Paula Peters
{{short description|American journalist}}
Paula Peters is a journalist, educator and activist. A member of the Wampanoag tribe, she has spent most of her life in her tribal homeland of Mashpee, Massachusetts. She hails from a prominent Mashpee Wampanoag family, including Tribal Chairman Russell "Fast Turtle" Peters (her father), and was active in the tribe's long and contested push for federal recognition.{{cite news|last1=Knox|first1=Robert|title=Tribe members brace for change, cling to roots|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/08/16/tribe_members_brace_for_change_cling_to_roots/?page=full|accessdate=April 1, 2015|publisher=The Boston Globe|date=August 16, 2007}} In a 2006 interview with NPR, Peters recalled a time when "nobody in Washington cared much about which tribes were recognized."{{cite news|last1=Washington |first1=Robin|title=For the Wampanoag, Wait for recognition is over|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5348629|accessdate=April 1, 2015|publisher=NPR|date=April 18, 2006}} Like her father before her, Peters served on the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council. In 2005, she ran against Glenn Marshall for Council Chairperson.{{cite news|last1=Schwartz|first1=Jason|title=The Big Gamble|url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2011/11/big-gamble-will-mashpee-wampanoag-survive-casinos/|accessdate=April 2, 2015|publisher=Boston Magazine|date=December 2011}}
Writing career
Peters has made several endeavors outside the realm of journalism. In 2009 she presented her work, "Wampanoag Reflections" to the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants in Cohasset, Massachusetts.{{cite book|last1=Senier|first1=Siobhan|title=Dawnland Voices|date=2014|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=9780803246867|page=477}} She has written several essays, including "A Lesser-Known Atlantic Crossing"{{cite web|last1=Peters|first1=Paula|title=A Lesser-Known Atlantic Crossing|url=http://plymouthma400.org/lesser-known-atlantic-crossing|website=plymouthma400.org|accessdate=April 14, 2015}} and "Epanow's Escape."{{cite web|last1=Peters|first1=Paula|title=Epanow's Escape|url=http://plymouthma400.org/epanow%E2%80%99s-escape|website=plymouthma400.org|accessdate=April 14, 2015}} Peters's work has been republished in an anthology of Native American writing from New England, including "Wampanoag Reflections," as well as a piece about cultural appropriation called "Beware: Not All Terms Are Fair Game".
Peters is also the author of Mashpee Nine: A Story of Cultural Justice, published by SmokeSygnals in 2016.
Public education career
In addition to her writing and consulting, Peters has worked as a public educator of Native history. She served for a time as Director of Marketing and Public Relations for the Wampanoag Indian Program at Plimoth Plantation.{{cite news|title=Wampanoag: PBS Failed to Get Tribe Perspective|url=http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20090423/NEWS/904230316/-1/NEWSMAP|accessdate=24 April 2015|work=Cape Cod Times|date=April 23, 2009}}
Peters has joined the committee of Plymouth, 400 Inc., a non-profit organization committed to planning a commemoration for the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower in 1620.;{{cite news|last1=Mand|first1=Frank|title=Plymouth 400 Inc.: Reason for Celebration|url=http://plymouth.wickedlocal.com/article/20140802/News/140809514|accessdate=April 14, 2015|publisher=plymouth.wickedlocal.com|date=August 2, 2014}} she represents Wampanoag interests on the organization's board of directors.{{cite web|last1=Brown|first1=Toyacoyah|title=Captured: 1614- New Exhibit Focuses on Wampanoag Story|url=http://www.powwows.com/2014/11/19/captured-1614-new-exhibit-focuses-on-wampanoag-story/|website=Powwows.com|date=19 November 2014 |accessdate=April 6, 2015}}
In this capacity, she also served as the executive producer and a main contributor to the exhibit "Captured: 1614" located at the Plymouth Public Library in Plymouth, Massachusetts.{{cite news|last1=Harris|first1=Rachel Lee|title=Exploring Thanksgiving History in Massachusetts|url=http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/exploring-thanksgiving-history-in-massachusetts/|accessdate=April 6, 2015|work=New York Times|date=November 25, 2014}} The exhibit, unveiled in November 2014, marked the 400th anniversary of the kidnapping of Squanto and 19 other Wampanoag tribe members, who were brought to Europe to be sold as slaves. The exhibit, conceptualized and designed by Peters's company Smoke Sygnals, seeks to inform the public about what happened with Native Americans in the years prior to 1620. The exhibit explains how Squanto and Samoset were so well-equipped to communicate with American settlers when they landed at Plymouth Rock; Peters sees it as lending Wampanoag voice to the telling of American history.{{cite news|last1=Hayoun|first1=Massoud|title=Wampanoag divided over whether to join Plymouth Thanksgiving festivities|url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/11/27/wampanoag-dividedoverwhethertojoinplymouththanksgivingfestivitie.html|accessdate=24 April 2015|publisher=Al Jazeera America|date=November 27, 2014}}
Journalism and Opinion Pieces
- "[http://www.capecodtimes.com/article//19981010/NEWS01/310109671 Wal-Mart rumor has Falmouth talking]." Cape Cod Times, October 10, 1998.
- "[http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/19990330/News/303309996 Martha's Vineyard Supports New Bedford]." Cape Cod Times, March 30, 1999.
- "Back on Track." Cape Cod Times, March 12, 2000.
- "Worlds Rejoined." Cape Cod Times, July 13, 2002.
- "Nantucket Dealer Tied to Stolen Document." Cape Cod Times, April 5, 2003.
- "[http://www.cristinapowell.com/pdfs/20061126_capecod.pdf Young Artist Spreads Cheer]." Cape Cod Times, November 26, 2006.
- "[http://www.indianz.com/News/2008/012510.asp Wampanoag Didn't Need to Cheat]." Cape Cod Times, December 19, 2008.
References
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Category:20th-century American journalists
Category:20th-century American women journalists
Category:21st-century American journalists
Category:21st-century American women journalists
Category:20th-century Native American people
Category:Native American journalists
Category:Native American people from Massachusetts
Category:Mashpee Wampanoag people
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:21st-century Native American women
Category:20th-century Native American women