The Wampanoag <<WAHMpuh NOH ag>> are a North American Indian tribe that lives in southeastern Massachusetts. In 1621, the Wampanoag and English Pilgrims joined in the first Thanksgiving festival to give thanks for a good harvest and for peace. The Pilgrims had settled within the Wampanoag territory in what is now Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The Wampanoag traditionally lived by farming, hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants.

Contact with Europeans beginning in the early 1600’s was devastating for the Wampanoag. Smallpox, measles, and other European diseases killed many Indians. Others were kidnapped and sold into slavery. A brief but bloody war broke out between the Wampanoag and the English settlers in 1675. The Indians lost the war along with most of their traditional lands. In the 1970’s, the Wampanoag formed a tribal council to represent the interests of the tribe.