Philip Marcelo
May 26, 2021 - 10:21 PM
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) â When Samantha Maltais steps onto Harvardâs campus this fall, sheâll become the first member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe to attend its prestigious law school. Itâs a âfull-circle momentâ for the university and the Marthaâs Vineyard tribe, she says.
More than 350 years ago, Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, an Aquinnah Wampanoag man, became the first Native American to graduate from the Cambridge, Massachusetts, university â the product of its 1650 charter calling for the education of âEnglish and Indian youth of this country.â Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck1650 charter
âComing from a tribal community in its backyard, Iâm hyper aware of Harvardâs impact,â said Maltais, the 24-year-old daughter of her tribeâs chairwoman. âItâs a symbol of New Englandâs colonial past, this tool of assimilation that pushed Native Americans into the background in their own homelands.â