Indian remains were found near Surfside Road when ground was broken for construction of a housing development in 1987. The burial ground was dedicated in September 1993 in a ceremony featuring blessings and speeches by representatives of Native American groups and town and state officials.
The Native American Burial Ground, also known as the Miacomet Indian Burial Ground, is one of the largest in the state and contains the graves of more than 200 Native Americans. It was used as the graveyard of the Native American Christian meeting house that once stood nearby. Many of those buried at the site died during the devastating epidemic of 1762-3 that took the lives of 222 of the remaining 358 Nantucket Wampanoags (likely due to a lack of immunity to an illness the settlers unknowingly were immune to and brought to the island.) The surviving population wasn’t large enough to reconstitute the community which is why there aren’t Wampanoag people on Nantucket anymore.
The epidemic victims were buried in individual coffins. But their graves weren’t marked, and eventually the pine trees grew over, so everyone forgot where they were. Now there’s a stone that says “Indian Burial Ground.” The Wampanoags from Martha’s Vineyard and Mashpee expressed that they don’t want any more explanatory signs.
The earliest records indicate that at their peak, there were about 3,000 Wampanoag on-island. The island was crowded and it put a strain on resources, primarily food, on a population that wasn’t receiving anything from the mainland. Prior to the English settlers’ arrival, the bulk of the Wampanoags lived in settlements in Squam, where the Milestone cranberry bog is currently located, and on the west end of the island. Once the English setters arrived, however, the numbers began to drop significantly, and the settlements were centered around Miacomet.
The English brought their livestock here and built fences, and the sheep stripped the land. The natives had been living here by harvesting everything everywhere which resulted in much hardship for the natives. When you look at the court cases from that time period, when Indians were brought to court, it’ was usually for stealing meat and clothing.
After their extinction, the Nantucket Indians were nearly forgotten, having been overshadowed by Nantucket’s mammoth whaling history. Then came the reemergence of this burial ground. Arrowheads and other rudimentary tools believed used by the Wampanoag have also been found around the island for generations. Many can be seen on display in the waiting room of the office of Dr. Lepore located behind Nantucket Cottage Hospital.
This translation list may help you with another geocache located in a place significant to Wampanoag history on this island. Enjoy. :) English = Wampanoag - One - Aquit, Two - Nees, Three - Nis, Four - Yoaw, Five - Abbona, Six - Nota, Seven - Enotta, Eight - Sonaske, Nine - Assaquoquin, Ten - Piocke