Looking for something to do with your children during school vacation week?
Check out Plymouth 400’s first educational exhibit, “Our Story: Captured 1614” now open to the public at Plymouth Public Library. This exhibit tells the story of the kidnapping of twenty Native men from Patuxet (the later site of Plymouth village), one of whom was Squanto, the “friendly Native” who eventually returned to Patuxet and formed a relationship with the Mayflower Pilgrims.
The exhibit, produced by the Indian Spiritual and Cultural Training Council and SmokeSygnals Marketing and Communications, brings to light a piece of history that had a monumental effect on the Wampanoag tribe, their relationship with the Pilgrims, and the founding of Plymouth Colony.
“Captured 1614” is the first installation of the “Our Story” project, which will grow exponentially leading up to 2020 with additional pieces of Native history added on each year. This portion will remain at Plymouth Public Library through March 15, 2015, after which it will travel throughout the region.
Here’s what people are saying about the exhibit:
“The 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s landing at Plymouth in 1620 is still a few years out, but the group charged with organizing festivities around the quadricentennial isn’t waiting to begin commemorations…. Plymouth 400, makes the case that the country’s Thanksgiving story actually began six years earlier, when in 1614 the American Indian known as Squanto and other members of the Wampanoag and other tribes were captured by an English explorer and brought to Europe to be sold as slaves.” – The New York Times
“Before the horrors of African slavery came to America’s shores, there was another kind of slave trade on the continent. The victims of this one were Native Americans. [Our Story: Captured 1614] highlights this other slave history.” – Public Radio International
“The exhibit explains a piece of history that has always been somewhat of a mystery: how Tisquantum, known as Squanto, was able to learn English and communicate with the Pilgrims.” – Cape Cod Times
“Ironically, though the English had kidnapped Squanto, he proved to be a godsend for the Pilgrims, teaching them how to farm the land, fish the waters and navigate the treacherous waters of diplomacy.” – The Old Colony Memorial
Want more? Get a behind the scenes look at “Our Story” here.
