Ousamequin (Massassoit) - Anadarko, OK - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

The bronze bust of Ousamequin (Massassoit) is located inside the museum at the National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians. Sculptor Betty Butts has shown him with a shirt or cloth draped over his left shoulder, and a bone bracelet tied to his upper right arm. He is wearing a heavy bone necklace, and has two feathers in his long hair. The bust is mounted on a wood podium with a plaque which reads:

OUSAMEQUIN
MASSASSOIT
Wampanoag Chief
1580 – 1661
Kind, Honest, Beloved Chief who Served
His Tribe and Always Befriended the
Pilgrims who had Settled in the Plymouth
Area. Kept th Peace for 54 Years.
Donor/Sculptor: Betty Butts

Ousamequin, meaning “yellow feather” was born about 1580 and resided in the area which is now Rhode Island. He ruled over an area which includes Cape Cod, and all of present Massachusetts and Rhode Island and some areas to the west.

Before the Pilgrims arrived in 1620, Ousamequin (Massassoit) had met Capt. John Smith of the Jamestown Colony and Capt. Thomas Dermer. When Massassoit first met the Pilgrims with a group of 60 warriors, he negotiated a treaty of peace and friendship with the Plymouth colony, a treaty which was never broken. In October 1621, he and 90 of his braves were invited to participate in a thanksgiving celebration at Plymouth, a celebration which has led to our Thanksgiving tradition today.

Sometime in 1622, Massassoit became deathly ill, probably with typhoid fever and sent word to the Pilgrims. They sent several colonists to his bedside to administer treatment, and he did not die. It was not until 1661, at the age of 81 that this beloved chief died.

[Biographical information from the Museum’s Self-Guiding Tour pamphlet.]

URL of the statue: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
You must have visited the site in person, not online.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.