Earlier this week, members of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) made their way past the rolling dunes of Lobsterville Beach to a wild cranberry bog, just as they have done on the second Tuesday of October for centuries.
The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School secured Island-wide approval for a $2 million feasibility study to renovate or replace the high school when Aquinnah approved its contribution during a special town meeting on Wednesday.
Members of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) headed down to the bogs to celebrate Cranberry Day, a longstanding harvest tradition for the Vineyard’s Native American tribe. The day ended with a potluck dinner.
For the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) on Tuesday, Cranberry Day was more about culture and heritage than the pragmatic crop-gathering aspects of 100 years ago. Several dozen tribal members gathered around a fire all day on a sandy spot in the dunes at Lobsterville beach for communal and historic sharing,
That’s an appropriate use for the fall harvest Wampanoag national holiday, according to Cheryl Andrews-Maltain, tribal historic preservation officer and a candidate for tribal chairman in the upcoming elections next month.
