Wampanoag School

Kia ora,

This is my last blog from UMASS Boston. I travelled by car with Professor Fung to the Mashpee Wampanoag Language School. The Wampanoag people are known as the people of the first light. Their traditional homelands are situated in South East Massachusetts. It was an incredible experience. Firstly, I watched a documentary called “We still live here” to prepare myself for the school visit. The documentary was made in 2010 and is a story about how they started a journey of revitalising the Wampanoag language, which had no fluent or native speakers.

One of the Wampanoag ancestors

The school is within the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Centre – about 90 minutes from Boston. When we arrived there, it was nap time for the little kids. The school has around 25 students (Years 1- 4) with a small number of teachers with differing levels of Wampanoag language. The school has a Montessori theme that centres children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom emphasises hands-on learning and developing real-world skills.

The spirit circle designed by the children

I liked the idea of the curriculum based on the four different seasons. The head of the school spoke about trying to emulate the experiences of their ancestors by being out in the woods and the water and connecting with community elders. They aim to extend the school to year six students.

A calendar using Wampanoag language

The Wampanoag language is taught at one of the local high schools. However, that could be finished due to sufficient resourcing and priorities.

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe logo

I mentioned that AUT in Auckland is hosting the next WIPCE (World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education) in November 2025. The educators were keen to travel to Aotearoa and learn about other models of language revitalisation.

WIPCE Conference, November 2025

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