Exigence and Audience

Exigence and Audience

In 1970, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts commemorated the 350th anniversary of the arrival of the Pilgrims to Cole’s Hill in Plymouth with an event meant to celebrate the ‘peaceful relationship’ between the Wampanoag people and Europeans. Frank Wamsutta James was asked to speak at the event because of his prominence as leader of the Wampanoag tribe. James’ speech–a more honest and raw interpretation of the Wampanoag-European encounter–was not what the event organizers were looking for. They refused to let Frank Wamsutta James give his original speech and instead provided him with an alternate text to recite. James rejected this and created his own event known as the National Day of Mourning, where he delivered his original speech to a crowd of over 500 Native Americans from across the country on November 27, 1970. The demonstration took place near a statue of Wampanoag Chief Massasoit, who had greeted the Pilgrims as they came off the Mayflower 350 years prior. 

By establishing The National Day of Mourning, James also founded the United American Indians of New England (UAINE), an organization that continues to raise awareness for Native American struggles and still holds Native protests on Thanksgiving each year.