Nice timing: the perfect follow-up to recent posts on
Thanksgiving and
Native American history. The
Boston Globe reports:
US coin to honor Wampanoag treaty
1621 pact helped ensure Plymouth colony’s safety
By David Filipov
Globe Staff / December 2, 2010
It is a pact that shaped early Colonial history, and the first recorded formal alliance between a Wampanoag community and the English settlers at Plymouth Bay. And starting next year, people across the nation will be able to obtain a unique representation of the historic 1621 agreement.
The US Mint is planning to issue a $1 coin that on its tails side will depict the hands of Governor John Carver and the Wampanoag sachem Ousamequin, who is often identified as Massasoit, or “great leader’’, as they share a ceremonial peace pipe after solidifying the treaty. Historians consider the alliance one of the factors that ensured the survival of the Plymouth colony. And people who study the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag welcomed the new coin as a way to draw nationwide attention to a history still widely misunderstood.
“We’re thrilled,’’ said Jennifer Monac, public relations manager at Plimoth Plantation. “We’re just really excited anytime anybody wants to shed a light on the history we are trying to tell.’’ (read the rest)
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