The Village of Nauset

Prior to European colonization, the region we know today as lower Cape Cod including Eastham was called Nauset, one of 69 villages of the historic Wampanoag Nation. The people of Nauset chose that place for the same reasons citizens of Eastham live here today: access to open ocean and bay. In those days, fishing and whaling were important to sustain the village. The endless beaches were for recreation, to be refreshed in the ocean waters and gather shellfish along the shore and in coastal estuaries. This is also a place of many ponds and fresh-water springs necessary for drinking, cooking and farming.

Eastham looked very different in one significant way as it was heavily forested with large, old-growth trees that had not been clear-cut by the indigenous people. The Nauset and other Wampanoag people lived in modest homes, called wetu, made from saplings and reed mats, and covered in bark. These multi-generational dwellings warmed efficiently in cold weather and provided cool shelter from the sun. The native people understood the interplanetary significance of the Sun and Moon to Mother Earth in establishing a cycle of seasons for growing, harvesting, hunting and preparation. They could predict weather from the strength and direction of the wind and cloud formations. They managed their presence on earth to be in balance with nature, sustaining themselves without starving the living world around them.