Tribal Museums

Mashpee Tribal Museum
Rte. 130, Mashpee, MA 02649 (508) 477-0208

In 1973 the Mabel Avant House, a 19th century historic house, was officially opened as the Mashpee Wampanoag Museum. After many years under town control, the building was returned to the tribe in 1998. Currently, the museum is closed for renovations.

Penobscot Nation Museum
6 River Road, Indian Island, ME 04468 (207) 827-4153
www.penobscotnation.org/museum

The Penobscot Nation Museum preserves and promotes the rich culture and history of the Penobscot Nation. Exhibits include Maine native sweetgrass and brown ash baskets, beadwork, birch bark baskets, a fine collection of early hand-carved birch root clubs, and ancient stone tools.

Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum
Arcadia Village Summit Road, Exeter, RI 02822 (401) 539-7213

The Tomaquag Museum maintains a collection of Native American artifacts from across the continent, but it is especially proud of its large and varied collection of southern New England ash splint baskets.

Aquinnah Cultural Center / Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah
#20 Black Brook Road, Aquinnah, MA 02535
www.wampanoagtribe.net

The Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah is conducting a capital fundraising campaign in order to build a living history cultural center and museum. Currently, cultural classes for tribal members such as traditional crafts and language, as well as business classes, are being offered on behalf of the center at the tribal offices.

Waponahki Museum and Resource Center
Pleasant Point Reservation, P.O. Box 295, Perry, ME 04667 (207) 853-4001
www.wabanaki.com/museum.htm

The Waponahki Museum and Resource Center established in 1987, displays cases tools, baskets, beaded artifacts, old photos, and arts and crafts, and works to preserve the Passamaquoddy language.

Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center
111 Pequot Trail, Mashantucket, CT 06339 (860) 572-6800
www.pequotmuseum.org

The museum presents the ongoing story of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and provides resources for the study of American Indian cultures and histories. Located on the tribe's reservation in Connecticut, the institution will promote American Indian heritage, scholarship, and cultural preservation through a dynamic public museum and research facility. www.mashantucket.com

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Other Museums

Fruitlands Museum
102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard, MA 01451 (508) 456-3924

Each of Fruitlands' four museums tells a story of the daily life, art, and beliefs of 19th century Americans'. The Shakers, the Transcendentalists, Native Americans, and the Hudson River painters. www.fruitlands.org

Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University
300 Tower Street, Bristol, RI 02809 (401) 253-8388

The Haffenreffer houses artifacts from the native peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. The museum offers the public a unique opportunity to learn about other peoples and their cultures. The Haffenreffer offers education programs for area schoolchildren. www.brown.edu/Facilities/Haffenreffer

Robert Abbe Museum
Sieur de Monts Spring, P.O. Box 286, Bar Harbor, ME 04609 (207) 288-3519

The Abbe Museum, a private nonprofit institution, was founded in 1927, by Dr. Robert Abbe, for the purpose of collecting, preserving, and interpreting Maine's Indian history. The museum interprets 10,000 years of Indian culture, history, and art through changing exhibits, hands-on programs, and workshops taught by Native American artists. www.abbemuseum.org

Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology
Phillips Academy, Andover, MA 01810 (978) 749-4490

The Robert S. Peabody Museum is dedicated to teaching the science of archaeology and to understanding and preserving the cultures of Native American people. Major collections include materials from the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, Mexico, and the Arctic, and range from Paleo Indian (12,500 years ago) to the present day. www.andover.edu/rspeabody/home.html

Wampanoag Indian Program (Plimoth Plantation)
P.O. Box 1620, Plymouth, MA 02362 (508) 746-1622

At Hobbamock's Wampanoag Indian Homesite, native people, speaking from a 20th century perspective, tell you about the time before the Pilgrims, as well as their lives in today's world. Plimoth offers outreach classroom visits by native people and school programs at the museum. www.plimoth.org

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