Massasoit (statue)

Last updated
Massasoit
Massasoit statue plymouth 2007.jpg
Artist Cyrus Dallin
Completion date1921
Location Plymouth, Massachusetts, U.S.

Massasoit is a statue by the American sculptor Cyrus Edwin Dallin in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was completed in 1921 to mark the three hundredth anniversary of the Pilgrims' landing. The sculpture is meant to represent the Pokanoket leader Massasoit welcoming the Pilgrims on the occasion of the first Thanksgiving.

Contents

Several replicas of the statue exist across the United States, including numerous small-scale souvenir reproductions. [1] Since 1970, the statue has been the site of the National Day of Mourning, a Native American protest on Thanksgiving Day. [2]

History

National Day of Mourning plaque National Day of Mourning Plaque.jpg
National Day of Mourning plaque

The Improved Order of Red Men fraternal organization commissioned the statue for the 1921 Pilgrim Tercentenary. Despite the group's name, they only allowed white male members at that time. [3] Massasoit's last surviving relative, Wootonekanuske, was invited to the statue's unveiling. [4] The statue sits atop Cole's Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts, across from Plymouth Rock. [5] Historian Lis Blee criticized it for reflecting settler colonialism. [6]

An annual protest occurs at the statue on Thanksgiving Day in order to reclaim the space for Native Americans. [7] The National Day of Mourning began in 1970 and the United American Indians of New England continues the event to correct historical inaccuracies around the holiday and to raise awareness for Indigenous issues. [2] The Town of Plymouth later added a plaque near the statue to acknowledge the annual tradition. [8]

Replicas

Replicas of the statue are located at:

See also

Antique postcard, circa 1930-1945 Statue of Massasoit, Plymouth, Mass (67279).jpg
Antique postcard, circa 1930-1945

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth Colony</span> English colonial venture in America (1620–1691)

Plymouth Colony was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on the Mayflower at a location that had previously been surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement served as the capital of the colony and developed as the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. At its height, Plymouth Colony occupied most of what is now the southeastern portion of Massachusetts. Many of the people and events surrounding Plymouth Colony have become part of American folklore, including the American tradition of Thanksgiving and the monument of Plymouth Rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth, Massachusetts</span> Town in Massachusetts, United States

Plymouth is a town and county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known as "America's Hometown". Plymouth was the site of the colony founded in 1620 by the Mayflower Pilgrims, where New England was first established. It is the oldest municipality in New England and one of the oldest in the United States. The town has served as the location of several prominent events, one of the more notable being the First Thanksgiving feast. Plymouth served as the capital of Plymouth Colony from its founding in 1620 until the colony's merger with the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691. The English explorer John Smith named the area Plymouth and the region 'New England' during his voyage of 1614. It was a later coincidence that, after an aborted attempt to make the 1620 trans-Atlantic crossing from Southampton, the Mayflower finally set sail for America from Plymouth, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squanto</span> Native American contact of the Pilgrims

Tisquantum, more commonly known as Squanto, was a member of the Patuxet tribe of Wampanoags, best known for being an early liaison between the Native American population in Southern New England and the Mayflower Pilgrims who made their settlement at the site of Tisquantum's former summer village, now Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Patuxet tribe had lived on the western coast of Cape Cod Bay, but an epidemic infection wiped them out, likely brought by previous European explorers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Day of Mourning (United States protest)</span> United States Thanksgiving Day protest

The National Day of Mourning is an annual demonstration, held on the fourth Thursday in November, that aims to educate the public about Native Americans in the United States, notably the Wampanoag and other tribes of the Eastern United States; dispel myths surrounding the Thanksgiving story in the United States; and raise awareness toward historical and ongoing struggles facing Native American tribes. The first National Day of Mourning demonstration was held in 1970 after Frank "Wamsutta" James's speaking invitation was rescinded from a Massachusetts Thanksgiving Day celebration commemorating the 350th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower. James instead delivered his speech on Cole's Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts next to a statue of Ousamequin, where he described Native American perspectives on the Thanksgiving celebrations. The gathering became an annual event organized by the United American Indians of New England (UAINE) and coincides with both Thanksgiving Day in the United States and with Unthanksgiving Day, an annual ceremony held on Alcatraz Island in California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massasoit</span> Leader of the Wampanoag confederacy

Massasoit Sachem or Ousamequin was the sachem or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. Massasoit means Great Sachem. Although Massasoit was only his title, English colonists mistook it as his name and it stuck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyrus Edwin Dallin</span> American sculptor (1861–1944)

Cyrus Edwin Dallin was an American sculptor best known for his depictions of Native Americans. He created more than 260 works, including the Equestrian Statue of Paul Revere in Boston; the Angel Moroni atop Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City; and Appeal to the Great Spirit (1908), at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He was also an accomplished painter and an Olympic archer.

Corbitant was a Wampanoag sachem under Massasoit. Corbitant was the sachem of the Pocasset tribe in present-day North Tiverton, Rhode Island, c. 1618–1630. He lived in Mattapuyst or Mattapoiset, located in the southern part of today's Swansea, Massachusetts.

<i>Appeal to the Great Spirit</i> Equestrian statue by Cyrus Dallin in Boston, Massachusetts, US

Appeal to the Great Spirit is a 1908 equestrian statue by Cyrus Dallin, located in front of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It portrays a Native American on horseback facing skyward, his arms spread wide in a spiritual request to the Great Spirit. It was the last of Dallin's four prominent sculptures of Indigenous people known as The Epic of the Indian, which also include A Signal of Peace (1890), The Medicine Man (1899), and Protest of the Sioux (1904).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cole's Hill</span> Historic cemetery in Massachusetts, United States

Cole's Hill is a National Historic Landmark containing the first cemetery used by the Mayflower Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. The hill is located on Carver Street near the foot of Leyden Street and across the street from Plymouth Rock. Owned since 1820 by the preservationist Pilgrim Society, it is now a public park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patuxet</span> Village in Massachusetts, United States

The Patuxet were a Native American band of the Wampanoag tribal confederation. They lived primarily in and around modern-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, and were among the first Native Americans encountered by European settlers in the region in the early 17th century. Most of the population subsequently died of epidemic infectious diseases. The last of the Patuxet – an individual named Tisquantum, who played an important role in the survival of the Pilgrim colony at Plymouth – died in 1622.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brigham Young Monument</span> Sculpture by Cyrus Edwin Dallin

The Brigham Young Monument is a bronzed historical monument located on the north sidewalk of the intersection at Main and South Temple Streets of Salt Lake City, Utah. It was erected in honour of pioneer-colonizer, Utah governor, and LDS Church president Brigham Young who led the Mormon pioneers into the Utah Territory in 1847. The base of the twenty-five-foot monument has the bronze figure of an Indian facing east and that of a bearded fur trapper facing west, both of which preceded the Mormon settlers. On the south side is a bronze bas-relief of a pioneer man, woman, and child, while another bronze plaque has a list of the pioneers who arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, and their equipment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springville, Utah</span> City in Utah, United States

Springville is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, that is part of the Provo–Orem metropolitan area. The population was 35,268 in 2020, according to the United States Census. Springville is a bedroom community for commuters who work in the Provo-Orem and Salt Lake City metropolitan areas. Other neighboring cities include Spanish Fork and Mapleton. Springville has the nickname of "Art City" or "Hobble Creek".

<i>The Puritan</i> (statue) Bronze statue by Augustus St. Gaudens

The Puritan is a bronze statue by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens in Springfield, Massachusetts, which became so popular that it was reproduced for over 20 other cities, museums, universities, and private collectors around the world, and later became an official symbol of the city, emblazoned on its municipal flag. Originally designed to be part of Stearns Square, since 1899 the statue has stood at the corner of Chestnut and State Street next to The Quadrangle.

<i>The Medicine Man</i> (Dallin) Sculpture by Cyrus Edwin Dallin installed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

The Medicine Man is an 1899 bronze equestrian statue by Cyrus Edwin Dallin located on Dauphin Street, west of 33rd Street, in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. The statue portrays an indigenous American medicine man.

<i>A Signal of Peace</i> Equestrian statue in Chicago

A Signal of Peace is an 1890 bronze equestrian sculpture by Cyrus Edwin Dallin located in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Dallin created the work while studying in Paris and based the figure on a member of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, which he attended often. He exhibited the original plaster version of the sculpture at the Paris Salon of 1890, where it won honorable mention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyrus Dallin Art Museum</span> United States art museum

The Cyrus Dallin Art Museum (CDAM) in Arlington, Massachusetts, United States is dedicated to displaying the artworks and documentation of American sculptor, educator, and Indigenous rights activist Cyrus Dallin, who lived and worked in the town for over 40 years. He is well known for his sculptural works around the US including The Scout in Kansas City, Missouri, TheSoldiers' and Sailors' Monumentin Syracuse, New York and The Signal of Peace in Chicago. Locally, he is best known for his iconic Appeal to the Great Spirit and Paul Revere Monument statues, both located in Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar</span> US commemorative coin

The Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar or Pilgrim half dollar was a commemorative fifty-cent coin struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1920 and 1921 to mark the 300th anniversary (tercentenary) of the arrival of the Pilgrims in North America. It was designed by Cyrus E. Dallin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Brigham Young</span> Statue in the United States Capitol

Brigham Young is a marble statue by Mahonri Young representing the Mormon religious leader of the same name, installed in the United States Capitol, in Washington D.C., as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection. It is one of two statues donated by the state of Utah, and is unusual in the collection in that Young is portrayed sitting down. The statue was unveiled by Alben William Barkley on June 1, 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Massasoit (Salt Lake City)</span> Statue in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.

A statue of Massasoit by Cyrus E. Dallin is installed outside the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.

<i>Signing of the Mayflower Compact</i> Sculpture in Provincetown, Massachusetts

Signing of the Mayflower Compact (1922) is a fifteen-figure, bas-relief sculpture by Cyrus E. Dallin located at the base of Monument Hill below the Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The sculpture is one of three major commissions he received as part of the Pilgrim Tercentenary in 1920. The other two were the statue of Massasoit in Plymouth, Massachusetts and the Pilgrim half dollar, which featured renditions of a pilgrim and the Mayflower under sail.

References

  1. Blee, Lisa; O'Brien, Jean (2019). Monumental Mobility. UNC Press. ISBN   978-1-4696-4839-2.
  2. 1 2 Hill, Jessica (November 19, 2020). "Not all Native Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. Find out why". Cape Cod Times . Hyannis, Massachusetts: Gannett. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  3. Deloria, Philip J. (1998). Playing Indian . Yale University Press. pp. 59–65.
  4. Museum, Mattapoisett (2021-11-26). "The Last of Massasoit's Line". Mattapoisett Museum. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  5. Sargent, Mark L. (December 1993). "The Encounter on Cole's Hill: Cyrus Dallin's "Massasoit" and "Bradford"". Journal of American Studies. 27 (3): 399–408. doi:10.1017/S0021875800032096. ISSN   1469-5154.
  6. "Pieces of history or ugly reminders of injustice? Historians discuss monuments' meaning over time". Deseret News . Salt Lake City. 2020-11-17. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  7. Loewen, James W. (1999). Lies Across America: What Our Historic Markers and Monuments Get Wrong . New York: The New Press. pp. 144–147. ISBN   0-684-87067-3.
  8. Jarzombek, Mark (February 2021). "The "Indianized" Landscape of Massachusetts". Places Journal . Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  9. "Chief Massasoit | Utah State Capitol". utahstatecapitol.utah.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  10. Writer, NewsNet Staff (2002-02-04). "Indian statue a welcoming symbol". The Daily Universe. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  11. Brockman, Eric (2021-02-26). "Chief Massasoit". Dayton Art Institute. Retrieved 2023-09-13.

41°57′28″N70°39′45″W / 41.95764°N 70.66239°W / 41.95764; -70.66239