Nantucket

Modern scientific consensus suggests that American Indians are the original inhabitants of the continent, with a distinct history dating back to the separation of human languages and cultures. In New England, tribes such as the Wampanoags, under Massasoit, were part of the expansive Algonquian Confederacy. The legend of Maushope, an Indian giant who crossed to Nantucket to confront a giant bird that abducted children, highlights the island’s significance in Native history and explains the frequent fogs, attributed to Maushope’s smoking.