David Vanderhoop, 67, at Sassafras Earth Education, an indigenous Wampanoag nonprofit that he runs with his wife on Martha's Vineyard, Mass.
Vanderhoop, 67, cherishes stories of days long past when the island's natural cranberry bogs, blueberry bushes, and Sassafras trees were cared for by Aquinnah Wampanoag men, women, and children all over the island.A historian for the tribe estimates there were around 4,000 Aquinnah Wampanoag people at the tribe's peak, though others estimate there were thousands more.
"I just have it in my system that I have to bring the land back to a productive time," David Vanderhoop said."So we're setting up the land the way that my ancestors would have."The Vanderhoops see the consequences of a European agriculture system and a tourism economy all over Martha's Vineyard. Saskia Vanderhoop says people have clear-cut the forests, established plant monocultures, and over-used chemical fertilizers.
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