PLYMOUTH — The town will host a ceremony April 30 honoring the Herring Pond Wampanoag to celebrate their recognition by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a sovereign tribe.
Governor Maura Healey issued an executive order in November 2024 granting tribal status to the Herring Pond Wampanoag, a part of the Wampanoag nation that descended from indigenous inhabitants of Plymouth to the upper part of Cape Cod, says the tribe's website. The ceremony will feature remarks by select board members, state officials and the chairwoman of the Herring Pond Wampanoag, Melissa Ferretti.
The ceremony will run from 4 to 6 p.m. in the 1820 courtroom in town hall. The Local Seen, a community media center, plans to livestream the event.
“I want it to be the beginning of a dialogue as opposed to the end of things, in how to best recognize the contributions and history of the Wampanoag as part of the story of our shared community going forward,” Select Board Member Kevin Canty said.
Select board members and Jade Anderton, executive assistant to the select board, said that the town would invite all Plymouth elected officials, the governor and lieutenant governor and the Massachusetts state delegation. The ceremony is open to the public.
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