Kuweeqahsun neetôpâak.
My name is Hartman Deetz; I am wôpanâak (Wampanoag) from Mashpee. I have been involved in various aspects of cultural preservation work since age 21 in1997. I credit my early interest in this work on my grandfathers, Russell “fast turtle” peters (author of wampanoags of Mashpee and tribal council chairman) and James f. Deetz (author of small things forgotten, and world renowned archeologist). They instilled in me an understanding of the value of culture, worldview, history, myth and legend produced by different cultures. I consider them my primary teachers, as I learned more from them on fishing trips or during dinner table debates than I ever did in high school classrooms. My father also encouraged my active participation in ceremony since age 16; I have taken part in native ceremony from Massachusetts to California, and am a devout believer of our traditional spiritual practices. i have also been an advocate for social justice in "indian country" participating as such events as the 1994 walk for justice, and the "longest walk 2" in 2008. I now have three children, and I hope to instill these same values into their lives.
I began my own work in cultural preservation as the jr. employee of eastern wetu and the production of the 14 weetus that are the main exhibit of the Pequot Museum and Research Center. I spent four years at Plimoth Plantation as an interpreter, artifact reproduction supervisor, and doing research and development for 1st person bicultural interpretation. I have done consultation work for the Cedarville Indian Center, the Shinnecock Museum, and Salem Pioneer Village. I have also worked for n.a.g.p.r.a. (Native American graves protection and repatriation act) officers cataloguing the collections at Robbins Museum of anthropology. I was the project co-coordinator for the 2008 Men’s wetu project, that engaged at risk youth by providing them opportunities to take part in positive cultural activities. I have been a student of the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project since 2000. I served for two years as the projects community co-chair for Mashpee, four years as a teacher, and have been the president since 2007.
I hope to convey the stories of my people and other New England natives with sensitivity and accuracy. I believe that in the struggles that face wôpanâak people today, the truth is our greatest weapon. I do not intend to demonize anyone, nor do I intend to present our people as angelic innocents who are unfaultable, but instead to humanize a story that is often hidden under myth conventionally accepted as history.
contact: wampspeaker@yahoo.com
