Bounty Between Land and Sea

Located at Fort Hill (Sharpening Stone), Eastham

As you take in this view, imagine yourself in the company of the First People, the Wampanoag. They have lived with these lands and waters for over 12,000 years. Nauset Marsh owes its name to the Nauset tribe of the Wampanoag who made their homes here, along its shores. The Nausets were the first to make use of the marsh’s abundant resources.

Flushed twice daily by the tides, the salt marsh is a rich ecosystem. The Wampanoag dug clams and harvested mussels and oysters. They fished for young striped bass and bluefish, sharpening spear points and fish hooks on the rock behind you. Woven into tight mats, the strong salt marsh grasses provided weather-resistant roofing for Wampanoag summer dwellings. Fresh water seeping from the shoreline provided pure drinking water.

For both early Native People and their descendants who still live here, the natural world is so much more than a source of food. There is a deep spiritual relationship with the landscape, one that provides a connection to the sacred. Early Wampanoag used the word “nauset” to describe “a place between” — the perfect name for this world that is both land and water.

TEXT © NATIONAL PARK SERVICE