Cross-Cultural Collaboration: Native Peoples and Archaeology in the Northeastern United States

3. Consulting with the Bone Keepers: NAGPRA Consultations and Archaeological Monitoring in the Wampanoag Territory

3. Consulting with the Bone Keepers nagpra Consultations and Archaeological Monitoring in the Wampanoag Territory G6BDC6 A E:I:GH I have been actively involved with both the Wampanoag Confederation Repatriation Project and tribal historic preservation officer (I=ED) activities for the past six years. During this time, I believe that I have consulted with every leading archaeologist, museum staff member complying with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (nagpra), and all federal agency representatives in archaeology in New England. This experience has been both rewarding and disappointing. Coming from the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, whose homeland was colonized nearly four hundred years ago, I have found it challenging to enter into the consultation process without some feelings of bitterness and distrust . Since I took on the role of repatriation coordinator of the Wampanoag Confederation, I have learned a great deal about the people and philosophies behind the institutions that collect and trade Native American cultural resources. This chapter is about some of my consultation experiences attempting to repatriate and protect my ancestors’ remains. The needs of the living are the priority for most tribal nations; however , I believe it is of the utmost importance that we honor the ancestors who made it possible for us to be here. In our traditional culture, the ancestors are as much a part of our daily lives as anyone else in the family. Ramona L. Peters  Mashpee Wampanoag people regularly call on the ancestors to guide us through hard decisions, reflections on the past, and assessment of tribal needs, among other things. Repatriation and reinterment demonstrate our thanksgiving to them. Our tribe joined the Wampanoag Confederation to relieve the spiritual tension that exists due to the desecration of our ancestors’ graves. The Wampanoag are among the first indigenous people in New England who encountered European colonists. The story is hard, the assaults and insults are many—and all of this is reviewed constantly while we consult. Wampanoag leaders instructed me by saying that we must always represent our people and ancestors in a way in which they can be proud. I have approached consultation being mindful of this obligation to my people and have relied on it to shape the way. The Wampanoag Confederation Repatriation Project Through a combination of disease, warfare, and colonial encroachment, most Wampanoag tribes were dispersed and villages destroyed. The tribal communities of Mashpee, Aquinnah, and Herring Pond are still living on their original village sites. Currently, only one of the three is a federally recognized tribe (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head [Aquinnah] recognized in 1987; see Herbster and Cherau, and Chilton, this volume). The Mashpee Tribe has had a petition for federal recognition pending since 1980. Other surviving Wampanoag descendants live among American communities in New England and throughout the world.1 Some Wampanoag descendants serve our nation as volunteer monitors of reinterment sites. The formation of the Confederation made the most sense for Wampanoag territory because the only Wampanoag federally recognized tribe in Massachusetts lives on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, leaving a vast area of our nation’s homeland to cover. The Aquinnah Tribe is part of the Wampanoag Nation politically within the domain of a Massasoit.2 Geographic constraints made it necessary to employ the assistance of off-island Wampanoag to fulfill our national interest in repatriation. The three Wampanoag groups of Mashpee, Aquinnah, and the Assonet Band joined the Wampanoag Confederation through formal resolutions passed during council meetings. Consulting with the Bone Keepers  The Wampanoag Confederation was formed specifically to provide a way for the Wampanoag Nation to participate in nagpra. Gatherings of other Wampanoag clans, bands, and tribal representatives were convened to define the appropriate territorial boundaries and to address cultural, spiritual, and political concerns. Spiritual and political leaders from each group participated in the development of the Confederation’s repatriation policies. Repatriation officers were selected to engage in the process by representing their tribal people. The three repatriation officers of the Confederation are Edith Andrews of the Aquinnah, John Peters Jr. of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, and Kenneth Alves of the Assonet Band of the Wampanoag Nation. We travel together as a consulting team to the museums that have Wampanoag material in their collections. The Confederation requires consensus for any action to be taken. With their combined talents, the current Confederation repatriation officers make a fine consultation team. Their presence...