mashpee? knauf it? these are name places and town names, but they have always been wampanoag communities. ok? and at one time, we numbered over 100,000. today is about 12,000. so that is a planting field. they areis next -- considered to be the givers of life. what do the kids do? with the kids do during the spring and the summer? here,s my daughter right one of my daughters. this is her in this picture when she was 11 years old, maybe 10. and that is her younger sister. and what she is doing is picking sumac. sumac, you pick those berries, you boil them, and that has three times as much vitamin c as orange juice does. kids were allowed to be kids. they helped out a little bit, but they had fun. they played games, they went swimming, they had races. they joked around. through fourd go or five different names in a lifespan. as you would change as a person, your name was changed to fit who you are. you would not pick the names yourself. we still have medicine people in our community that give us names dep

where i live in mashpee, nobody really moved to mashpee, not until probably the '90s. and mashpee was the fastest developing town in massachusetts in the '90s and today, let me go back, today we have our -- we literally got fully recognized by the u.s. government in 2007 as a people. okay. and what we do today, we have health services. we have programs for housing, health, education. we do our pow pwow, which is juy 4th weekend. this right here is a special dance we did this past pow wow. this is a lot of my family. we did it for my brother who passed away back in '97. he got killed in rhode island. his name was melvin coombs, and we danced for him. i haven't visited here in eight or ten years, but my daughter and myself, we went out to the cemetery up the road where my family is buried, a lot of my family. my father was raised here. my aunt was raised here. my grandparents were raised here. my grandfather was coombs, ii, the first being driest coombs the first from mashpee. my grandfather moved here from mashpee. you got my grandmother ruth west, born in 1895. passed

this is one woman, i heard it's not mashpee. she doesn't show up in the records in mashpee, i can't find her in the records in quinner, i'm going to keep on digging. thank you, guys, any questions, that's my story, guys. american history tv is on social media. follow us at c-span history. you can watch archival films on public affairs each week on our series "reel america," saturday at 10:00 p.m., and sunday 4:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv. here's a quick look at one of our recent programs. >>> in plymouth harbor england, the may flower ii lies at anchor, a famous ship come to life again after three centuries in the pages of history. she's as accurate a replica of the original as scholars and ship wrights could make her, a gift of englishman to america, a historical tribute far removed from the usual solemn ceremonies, and books, this tribute to history takes the form of living adventure. 337 years after the original set sail for the new world, on the landing stage from which the pilgrims departed, plymouth's mayor, bid

so my grandfather moved here from mashpee. born about 1886. you have my grandmother born 1895 and passed away in 1964. she had a stillborn son in 1919. so i visited the grounds yesterday and i googled indians on nantucket. i came across a picture that i have in my living room. this is my grandmother. the nantucket historical site has it right here. there wasn't a name underneath it. that's ruth west, that's my grandmother. she passed away in 1964 like i said. yeah, i will do more digging to see where her actual roots are from. this is one woman, i've heard it's not mashpee. she had it does not show up in those records. so i will have to keep on digging to see what i can find. thank you, guys. any questions? that's my story, guys. >> [applause]

this is one woman, i've heard it's not mashpee. she had it does not show up in those records. so i will have to keep on digging to see what i can find. thank you, guys. any questions? that's my story, guys. >> [applause] here's a quick look at one of our recent programs. ♪ ♪ >> in plymouth harbor, england, the main flower second lies an anchor. a famous ship come to life again after three centuries in the pages of history. she is as accurate a replica as the original as scholarship writes could make her. a gift from englishman to america. a historical tribute far removed from the solemn ceremonies and books. distributed history takes the form of living adventure. 337 years after the original set sail for the new world, on the landing stage from which the pilgrims departed, limits lord mayor bid the ship godspeed and smooth sailing. these ceremonies are ended in the adventure about to begin, with the attention of the world focused on this voyage. and ironic contrast to the pilgrims on heralded departure from their own land in search of freedom and a new life. 1620 and 1987 are

. >> reporter: a member of the mashpee wampanoag tribe, steve peters, created an exhibit for plymouthy." >> it is pretty of the beginning yf the end for my people, here. you know, it is important that people understand it so that they can start to be a little bit more humane and compassionate. >> reporter: the wampanoag people have lived here for thousands of years. a pandemic nearly wiped all of them out before the pilgrim's arrival. that tragedy made the wampanoag more acceptable to new alliances. the two groups came together the fall harvest in 1641, what we now call thanksgiving. they lived side-by-side for 50 years, until war broke out, devastating the wampanoag and their way of life. that part of the story isn't often told when we gather for thanksgiving. >> really, so much is left out of history. just because it's written down, does not mean that it is, a, completely truthful and, b, the only way of expressing it. >> reporter: that organizers are careful to call this 400th year a "commemoration," not a celebration. peters says this week he will still have a feast. he will also

my name is darius coombs, i am mashpee wampanoag and also have nantucket ties to here. my people have been around this area, massachusetts, for over 12,000 years. as you heard from the last speaker.

. >> reporter: a member of the mashpee wampanoag tribe create a tribute call our story. >> it marks theinning of enfor my people here. the important that people and it so they can start it be a little bit more humane and come pathate. >> reporter: members of the wampanoag nation and the pilgrims came together after the next fall's harvest, what we now call thanksgiving. they lived side by side for 50 years until war broke out devastating the wampanoag and their way of life. peters plans to mark this 400 year milestone way traditional feast but he will all be remembering the sacrifice of his fore fathers. we give thanks for unhealthy air ancestors' ability to persevere despite every obstacle place in front of them over the past 400 years. >> history offer a lesson in gratitude and perseverance four centuries later. nancy chen, cbs news. >>> it has been a hall. ing year for many of us he is personally those less fortunate. amid the people challenge, one bay area thanksgiving tradition continues. emily turn are at glide memorial in san francisco this morning with how they plan to hold its