Paula Peters
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Paula Peters is a journalist, educator and activist. A member of the Wampanoag tribe, she has spent most of her life in her tribal homeland of Mashpee, Massachusetts. She hails from a prominent Mashpee Wampanoag family, including Tribal Chairman Russell "Fast Turtle" Peters (her father), and was active in the tribe's long and contested push for federal recognition.[1] In a 2006 interview with NPR, Peters recalled a time when "nobody in Washington cared much about which tribes were recognized."[2] Like her father before her, Peters served on the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council. In 2005, she ran against Glenn Marshall for Council Chairperson.[3]
Peters has made several endeavors outside the realm of journalism. In 2009 she presented her work, "Wampanoag Reflections" to the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants in Cohasset, Massachusetts.[4] She has written several essays, including "A Lesser-Known Atlantic Crossing"[5] and "Epanow's Escape."[6] Peters's work has been republished in an anthology of Native American writing from New England, including "Wampanoag Reflections," as well as a piece about cultural appropriation called "Beware: Not All Terms Are Fair Game".[4]
Peters is also the author of Mashpee Nine: A Story of Cultural Justice, published by SmokeSygnals in 2016.
