Today, these traditions remain strong among the Wampanoag, as they were in the 1600s. This church was not only the spiritual center of the four hundred or so Wampanoag survivors, but also the center of their self-governing community until the end of the American Revolution. The Town is working with the Tribe to make trained and experienced Public Safety Officials and personnel readily available on Tribal Lands to provide increased protection for persons and property on Tribal Lands, until such time as the Tribe can provide these services for its tribal members. Learn how your comment data is processed. Both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine. They taught the colonists how to grow crops in the New World and allowed them to . Return to our menu of American Indian Cultures Today, the Wampanoag community of Gay Head (Aquinnah) and Mashpee Wampanoag group are the two federally recognized nations. Our name, Wampanoag, means People of the First Light. Since the Wampanoag relied primarily on goods garnered from this kind of work, women had important socio-political, economic, and spiritual roles in their communities.