Are there any living Wompanoag Indians today?

Answer 1

About 3,000 Wampanoag survive (many of whose ancestry includes other tribes), and many live on the reservation (Watuppa Wampanoag Reservation) on Martha's Vineyard, in Dukes County. It is located in the town of Aquinnah (formerly known as Gay Head), at the extreme western part of the island. It has a land area of 1.952 km² (482.35 acres), and a 2000 census resident population of 91 persons. There are currently five organized groups of the Wampanoag: Assonet, Gay Head, Herring Pond, Mashpee and Namasket. All have applied for recognition by the government, but only the Gay Head Wampanoag still have a reservation on Martha's Vineyard. They received government recognition in 1987 from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They currently have 1,000 registered members. Their reservation consists of 485 acres (approx. 2 km²) and is located on the outermost southwest part of the island. The official registered name is "Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head". The "Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe" consists of 1,200 registered members and owns many stores and museums. Since 1924 there has been a powwow every year at the beginning of July. The reservation is located near Mashpee on Cape Cod. After decades of legal disputes, the Mashpee Wampanoag obtained provisional recognition as an Indian tribe from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in April 2006, and then received official Federal recognition in February 2007.[citation needed] There is also still land which is owned separately by families and in common by Wampanoag descendants at both Chapaquddick and Christiantown, and they have also purchased land in Middleborough, Massachusetts to build a casino upon. In addition, a remnant of the Wampanoag reside on St. David Island, Bermuda. They are descendants of those sold overseas in the aftermath of King Philip's War by the Puritans. See "External Links" on article Metacomet.