Linda Jeffers Coombs is an author and historian from the
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) ( wam, Âhqunah Wôpanâak) is a federally recognized tribe of Wampanoag people based in the town of Aquinnah on the southwest tip of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. Coombs is the former program director of the
Aquinnah Cultural Center
Aquinnah Cultural Center (ACC) is a non-profit museum and education center, based in Aquinnah, Massachusetts, dedicated to preserving and promoting Aquinnah Wampanoag history, culture and contributions on Martha’s Vineyard.
History
Aquinnah ...
.
Career
Coombs began a museum career in 1974, interning at the
Boston Children's Museum
Boston Children's Museum is a children's museum in Boston, Massachusetts, dedicated to the education of children. Located on Children's Wharf along the Fort Point Channel, Boston Children's Museum is the second oldest children's museum in the Unit ...
as part of its Native American Program. She and her peers, including Narragansett elder Paulla Dove Jennings, wrote children's books for the museum, illustrating Native American culture from a Native American perspective. Coombs later worked for nearly three decades with the Wampanoag Indigenous Program at
Plimoth Plantation
Plimoth Patuxet is a complex of living history museums in Plymouth, Massachusetts, founded in 1947. Formerly Plimoth Plantation, it replicates the original settlement of the Plymouth Colony established in the 17th century by the English coloni ...
, including 15 years as the program's associate director. In that capacity, she wrote a number of essays documenting colonial history from a Native American perspective, and often spoke publicly about the need for more accurate representations of colonial events including the first Thanksgiving and Columbus Day.
Coombs serves as program director of the Aquinnah Cultural Center, continuing to educate the public about Wampanoag history, culture, and other contributions. Valued for her expertise in regional Native American history, Coombs is a frequent consultant on scholarly and educational projects.
Born and raised in
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...
, Coombs lives with her family in the Wampanoag Community in Mashpee on
Cape Cod
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
.
Publications
*"A Wampanoag Perspective on Colonial House."''Plimoth Life'', v.3 no. 1, 2004: 24-28.
*"Hobbamock’s Homesite." ''Thanks, But No Thanks: Mirroring the Myth: Native Perspectives on Thanksgiving''. Plymouth, MA: Wampanoag Indian Program. September 9, 2000: 2-3.
*"Holistic History." Plimoth Life 1(2) 2002:12-15.
*"Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War by Nathaniel Philbrick eview" Cultural Survival Quarterly, Spring 2007.
*"New Woodland Path Makes Inroads at Wampanoag Homesite." ''Plimoth Life'', v. 5 no. 1, 2006: 20.
*''Powwow''. Modern Curriculum Press, 1992.
*"Wampanoag Foodways in the 17th Century." ''Plimoth Life'' 2005: 13-19
King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...