“I hope this will be the start of a long working relationship with the city, and I hope it will confirm what tribal oral history still tells us, but in modern times is now forgotten,” Hoctor said. “It’s a validation, it reconfirms the history so we can preserve what’s there and recognize the cultural significance of the site.”

Hoctor and Silva connected through Ancestry DNA before COVID-19, and after realizing they were both lawyers deeply concerned about their Native American tribal roots, they decided to help the communities of Plymouth, Bourne and Sandwich to understand the continuing history of the Wampanoag tribe. .

Although Burying Hill was once considered the center of life for the Wampanoag people, today it is surrounded by trees and largely forgotten, Hoctor and some board members said. Legend has it that the site along the Herring River was where conversations about the first settlement of Massachusetts came from. Governor William Bradford and early Native American leaders took place at the Meeting House established by Richard Bourne and Thomas Tupper in 1637.

In later centuries, Hoctor said the area served as the site of July 4 clam cookouts, where children ran while their fathers fished, and where the small tribe rejoiced as elders told the oral history of their people.

But in recent years, tribal citizens have clashed with their communities as efforts to be at the federal level And recognized by the State did not succeed. Hoctor said that adoption of article 9 demonstrated what can come from collaboration between tribal members and their municipalities. Hoctor and other tribal members believe that discovering the history at Burying Hill will bring the towns of Plymouth and upper Cape Cod a better understanding of the Native American experience.

“Bourne often takes a back seat to Plymouth when it comes to our Wampanoag history and I think this will really help us move that forward and show that our history is intertwined,” said Kathy Fox Alfano , trustee of the Bourne Historical Society, at the October press conference. 21 meeting.

Melissa Ferretti, 56, grew up in South Plymouth and remembers how difficult it was to feel the lack of tribal recognition in her community when she was a child. Today, she serves as chairwoman of the Herring Pond Tribe and vice chairwoman of the Bourne Select Board of Directors.

Today, about 200 people belong to the Herring Pond tribe, although Ferretti believes thousands more are spread across the country. She says she struggles with the tribe’s lack of federal recognition most of the time, but appreciates Bourne for supporting her local interests.

Back when the elders ruled the tribe, Ferretti says they were too proud to ask for the support they needed to survive. Funds were accumulated by passing around a hat and tossing $20 and $100 bills into it, she said.

“We were proud; too proud in many ways,” she said. “We didn’t ask for the help we could and we didn’t ask for the funding that perhaps we should have provided all along. »

Today, Ferretti leads programs around environmental education and climate change. His sons actively spend time in nature, carrying on the legacy of hunting, fishing and gathering.

The archaeological investigation is expected to begin in early spring, using ground penetrating radar and other tools to confirm the extent of the burials.

“Our ancestors and our dead are important in the work we do every day,” Ferretti said. “If we have ancestors buried on this hill, it would be very important to honor their lives and their place in the tribe.”

Alexa Coultoff can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her @alexacoultoff.