Hierarchy Within the Tribe

Within the Wampanoag tribe existed a system of hierarchy, where people are ranked higher than others based on social status. Leaders of the Wampanoag tribe were referred to as Sachems. There was also a higher power of Sachem, which could be considered the chief, called the Grand Sachem. The Grand Sachem had more power than any other Sachem or member of the Wampanoag tribe and was heavily respected. Sachems were never treated as a king or queen, however, and though they had a great amount of power, it was limited. The Sachems never dictated anything to their people and did everything they could to work alongside the rest of the Wampanoag to help and provide for their community. Also, within the Wampanoag tribe women were given some amount of respect as they were allowed to told the title of Sachem, however only when a male Wampanoag was not present to take the title.

Personal Reflection:

Personally, after researching the system of hierarchy within the Wampanoag tribe I was kind of surprised. I thought that the leaders would take a higher role and hold more power within the tribe. I expected the Sachems to be looked upon as kings, queens, princes, and princesses because many tribes tend to have their leaders hold their role like that. However, I think it's great that they are almost essentially "equal" to the rest of the Wampanoag people and don't command or try to control the rest of the tribe. Instead, they join the tribe in fixing the problems they may face in their community and I think it's wonderful.

I was also surprised to see that women did have the possibility to hold a role as a Sachem. In many other tribes, women are seen as inferior to men and not given the opportunity to hold a powerful position as such. Although women are only given the position when no male is available to claim the role, it still is amazing to me that a woman could be given the power. I think it's great that this occurs. This shows that the Wampanoag tribe is more liberal when it comes to allowing women's rights in the tribe compared to many other tribes. 

Resources:

Queen, Jacob, and J.T. Gale. WiseGeek. 30 Sept. 2013. Conjecture. 04 Nov. 2013 <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-wampanoag-tribe.htm>.
"The Wampanoag Tribe." Abcteach.com. 2006. 4. Nov. 2013 <http://www.abcteach.com/free/r/rc_native_wampanoag_upperelem.pdf>.