Ebenezer Quippish (also known as Chief Red Jacket or Eben Quieppish or Ebenezer Queppish or Mushquipetohkos) (1859-1933) was a leader of the

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (formerly Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council, Inc.) is one of two federally recognized tribes of Wampanoag people in Massachusetts. Recognized in 2007, they are headquartered in Mashpee, Massachusetts, Mashpee on ...

in Mashpee, Massachusetts. He was known for helping to led a cultural revival in Mashpee in the 1920s, and was also a traditional basket weaver, chef, hunting/fishing guide, seaman/whaler, and member of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

Early life and work as a seaman and performer

Eben Quippish was born in 1859 in Mashpee to Joseph Quippish and Jemima Pocknett, and as a young man possibly attended the

Carlisle Indian Industrial School The United States Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, generally known as Carlisle Indian Industrial School, was the flagship Indian boarding school in the United States from 1879 through 1918. It took over the historic Carlisle ...

. In 1877 Ebenezer Queppish sailed on the whaling barque "Josephine." In 1880 Quippish was still working as a

seaman Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...

. After eventually leaving his job as a seaman, Quippish worked in the Montana Charlie Indian show, then the Healy and Bigelow show, and finally

Buffalo Bill Cody William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in ...

's Wild West Show as a horseback rider.

Later career as a cook, fisherman, craftsman, and cultural leader

When the Wild West Show toured Europe, Quippish learned to cook and upon his return to Massachusetts, he cooked at the Tenampo Club in Marstons Mills, Massachusetts, a fishing and hunting resort on Mystic Lake. Queppish also worked as a fisherman and fishing and hunting guide. Throughout his life Quippish supplemented his income by making traditional Wampanoag baskets in the manner learned from his father, and some of Quippish's baskets (and handmade fishing dip nets) are now in museums including the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. Quippish worked with fellow Mashpee

Nelson D. Simons Nelson Drue Simons (also known as Wabum Annug (Morning Star) and Chief Morning Star and Nelson D. Simon) (1885-1953) was a Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe chief from 1916 to 1928 and government official who was also the first known Native American gradua ...

in the 1910s and 1920s to keep alive various Wampanoag cultural traditions and organizations culminating in the 1928

powwow A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Powwows today allow Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures. Powwows may be private or pu ...

meeting of the various Wampanoag branches. In 1929 as one of the last traditional basketmakers of his generation, Queppish taught Mohegan folklorist, Gladys Tantaguideon how to make an offering basket. Quippish died on January 7, 1933, at

Cape Cod Hospital Cape Cod Hospital is a not-for-profit regional medical center located in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, as of 2011 it is the largest hospital on Cape Cod. The administration is headed by CEO Michael K. Lauf. The hospital has 283 bed ...

in Barnstable after being hit by a car and was buried in the Mashpee Town Cemetery. His closest surviving relative was his sister, Priscilla Quieppish Pells.Priscilla appeared in "People and How They Affected Me"

References

{{reflist Mashpee Wampanoag people Native American basket weavers Indigenous sailors of the Americas American fishers Carlisle Indian Industrial School alumni People from Mashpee, Massachusetts Wild West show performers