MATTAPOISETT — “We're still here and still a thriving culture,” said Linda Coombs about the Wampanoag tribe, the indigenous people of the Mattapoisett area. 

Coombs, an author and historian from Mashpee, is bringing a new Wampanoag exhibit to the Mattapoisett Museum. She has been working in Native American education for over 50 years. 

This year, Coombs has partnered with Connor Gaudet, the Mattapoisett Museum curator, to bring this exhibit to fruition. 

The exhibit includes eight panels that will show the history of the Wampanoag people, from their origins through colonization history. 

Coombs intends for this exhibit to give people accurate information to replace misconceptions about Native American history. She elaborates that Indigenous history is rarely taught in schools, and even if it is, it's largely done through a colonial lens. 

With this exhibit, Coombs looks to tell Native American history by Native Americans. 

“My goal is education. . . Number one, that it deserves to be told — communicated as history in its full context and lined up with everything else,” said Coombs. 

Coombs made an effort to include as much specific Mattapoisett Wampanoag history as possible in the panels, committing to writing the explanations for each panel in the first person.

“The content that's powerful is the panel text, which Linda wrote in the first person because she is a Wampanoag person . . . [the history] is in her and [the Wampanoag people’s] voice,” Gaudet continued. “So I hope that it's impactful for visitors. It certainly has been for me.”

There will also be a diorama from the 1980s that depicts Wampanoag life 1500 years ago with unique styles of housing and farming. 

Throughout the exhibit, there will be artifacts, scrapbooks and maps containing more information on the Wampanoag people. 

“Indigenous people have been so dehumanized or omitted or put forward as backward and primitive and none of that stuff is true. So we're working to eliminate that type of false information,” said Coombs. 

It has taken over a year for this exhibit to fully come together. There is no specific date set for an opening, but it will be around mid to late October. 

Gaudet hopes to expand, grow and add to the permanent exhibit as they learn more about the Wampanoag people. There will be educational programming available for all ages that can be tailored to specific class syllabi and learning goals. 

He states, “We're hoping that there'll be things for everyone that everybody can learn and focus on.”