Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation

This article is about a contemporary organization in Cranston, Rhode Island. For nonprofit in Millbury, Massachusetts, see Pokanoket Nation. For ethnic group, see Wampanoag. For 16th and 17th-century Wampanoag village, see Pokanoket. For 16th and 17th-century Wampanoag village, see Pocasset village.

The Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation is one of several cultural heritage organizations of individuals who identify as descendants of the Wampanoag people in Rhode Island. They formed a nonprofit organization, the Pocasset Pokanoket Land Trust, Inc., in 2017.^[1]

Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe
of the Pokanoket Nation

Named after	Pocasset and Pokanoket, two villages and bands of Wampanoag people
Formation	2017[1]
Founded at	Cranston, Rhode Island[2][1]
Type	nonprofit organization[1]
Tax ID no.	EIN 82-2650017[1]
Purpose	Land Resources Conservation (C34)[1]
Headquarters	Cranston, Rhode Island[1]
Location	United States
Membership	More than 200[3] (2010)
Official language	English
Principal Officer	Duane Shepard Sr.[1]
Subsidiaries	Pocasset Pokanoket Land Trust, Inc.
Website	pocassetpokanoket.com

The Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation is an unrecognized organization. Despite having the word "nation" in their name, this organization is neither a federally recognized tribe^[4] nor a state-recognized tribe.^[5]

They should not be confused with other unrecognized tribes, such as the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts and Rhode Island;^[6] the Pokanoket/Wampanoag Federation, based in Warwick, Rhode Island;^[7] the Pocasset Wampanoag Indian Tribe in Cheshire, Connecticut; or the Pokanoket Nation, based in Millbury, Massachusetts, and Bristol, Rhode Island.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, one of the only two federally recognized Wampanoag tribes, states they are the descendants of the historical Pokanoket people.^[8]

Nonprofit organization

Members of the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation registered the Pocaseet Pokanoket Land Trust, Inc., as a nonprofit corporation in 2017.^[2][1] Leslie S. Rich, Esq., of Cranston, Rhode Island, is the registered agent.^[2]

The directors include:

• Chairman: George Spring "Buffalo"^[3]
• Vice chairman: Daryl "Black Eagle" Jamieson^[3]
• Leslie S. Rich.^[2]

Land claims

The organization owns more than 424 acres in Fall River, Massachusetts, and Freetown, Massachusetts. They claim the Watuppa Reservation,^[3] the public access area of 8,500 acres owned by the City of Fall River.^[9]

Activities

Daryl "Black Eagle" Jamieson, who identifies as a Clan Chief of the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation, is drum director of the Eastern Medicine Singers, runs the Eastern Medicine Cultural LLC, and Black Eagle Productions.^[10]

See also

• List of organizations that self-identify as Native American tribes