The ancestors of Wampanoag people have lived for at least 10,000 years at Aquinnah (Gay Head) and throughout the island of Noepe (Martha's Vineyard), pursuing a traditional economy based on fishing and agriculture. The Aquinnah Wampanoag share the belief that the giant Moshup created Noepe and the neighboring islands, taught their people how to fish and to catch whales, and still presides over their destinies. Their beliefs and a hundred million years of history are imprinted in the colorful clay cliffs of Aquinnah.

The WAMPANOAG, or the "people of the dawn” lived by Farming, fishing, hunting and gathering. In the spring, whole villages, moved to the seashore to fish and plant crops - corn, squash and beans. Their homes were often made of woven mats stretched with wood frames, this made their homes more mobile and when migrating, they could carry the mats with them and leave the wooden structures behind for their return. In the fall and winter, they moved inland to the forests of oak, maple and pine where they hunted deer, wolf, bear, beaver, moose, wild turkey, raccoon, otter, and wildcat. The fished in the many streams, rivers, lakes and ocean they took fresh and salt-water fish and in winter, they fished through the holes of the ice.

Each community had authority over a well-defined territory from which the people derived their livelihood through a seasonal round of fishing, planting, harvesting and hunting. The Wampanoag way of life fostered a harmonious relationship between the people and their natural environment, both physical and spiritual. In addition, they respected the traditions and the elders of their nation.

The work of making a living was organized on a family level. Boys were schooled in the way of the woods, where a mans skill at hunting and ability to survive under all conditions were vital to his families well being. The women were trained from youth to work diligently in the fields and around the family wetu.

Sources: http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/northamerica/wampanoagculture.html
http://www.wampanoagtribe.net/Pages/index