Introduction: In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry describes some of the seasonal traditions of the Wampanoag Tribe. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.

To honor the season, I look at some of the traditions adopted by the Wampanoag people.

My first subject is Roxanne Mills, featured in the Boston Herald in 1979. She shared some of her Thanksgiving traditions, which include a visit to the sweat lodge, dancing, and quahog chowder.

The article includes a photo of Roxanne and her recipe to make quahog chowder.

Roxanne is the daughter of Earl H. Mills Sr., aka Chief Flying Eagle, and the late Shirley L. Mills (Navajo); granddaughter of Ferdinand and Emma Oakley Mills and of the late Daniel L. (Navajo) and Elsie Post Moore. She descends from Pocknett, Webquish, Mills, Attaquin, Connett, and Oakley lines. Many of the links at the end of this article cover her ancestors and her people.

This article reports:

Mrs. Roxanne Mills, preschool teacher at the Boston Indian Council, is a most appropriate person to speak about Thanksgiving. “It was my people, the Wampanoags, who met the Pilgrims at Plymouth.”

Mills feels her commemoration of Thanksgiving has evolved from a typical American celebration to a true American celebration. As a child, her family, as all others, gathered for a large meal. “The men watched the football games; the kids played outside and the women talked.”

When Indianism arose in the late ’60s, Mills began to rediscover her Indian identity. She has reached back into her Indian past to revitalize traditions to thank the earth for food and the Creator for an opportunity to share it with her loved ones.

Her Thanksgiving now begins on Wednesday evening. Family and friends join together, first to go to a sweat lodge for a ritualistic cleansing, and then to pray. They fast from that sundown to the sundown of Thanksgiving Day.

Then comes the feast accompanied by singing and dancing. They prepare quahog chowder, turkey, ham, cranberry sauce, all kinds of squash or pumpkin pie. The cranberry sauce is made with special pride because Mills picks the berries from the bogs in her native Mashpee. Another East Coast Indian tradition is the clam boil: a preparation of clams, corn, and other vegetables by steaming them with rockweed under a canvas.

“Thanksgiving,” Mills says, “should be an everyday affair – people respecting and helping people, other human beings. People should stop and think what did take place on Thanksgiving, and not just give thanks on that one day, but have that attitude and respect for the people who were here when they came – the Native Americans.”

My next subject is Irving Puffer, of Wellfleet, Massachusetts, a direct descendant of the Rafe/Ralph/Rolf family – referred to as the “royal natives of Cape Cod.” His lineage traces to the Nauset people, an Algonquian-speaking tribe of Cape Cod. Irving shared some of his Thanksgiving traditions, which include oyster stuffing, and in past years partook in the festivities at Plimoth Plantation.

The Nauset Tribe, a branch of the Wampanoag people, played a significant role in supporting the Plymouth colonists through food trade, and also assisted during King Philip’s War (1675-1678) – three of the Ralphs fought with Gorham’s Rangers.

Irving runs the Nauset Indian Genealogy group on Facebook. I am working with him and his sister Pam on family history so stay tuned for future posts.

Several of Irving’s ancestors were fishermen and whalers including Jeremiah Ralph, who taught the English the true art of whaling. Jeremiah lived south of the Namequoit River and was a member of the Sachem’s Council and leader among the Praying Indians at Potanumicut.

Irving followed the tradition of earning his livelihood at sea and operated Wellfleet Cape Cod Oysters and Clams, which he recently turned over to his son Jacob “Jake” Puffer.

Check out the CBS series “Oysters: The Pearls of Cape Cod,” produced by Seth Doane. Irving and Jake appear in the video about three minutes in and you can catch it on YouTube.

Irving tells Doane he passed the torch to Jake, just another generation of many – as the Nauset people have fished in the waters for thousands of years.

And Irving has a connection to one of John Howland’s descendants (more on that in a future article) which prompted him and his family to attend the Plimoth annual dinner.

Below is a newspaper clip from 1988, many moons ago when Irving and his wife attended one of the feasts with their four children.

His son Jake, 11 years old at the time, told the press: “The food’s really good.” As the family sat among their companions dressed in Pilgrim garb and traditional Indian regalia, they heard their history dating back to that first Thanksgiving gathering in 1621.

Irving noted: “If John Howland hadn’t grabbed a line when he fell off the boat, we wouldn’t be here. Coming here makes the kids feel they’re part of history – and they see how good they’ve got it now!”

Another love Irving has is tilling and tending his magnificent garden – no doubt his green thumb is another Nauset trait he inherited.

To be continued…

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Note on the header image: Ousamequin, or “Massasoit” (Wampanoag term for “Great Sachem”) and Governor John Carver smoking a ceremonial pipe at Plymouth Colony in 1621. Credit: Sutro Library; Wikimedia Commons.

Related Articles:

• Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 9)
• Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 10)
• Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 11)
• Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 12)
• Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 1)
• Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 2)
• Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 3)
• Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 4)
• Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 5)
• Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 6)
• Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 7)
• Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 8)
• Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 9)
• Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 10)
• Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 11)
• Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 12)
• Richard Bourne: Missionary to Plymouth Colony Indians
• Thomas Tupper: Missionary to Plymouth Colony Indians
• New Hampshire Fishermen Help Plymouth Pilgrims