Description
Author: Thomas Dresser
Publisher:The History Press
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head/Aquinnah are an indigenous people on Martha's Vineyard. From their legendary giant leader Moshup, Wampanoags can trace their ancestry back more than ten thousand years. The tribe weathered colonization by missionaries in the 1600s, then endured two centuries of domination, only to have their land taken in 1870. However, over the past 140 years, the Wampanoag Tribe, which still lives in its ancestral home of Aquinnah, has shown endurance and fortitude as it continues to practice traditional crafts and its tribal heritage. Thomas Dresser captures the spirit of the tribe, tracing its survival through to recognition by the federal government in 1987, nearly twenty-five years ago. Brief interviews with elders and current tribal members offer insight into the tribe's remarkable history.
Thomas Dresser's business card reads: writer/bus driver. After a stint as an elementary school teacher and a couple of decades as a nursing home administrator, Tom realized he wanted to write. Besides freelance contributions to the local press, he has self-published several booklets on favorite New England haunts and two books on demand. The Wampanoag Tribe of Martha's Vineyard is his third book with The History Press, following Mystery on the Vineyard (2008) and African Americans of Martha's Vineyard (2010). Tom drives a school bus during the year and a tour bus in season. When Tom attended his thirtieth high school reunion, he reconnected with a classmate who invited him down to Martha's Vineyard for a weekend. The rest, as they say, is history. Tom and his wife, Joyce, have been married for thirteen years. For more information, visit thomasdresser.com.
