Who are the Pokanoket?
(pronounced poe - kah - noe - kit )
Pokanoket is a tribe of Native Americans who trace their their
lineage back thousands of years beyond the colonial days of the United States of America. We trace our ancestry
through the bloodlines and the written and oral history of our people. We are the people of Massasoit Ousamequin,
Massasoit Wamsutta, and Massasoit Metacom. We are Philip's people, the people of Metacom. We are the people who
celebrated the First Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims in 1621. We are the people who have endured much and who have
returned, after a long journey through history to the present day and continue to look forward to the
Pokanoket is also a Nation. The Nation of Tribes you may have
heard of referred to as Wampanoag ( pronounced wahm - peh - noe - ahg ) was known to our ancestors as the Pokanoket
Nation. The Pokanoket Nation, also known as the Pokanoket Confederacy or Pokanoket Country, was comprised of a
multitude of Tribes. (Refer to our Tribal Lands and Native
Communities page) Each Tribe was comprised of Bands and Villages and the Pokanoket
Tribe was the Headship of the Pokanoket Nation.
Pokanoket is also our home. Prior to the time of the pilgrim's
arrival in Plymouth, which used to be Patuxet, the realm of the Pokanoket included portions of Rhode Island and
much of southeastern Massachusetts, including the surrounding islands around Cape Cod and Martha's
The Pokanoket social organization developed in a manner that
differed from neighboring Native American Tribes, since Pokanoket was more socially structured and layered, as well
as more politically complex.
Unique to the Pokanoket Tribe were the spirtual and military
elite, know as the Pineese (Pineese Warrior), who protected and served the Massasoit (Great Leader). They are the
spiritual guardians of Pokanoket Nation.
Pokanoket believed seven to be the perfect number of completeness,
for we still believe in the Seven Spirits of the Creator. Those beliefs are as
God is the Principle Source of all Good
God is the Mind of Divine Supreme Intellegence
God is the Constant Capacity of
God is Spiritual Goodness
God is Life, the Eternal Action of
God is Truth itself
God is Love, the Infinite
The stature that the true Pokanoket / Wampanoag strived for had
many ingredients. Some of these character traits are as follows:
Patience - Which
is walking with our Creator. When our own agenda takes precedence, we become blinded by our own greed, not walking
in balance with our Creator causing a selfish act.
Kindness - Love
Selfless giving without competition of good deeds for others.
Unconditional love that is not puffed-up.
Courtesy - Action
of love in society using proper etiquette; for politeness is a key to love.
Love that is not self-motivated, but giving endlessly.
Good Temper -
Love always looking for a smoother course.
Love not taking into account any injury by word or deed.
Sincerity - Love
that rejoices in the Truth. If we endeavor to adopt an attitude of these ingredients, we will in reality be an
instrument for our Creator, the Almighty, as our ancestors were. The very foundation of Pokanoket is Love. Our
ancestors knew that we first had to love the Creator and all that was created, also, that when we loved ourselves
we could love others. Most important was our relationship with the Great Spirit who created us from Love, for our
Creator is Love.
Now knowing our character that we strive to be like, our path of
life is to be walked in gentleness with respect and dignity for all plant, animal, and human life that begins at
the moment of conception.