Mashpee

Hundreds of years after their ancestors feasted with the Pilgrims on the first Thanksgiving, the Mashpee Wampanoag Indians remain this town’s pulse with their rich heritage of living off the land. 

Mashpee was recognized as an Indian reservation and land sales were limited to Indians until 1870, when the commonwealth of Massachusetts required Mashpee and Gay Head on Martha’s Vineyard – its last Indian districts – to be incorporated into towns.

For all their clashes with land developers and the federal government, the Mashpee Wampanoags stand strong today, with 1,500 tribal members, the largest Native American community in Massachusetts. The tribe leaves its mark all over town, from the Annual Pow-Wow each July, to the sacred Indian Meeting House – Cape Cod’s oldest church – to the ponds its members have long fished. Tourists come for this legacy, along with first-class Mashpee shopping, pristine ocean and beautiful hiking areas.