Strawberry Thanksgiving

Wuttáhimneash, the Wampanoag word for strawberry, is recognized as the first berry of the season.

For Indigenous communities throughout the Northeast, the ripening of strawberries has long marked the approach of the summer solstice and a season of gathering with family and community. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples have observed ceremonial cycles connected to the natural world, including the spring and fall equinoxes and the summer and winter solstices. Strawberry Thanksgiving remains part of these longstanding traditions, offering a time to gather in community, give thanks, and honor the resilience, continuity, and living identity of Native people.

Guests are invited to experience Strawberry Thanksgiving at the Historic Patuxet Homesite through a day of live demonstrations, cultural presentations, and conversations centered on Wampanoag seasonal traditions and community practices.

Visitors will have opportunities to engage with Indigenous foodways during “Foodways of the First People,” a traditional cooking demonstration that highlights Native ingredients, seasonal harvesting, and historical lifeways.

Guests will also experience traditional music, storytelling, and artistic traditions.

Additional activities will include archery, corn husk doll making, and the burning of a mush8n (weather dependent). Together, these experiences invite guests to reflect on the continued importance of Strawberry Thanksgiving and the ways Wampanoag traditions have carried forward today.

Access to all Strawberry Thanksgiving events are included with admission to Plimoth Patuxet.