What's a mishoon? Find out in Little Compton

Wampanoag builder will create traditional canoe over next few weeks, at historical society

By Ted Hayes
Posted 9/12/24

The farm coast has a proud maritime history that goes back longer than most people realize — starting Saturday, a master craftsman will show how the Wampanoags built their craft.

Jonathan …

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What's a mishoon? Find out in Little Compton

Wampanoag builder will create traditional canoe over next few weeks, at historical society

Posted

The farm coast has a proud maritime history that goes back longer than most people realize — starting Saturday, a master craftsman will show how the Wampanoags built their craft.

Jonathan James Perry, an Aquinnah Wampanoag, will be in residency at the Little Compton Historical Society for two weeks, leading a team building a Wampanoag mishoon — a traditional dugout canoe. Once complete, it will be launched from Sakonnet Point.

Mishoons were a common means of transport for the Wampanoags, and were made by slowly burning and tooling a large log over many days until the form emerged.

Perry’s residency is part of two historical society projects: “Little Compton Connected,” a transportation exhibit, and the “Sakonnet History Project,” which is planned for next year. Once the mishoon is complete, it will become a focal part in the society’s Wampanoag History Garden, which opens next June.

The public is welcome to watch the mishoon take shape at the society’s 548 West Main Road headquarters. Public hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14 and 21, and Sunday, Sept. 15 and 22. In addition, a “night burn” runs from 7 to 10 p.m. on the 21st, just after Wampanoag drumming that starts at 7:30 p.m. and runs about an hour.

On the final burning day of Sept. 22, there will be an autumn equinox celebration, and adults and children are invited to join Wampanoag artists and educators to learn about traditional crafts and culture.

The mishoon launches on Saturday, Sept. 28, though a time has not yet been set.

 

— By Ted Hayes

2024 by East Bay Media Group

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Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.