[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9156]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 IN RECOGNITION OF THE SMITHSONIAN EXPOSITION OF THE WAMPANOAG MISHOON

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM R. KEATING

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 28, 2014

  Mr. KEATING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the addition of a 
piece of Massachusetts'--and our nation's--history to the Smithsonian 
National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). In September 2013, a 
traditional canoe of the Wampanoag tribe, known as a mishoon, was 
delivered to the NMAI from Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts--
completing its trip down the coast from the Wampanoag's historical home 
to our nation's capital. Here, it will be proudly displayed as a symbol 
of the cultural significance and technological advancement of the 
Tribe.
  The history of the Wampanoag is deeply intertwined with the turbulent 
settlement and birth of our nation. Known as ``the People of the First 
Light,'' the Wampanoag Tribe inhabited southern New England at the 
arrival of the first European settlers. It was the Wampanoag with whom 
the Pilgrims celebrated the first ``Thanksgiving,'' and it was from the 
preceding and continued interactions between these settlers and that 
native population that our modern judicial system and promotion of 
civil rights evolved.
  Today, the Wampanoag Tribe continues to play an active role in 
promoting tribal rights and preserving their heritage. Plimoth 
Plantation's Wampanoag Indigenous Program is a shared museum that has 
worked to educate citizens across the country and raise public 
awareness of the shared history, rich culture, and traditions of the 
tribe. The gift of the hand-made mishoon--a vessel of passage and 
goods--is symbolic of the role of the Wampanoag people have played from 
the early years of our nation to our continued fight for equality and 
tribal rights. I am proud that it has found a home at the NMAI--an 
institution devoted to the preservation of our nation's intricate 
history.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues and their constituents to join 
me in experiencing a page out of history and visiting the Wampanoag 
mishoon at the NMAI.

                          ____________________