Pokanoket Nation
Council of Seven & Royal House of Pokanoket & Pokanoket Tribe & Wampanoag Corporation | |
| Named after | Pokanoket, a Wampanoag village |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1994 |
| Founded at | Millbury, Massachusetts |
| Type | nonprofit organization |
| EIN 05-0474463 | |
| Purpose | Ethnic/Immigrant Services (P84} |
| Headquarters | Bristol, Rhode Island |
| Location |
|
| Membership | 200–250 (2017) |
Official language | English |
Chief/Sagamore | William Guy, aka Po Wauipi Neimpaug |
President | Michael S. Weeden |
| Website | pokanokettribe |
Formerly called | Pokanoket Tribe of the Wampanoag Nation |
The Pokanoket Nation, also known as the Pokanoket Tribe, is one of several cultural heritage organizations of individuals who identify as descendants of the Wampanoag people in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. They formed a nonprofit organization called the Council of Seven & Royal House of Pokanoket & Pokanoket Tribe & Wampanoag Corporation in 1994.
The Pokanoket Nation is an unrecognized organization. They are neither a federally recognized tribe nor a state-recognized tribe.
In 2015, they dropped "Wampanoag" from their name. They should not be confused with other unrecognized heritage groups, such as the Pokanoket/Wampanoag Federation, based in Warwick, Rhode Island; Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation, based in Auburn, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island; or the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation in Cranston, Rhode Island.
Their chief or sagamore, William Guy, is also known as Po Wauipi Neimpaug. Guy claims descent from Massasoit.
The Narragansett Indian Tribe, the only federally recognized tribe in Rhode Island, does not recognize the Pokanoket Nation as a Native American tribe. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, one of the only two federally recognized Wampanoag tribes, states the Mashpee are the descendants of the historical Pokanoket people.