Pocasset Wampanoags
The Pocasset Wampanoag territory is known today as Fall River, Freetown, New Bedford, Dartmouth, Swansea, Somerset, Bristol and Tiverton R.I. The Pocasset tribe is recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but not federally recognized.
They are the direct lineal descendants of Weetamoo, wife Wamsutta, who was Chief Massasoit's son. Wamsutta was Weetamoo's second husband. Her first husband Winnepurket died shortly after they married. Weetamoo drowned in the Taunton River in 1676. Her dead body was mutilated, and her head was displayed on a pole.
Reservation Land
In 1693 Daniel Wilcox of Fall River was fined for selling rum to Indians and illegally buying land from them. Wilcox, not wanting to pay the fine fled to Tiverton R.I. Many years later, now an old and poor man, Wilcox offers a land swap to settle the fine. Wilcox signs over the deed to 140 acres boarding on the South Watuppa. An additional 40 acre parcel was located on the east shore of the North Wattupa.
The colony accepted this offer on November 29, 1701, and Wilcox was cleared of the fine.
On February 18 1704 the Massachusetts General Court set aside two (2) lots deeded from Daniel Wilcox to use for all time for the Indians residing in the southern part of Bristol County. This was done in return for services to the crown in recent wars with other Indians.
"Indian Town" is the remnants of some 200 acres originally bequeathed to the Natives who fought on the side of the colonists during the war led by King Philip. Col. Benjamin Church originally where the Tiverton Casino now stands. But as more and more white settlers cascaded over that part of Tiverton and Fall River, the Natives eventually traded those parcels for more remote land that Benjamin Church owned near the Copicut Woods, east of North Watuppa Pond. This parcel containing 195 acres of Indian land, extended to the east shore of the pond up to and across Blossom Road and continued east across Indian Town Road.
Who was Colonel Benjamin Church (1639-1717)?
Benjamin Church was the grandson of Mayflower passengers. Church resided in Little Compton RI on a 100-acre farm on a penninsula called "Sakonnet".
Awashonks was the sachem of the Sakonnet Tribe and she welcomed Church. Through his life, Church watched and learned from the Wampanoags around him. When war broke out in 1675 with an attack on a fortress in Swansea, he studied how the Wampanoag and Narragansett fought. His troops, a mixture of Indian and English soldiers, moved quickly and quietly. They used the cover provided and launched surprise attacks. Church not only lead the English against Phillip, but he also had five other expeditions in the late 1600s to Maine and Canada where he took Indian soldiers along with him. He did not keep muster rolls, and there is no record of exactly whose these men were. Church’s personal papers which were believed in part to detail the identities of his Indian allies burned up or were stolen in a fire in Fall River.
The U.S. Army Rangers say Church was the first Army Ranger. The U.S. Army Ranger website contains an article studying Church's tactics and drawing lessons from them that are still used today. He was inducted in the U.S, Ranger Hall of Fame in 1992.
Those tactics were successful. Church and his troops ended the war when they chased, trapped and killed Metacomet in Misery Swamp in what is now Bristol, Rhode Island.
Church later moved to Fall River to start a sawmill. He was called back to military duty several times when Indian skirmishes broke out in New Hampshire and Maine. He finally moved back to Little Compton.
City of Fall River Takes Portion of Reservation by Eminent Domain 1907
On July 22 1907 the City of Fall River took a portion of the Wampanoag Reservation "for protection" even though it was intended to pass to the heirs of those Indian soldiers "forever." The Fall River City Solicitor filed a legal brief to the Massachusetts Legislature for taking the land. The brief claimed all the Indians have vanished. Which is untrue.
The City of Fall River owned nearly 400 acres to which drained into the North Watuppa Pond, the source of the city's water supply. The plan was to acquire all the land on the shore of the pond, in order to protect the purity of the water. This reduced the Wampanaoag reservation to about 90 acres.
Wampanoag Nation Reservation 1939
In the 1939 the State of Massachusetts was under pressure from federal officials, adopted The Acts of 1939 which provided 227-acres of land in Freetown/Fall River State Forest to compensate the "Wampanoags" for the land the was taken by the City of Fall River in 1907. In 1976, an Executive Order from Governor Dukakis strengthened the Reservation by granting tribal rights to the Wampanoag Nation. The Wampanoag Nation received the land, not the Pocasset tribe.
Land Dispute
For nearly thirty (30) years the Pocasset Wampanoags have struggled to regain control over 96 acres of reservation land east of North Watuppa Pond in Fall River.
Adding to the outrage, the Pocasset Wampanoags must get the permission of the city’s forester to visit the cemetery on the property. The forester then changes out the lock for a special lock for which the Pocassets have a key. Attempts to resolve the issues have been with many of Fall River mayors, city councilors, state reps and senators, but all to no avail
Complicating the situation is that a portion of the Wampanoag reservation is now located in the conservation area known as the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve. The bioreserve consists of the land of Freetown State Forest, the Copicut Woods, controlled by the nonprofit Trustees of Reservations, and the Watuppa Reservation controlled by the City of Fall River.
Cemeteries
In 1954 the cemetery had 54 documented gravestones, In 1996 that number had dwindled to 12 gravestones.
Another smaller cemetery located at "Indian Common", which is located at Blossom Road and Indiantown Road has all but disappeared.
In 1942 25-30 gravestones were documented, in 1996 all evidence of gravestones have disappeared.
Guardianship Program 1856
In 1856 Wampanoag Zurviah G. Mitchell challenged the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to remove the guardianship program and, have four (4) lots of land she claimed in the Watuppa Reservation returned to the Wampanoags. Additionally she requested payment for the timber that was removed by the guardian, Benjamin Winslow. Winslow was an opponent of Native equality, claiming that the Natives "would receive no benefit from the privilege of citizenship, if it was put upon them."
At the time Mrs. Mitchell claimed she held a full 1/8th claim of land of the entire reservation in Fall River. This claim caused resentment by the others that resided on the reservation. The others claimed that Mrs. Mitchell "had taken liberties not heretofore allowed or claimed by any other member of the tribe."
Hostility towards Mrs. Mitchell grew, and was not discouraged by Mr. Winslow. Sadly, little did the Fall River Natives realize that Mrs. Mitchell's legal challenge was a critique of the commonwealth's guardianship program, nor did they comprehend that it was the beginning of the demise of the guardianship system.
On Apr 2 1861 The Commonwealth resolved to pay an amount of money due Mrs. Mitchell for the wood cut from the lots on the reservation. Upon agreement with Mrs. Mitchell on the amount of money, she will in turn relinquish to the Commonwealth all her rights, title and interest in the lots. The Commonwealth's Commissioner of Indians, John M Earle, determined that Mrs. Mitchell was entirely competent to manage her own affairs and didn't require or want guardianship.
In the meantime, Mitchell's husband bought a house in Fall River, moved it to Indian Town, and began refurbishing it until his death. Her family's presence there, however, caused a great outcry of "dislike and hostility" from the Indian residents, who broke windows and harassed her to the point that she abandoned the premises and returned to Abington. With her gone, Winslow continued cutting wood for the benefit of the other Indian occupants for whom he was responsible.
In 1869, "An Act to Enfranchise the Indians of the Commonwealth" was established, which ended the guardianship program and gave the same rights and privileges to the Wampanoags as the white citizens. Zeviah Mitchell died in 1898 never receiving the monies that were ordered to be paid to her.
The Pocasset Wampanoag territory is known today as Fall River, Freetown, New Bedford, Dartmouth, Swansea, Somerset, Bristol and Tiverton R.I. The Pocasset tribe is recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but not federally recognized.
They are the direct lineal descendants of Weetamoo, wife Wamsutta, who was Chief Massasoit's son. Wamsutta was Weetamoo's second husband. Her first husband Winnepurket died shortly after they married. Weetamoo drowned in the Taunton River in 1676. Her dead body was mutilated, and her head was displayed on a pole.
Reservation Land
In 1693 Daniel Wilcox of Fall River was fined for selling rum to Indians and illegally buying land from them. Wilcox, not wanting to pay the fine fled to Tiverton R.I. Many years later, now an old and poor man, Wilcox offers a land swap to settle the fine. Wilcox signs over the deed to 140 acres boarding on the South Watuppa. An additional 40 acre parcel was located on the east shore of the North Wattupa.
The colony accepted this offer on November 29, 1701, and Wilcox was cleared of the fine.
On February 18 1704 the Massachusetts General Court set aside two (2) lots deeded from Daniel Wilcox to use for all time for the Indians residing in the southern part of Bristol County. This was done in return for services to the crown in recent wars with other Indians.
"Indian Town" is the remnants of some 200 acres originally bequeathed to the Natives who fought on the side of the colonists during the war led by King Philip. Col. Benjamin Church originally where the Tiverton Casino now stands. But as more and more white settlers cascaded over that part of Tiverton and Fall River, the Natives eventually traded those parcels for more remote land that Benjamin Church owned near the Copicut Woods, east of North Watuppa Pond. This parcel containing 195 acres of Indian land, extended to the east shore of the pond up to and across Blossom Road and continued east across Indian Town Road.
Who was Colonel Benjamin Church (1639-1717)?
Benjamin Church was the grandson of Mayflower passengers. Church resided in Little Compton RI on a 100-acre farm on a penninsula called "Sakonnet".
Awashonks was the sachem of the Sakonnet Tribe and she welcomed Church. Through his life, Church watched and learned from the Wampanoags around him. When war broke out in 1675 with an attack on a fortress in Swansea, he studied how the Wampanoag and Narragansett fought. His troops, a mixture of Indian and English soldiers, moved quickly and quietly. They used the cover provided and launched surprise attacks. Church not only lead the English against Phillip, but he also had five other expeditions in the late 1600s to Maine and Canada where he took Indian soldiers along with him. He did not keep muster rolls, and there is no record of exactly whose these men were. Church’s personal papers which were believed in part to detail the identities of his Indian allies burned up or were stolen in a fire in Fall River.
The U.S. Army Rangers say Church was the first Army Ranger. The U.S. Army Ranger website contains an article studying Church's tactics and drawing lessons from them that are still used today. He was inducted in the U.S, Ranger Hall of Fame in 1992.
Those tactics were successful. Church and his troops ended the war when they chased, trapped and killed Metacomet in Misery Swamp in what is now Bristol, Rhode Island.
Church later moved to Fall River to start a sawmill. He was called back to military duty several times when Indian skirmishes broke out in New Hampshire and Maine. He finally moved back to Little Compton.
City of Fall River Takes Portion of Reservation by Eminent Domain 1907
On July 22 1907 the City of Fall River took a portion of the Wampanoag Reservation "for protection" even though it was intended to pass to the heirs of those Indian soldiers "forever." The Fall River City Solicitor filed a legal brief to the Massachusetts Legislature for taking the land. The brief claimed all the Indians have vanished. Which is untrue.
The City of Fall River owned nearly 400 acres to which drained into the North Watuppa Pond, the source of the city's water supply. The plan was to acquire all the land on the shore of the pond, in order to protect the purity of the water. This reduced the Wampanaoag reservation to about 90 acres.
Wampanoag Nation Reservation 1939
In the 1939 the State of Massachusetts was under pressure from federal officials, adopted The Acts of 1939 which provided 227-acres of land in Freetown/Fall River State Forest to compensate the "Wampanoags" for the land the was taken by the City of Fall River in 1907. In 1976, an Executive Order from Governor Dukakis strengthened the Reservation by granting tribal rights to the Wampanoag Nation. The Wampanoag Nation received the land, not the Pocasset tribe.
Land Dispute
For nearly thirty (30) years the Pocasset Wampanoags have struggled to regain control over 96 acres of reservation land east of North Watuppa Pond in Fall River.
Adding to the outrage, the Pocasset Wampanoags must get the permission of the city’s forester to visit the cemetery on the property. The forester then changes out the lock for a special lock for which the Pocassets have a key. Attempts to resolve the issues have been with many of Fall River mayors, city councilors, state reps and senators, but all to no avail
Complicating the situation is that a portion of the Wampanoag reservation is now located in the conservation area known as the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve. The bioreserve consists of the land of Freetown State Forest, the Copicut Woods, controlled by the nonprofit Trustees of Reservations, and the Watuppa Reservation controlled by the City of Fall River.
Cemeteries
In 1954 the cemetery had 54 documented gravestones, In 1996 that number had dwindled to 12 gravestones.
Another smaller cemetery located at "Indian Common", which is located at Blossom Road and Indiantown Road has all but disappeared.
In 1942 25-30 gravestones were documented, in 1996 all evidence of gravestones have disappeared.
Guardianship Program 1856
In 1856 Wampanoag Zurviah G. Mitchell challenged the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to remove the guardianship program and, have four (4) lots of land she claimed in the Watuppa Reservation returned to the Wampanoags. Additionally she requested payment for the timber that was removed by the guardian, Benjamin Winslow. Winslow was an opponent of Native equality, claiming that the Natives "would receive no benefit from the privilege of citizenship, if it was put upon them."
At the time Mrs. Mitchell claimed she held a full 1/8th claim of land of the entire reservation in Fall River. This claim caused resentment by the others that resided on the reservation. The others claimed that Mrs. Mitchell "had taken liberties not heretofore allowed or claimed by any other member of the tribe."
Hostility towards Mrs. Mitchell grew, and was not discouraged by Mr. Winslow. Sadly, little did the Fall River Natives realize that Mrs. Mitchell's legal challenge was a critique of the commonwealth's guardianship program, nor did they comprehend that it was the beginning of the demise of the guardianship system.
On Apr 2 1861 The Commonwealth resolved to pay an amount of money due Mrs. Mitchell for the wood cut from the lots on the reservation. Upon agreement with Mrs. Mitchell on the amount of money, she will in turn relinquish to the Commonwealth all her rights, title and interest in the lots. The Commonwealth's Commissioner of Indians, John M Earle, determined that Mrs. Mitchell was entirely competent to manage her own affairs and didn't require or want guardianship.
In the meantime, Mitchell's husband bought a house in Fall River, moved it to Indian Town, and began refurbishing it until his death. Her family's presence there, however, caused a great outcry of "dislike and hostility" from the Indian residents, who broke windows and harassed her to the point that she abandoned the premises and returned to Abington. With her gone, Winslow continued cutting wood for the benefit of the other Indian occupants for whom he was responsible.
In 1869, "An Act to Enfranchise the Indians of the Commonwealth" was established, which ended the guardianship program and gave the same rights and privileges to the Wampanoags as the white citizens. Zeviah Mitchell died in 1898 never receiving the monies that were ordered to be paid to her.