Aquinnah Cultural Center

07/23/2026

Join us on Saturday for Storytime with Brad Lopes!

07/23/2026

Tuesday, July 28 | 4:30 – 6:00 PM | Aquinnah Town Hall

Join us for a special program exploring Maintaining Our Sovereignty, our current exhibit at the Aquinnah Cultural Center!

Learn more about the people and stories behind the exhibition through a conversation with Tribal elders moderated by Brad Lopes, and an introduction by Mary Amanda McNeil.

About the Exhibit:

The Aquinnah Cultural Center presents: Maintaining Our Sovereignty, an exhibit that situates the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah’s fights for federal recognition and land return in the 1970s and 1980s within the tribe’s larger history of self-determination on Nôepe. Supported by a MassHumanities “Expand Massachusetts Stories: Promises of the Revolution” grant, Maintaining Our Sovereignty assembles archival materials; newly commissioned works from Aquinnah Wampanoag artists; and oral histories to tell a story of Wampanoag political, cultural, and social mobilization.

07/13/2026

🎉 Join us this Saturday, July 18th, from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm for our 19th Annual Native Artisan Market & Festival at the Aquinnah Circle!

Spend the day celebrating Native art, culture, and community!

- Shop from talented local and visiting Native artisans
- Participate in hands-on crafting activities for all ages
- Enjoy an interactive performance by the Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers
- Stop by the ACC table to meet our team

While you're here, be sure to check out the Town of Aquinnah's Town Safety Day, taking place from 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm across the circle.

Bring your family and friends, support Native artists, and enjoy a full day of community, culture, and fun. We can't wait to see you there!

07/07/2026

📣 History in Perspective: A Guided Walking Tour is back for the summer! First tour is tomorrow, Wednesday, July 8, at 4:30 PM.

Led by Aquinnah Wampanoag tribal member Jannette Vanderhoop, the tour takes you from the Aquinnah Cultural Center to the Gay Head Cliffs Overlook, ending at the Gay Head Lighthouse. Accessibility note: there are some steep inclines.

$10 per adult (tickets at the ACC), tribal members always free with tribal ID.

More walking tour dates this summer: July 15, 22, 29, and August 5, 19, 26. Details at aquinnah.org/events.

💡Pro tip: Fill out your afternoon! You can visit our Wampanoag History Museum between 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM, and shop & dine at the Wampanoag owned stores atop the cliffs to complete the experience!

07/03/2026

The museum is open all weekend ✨

Maintaining Our Sovereignty—our newest exhibition, curated by Mary Amanda McNeil—is a public history project centering contemporary Aquinnah Wampanoag struggles for sovereignty in our traditional homeland. This rotating gallery weaves oral history excerpts into conversation with belongings from our permanent collection and newly-commissioned works by Aquinnah Wampanoag artists Ryan Derby and Ella Mahoney.

Enjoy a self-guided visit or a tour with one of our docents who skillfully layer stories as you move through this space.

Before you leave, check out the gift shop! We’re excited to carry one-of-a-kind wooden wearable art from one of the exhibit’s featured artists, Ryan Derby. We also carry ACC merch, books by Wampanoag authors, and other artwork and mementos.

Enjoy this collection of pictures from our season so far, including a board and staff opening party and tribal community gathering to celebrate the individuals whose oral histories shaped the curation of this exhibit.

📍 35 Aquinnah Circle
🕐 Tuesday–Sunday | 11 AM – 4 PM

07/01/2026

What’s growing at the ACC 🌽

Both gardens are thriving! Corn and sunflowers are getting tall, squash is just about to vine, and beans are climbing!

As a cultural center, our garden work is also knowledge work. We’re learning what is comfortable growing where, and how to save and share our seeds with community. At this time, we’re tending traditional food crops and perennials across three towns on Nôepe, and we hope these spaces serve as a reminder that Wampanoag people and knowledges are present, and the land still remembers us.

We are thankful to our volunteers and staff for all their hours of care in the sun and soil. And to our partners at S T I L L P O I N T and Island Grown Initiative whose generosity and support have helped us return to this work. Finally, we couldn’t do any of it without the dedication of our Tribal Programs & Community Engagement Manager, Tysonnae Aiguier-Bolling —kutâputôtumawush!

🌱 Want to be hands-on? Stay tuned to learn about upcoming volunteer days and get involved!

06/24/2026

Calling on volunteers! Join the Aquinnah Cultural Center and the Town of Aquinnah Parks and Recreation for a community mulching day this Saturday, June 27th, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.

06/08/2026

We hope you’ll join us! No registration required.

Save the date: Tuesday, June 23rd at 6:00 PM at the Katharine Cornell Theatre! Join Wôpanâak citizen and lifelong educator Brad Lopes for a presentation on the Wôpanâak history of the island. This event will be held at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

To understand the history of the island from the Wampanoag perspective, we must look to the land and waterways that make up Nôepe and seek to understand the stories they hold. Nôepe is Wôpanâak Homelands and has been for thousands of years. By utilizing both oral tradition and primary source documents, participants will engage with island history from the Wampanoag perspective and gain an introductory understanding to Wampanoag continuance in this place and space. This presentation aims to dispel myths and misunderstandings of land ownership and use, Wampanoag history, continued existence, and more. Participants will explore ways to support Wampanoag histories and communities and leave with a new understanding of the island.

Brad Lopes is an Aquinnah Wampanoag citizen and life-long educator currently working within the traditional homelands of his people, the Wampanoag Nation. He currently serves as the Education Manager for the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribal Education Department (TED) and as the Education and Public Programs Manager for the Aquinnah Cultural Center, an Aquinnah Wampanoag museum located on Nôepe (Martha's Vineyard). Prior to this, Brad went to the University of Maine Farmington, located in Wabanaki Homelands, and graduated with a degree in Secondary Education before spending five years teaching Social Studies to students in 7 - 12 grade. In his time in education, Brad has sought to decolonize the pedagogies, content, and ways of understanding education, including the ways in which public education can reinforce stereotypes and harmful understandings of Indigenous people.

05/21/2026

UPDATE: We closed out Native Nonprofit Day with $2,275 raised! Thank you to our generous supporters for helping us exceed our goal—we are so grateful for you all!

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Today is Native Nonprofit Day, and we are almost to our goal. 15 donors have given $1,420 so far and we can't thank you enough! Your support keeps Aquinnah Wampanoag history, culture, and educational efforts vibrant. Help us reach our goal of $2,000 today!

The ACC is a premier hub of Aquinnah Wampanoag culture and engagement—a place for homecoming and a respected source of knowledge and history on the Island and beyond. Guided by our mission to preserve, educate, and document the Aquinnah Wampanoag self-defined history,...

04/25/2026

Happening this evening at the Aquinnah Town Hall! This event is free and open to all. We hope you’ll join us!