the historical

Pokanoket people The Pokanoket (also spelled PakanokickKathleen J. Bragdon, ''Native People of Southern New England, 1500–1650'', page 21) are a group of Wampanoag people and the village governed by Massasoit (c. 1581–1661), chief sachem of the Wampanoag peop ...

Nonprofit organization

The Council of Seven & Royal House of Pokanoket & Pokanoket Tribe & Wampanoag Corporation registered as a

nonprofit corporation A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a nonprofit corporation ma ...

in 1994. Michael S. Weeden of Millbury, Massachusetts, is the registered agent. The officers are: * President: Michael S. Weeden * Vice President: Lauri Groh-Germin * Treasurer: Craig Martin * Secretary: Krista Viera

Petition for federal recognition

In 1994, Clifford Guy of Bristol, Rhode Island, sent a letter of intent to petition for federal recognition on behalf of the Pokanoket Tribe of the Wampanoag Nation, but no documented petition has been submitted by the group.

Land claims

Territories and Boundaries of Pokanoket Tribe

In 1996, Paul Weeden, an early organizer for the group and cousin of William Guy, requested that

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

give a parcel of land at Mount Hope to the organization. The Pokanoket Tribe of the Wampanoag Nation publicly voiced opposition to the

Mohegan Tribe The Mohegan Tribe ( ) is a federally recognized Native American tribe and sovereign tribal nation based in Uncasville, Connecticut. Historically part of the Pequot people, the Mohegan emerged as a distinct group in the 17th century under the lead ...

building a casino in Massachusetts and said the proposed site is on their ancestral homelands. The Pokanoket Nation demonstrated at Brown University in 2016, then held an encampment and set up a roadblock, claiming that the campus land belonged to them as the heirs of the Wampanoag people at Pokanoket. Brown University transferred part of its Mount Hope property in

Bristol, Rhode Island Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States, as well as the county seat. The population of Bristol was 22,493 at the 2020 census. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. Major industries include boat buil ...

, to a preservation trust established by the Pokanoket Nation. This land, approximately 255 acres, is historically and culturally significant as the ancestral home of

Metacomet Metacomet (c. 1638 in Massachusetts – August 12, 1676), also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip,King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

in 1676. The transfer fulfills a commitment made in 2017 following an encampment on the property, aimed at ensuring the land's preservation and sustainable access for Native tribes and community organizations connected to its history. The deed ensures perpetual "access to the lands and waters of the Property to all members of all Tribes historically part of the Pokanoket Nation/Confederacy, and to all members of the

Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) (Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project – "Fun with words" https://www.wlrp.org/fun-with-words) is a federally recognized tribe of Wampanoag people based in the town of Aquinnah on the southwest ti ...

, the

, the Assonet Band of the Wampanoag Nation, the

Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe The Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe is a state-recognized tribe and nonprofit organization in Massachusetts. The members of the tribe are descendants of Wampanoag people. They are based in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Their nonprofit organization is nam ...

and the Pocasset Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation.”

Activities

The Pokanoket Nation is a member of the Federation of Aboriginal Nations of the Americas (FANA), an advocacy group based in

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket ( ) is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence, Rhode Island, Prov ...

, comprising nine organizations that are not recognized as

Native American tribes In the United States, an American Indian tribe, Native American tribe, Alaska Native village, Indigenous tribe, or Tribal nation may be any current or historical tribe, band, or nation of Native Americans in the United States. Modern forms of t ...

. In 2017, they protested the repatriation of grave goods belonging to Massasoit to the Mashpee Wampanoag, Aquinnah Wampanoag, and the Assonet Band of Wampanoag.

References

External links