The Wampanoag

The Wampanoag people gave the origin to the American Thanksgiving. They saved the newly arrived Pilgrims during the harsh winter of 1620-21. Later the Pilgrims settled in and moved farther onto Wampanoag land. See how events unfolded when settlers came to Wamoanoag shores.

1620: English Pilgrims settle on Wampanoag land

Pilgrims settle at what is now known as Plymouth, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod near the abandoned village of Pahtuksut. Three years earlier, the Wampanoag had left after a smallpox outbreak ravaged the tribe. The Pahtuksut Wampanoag wait months before approaching the English for help in treating the diseases the colonists brought into their territory.

1621: Wampanoag people save Pilgrims

The Wampanoag people, the “People of the First Light,” are responsible for saving the Pilgrims from starvation and death during the harsh winter of 1620–21. The age-old Wampanoag respect for nature and for using the bounty of land and sea makes it possible for the Wampanoag people to share their provisions with the Pilgrims. Their generosity is the basis for the story of the first American Thanksgiving.

“We have lived with this land for thousands of generations—fishing in the waters, planting and harvesting crops, hunting the four-legged and winged beings and giving respect and thanks for each and every thing taken for our use. We were originally taught to use many resources, remembering to use them with care, respect, and with a mind towards preserving some for the seven generations of unborn, and not to waste anything.”
—Nanepashemet (b. 1954–d. 1995), Wampanoag

1630: Puritans move farther onto Wampanoag land

Thousands of English Puritans settle in what is now known as Massachusetts, moving inland and displacing Wampanoag and other Native peoples.