Editing Aquinnah, Massachusetts (section)

== History ==
Before the arrival of English colonists, Martha's Vineyard and Aquinnah were inhabited by the Wampanoag, a Native American people, related to the larger Algonquin Nation of Southern New England. Historically they spoke an [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian language]], part of a large language family that extended down the Atlantic Coast. Based on archeological testing, scientists estimate the earliest signs of human occupation in what is now Aquinnah date back 10,000 to 7,500 years.<ref name="MVG">{{cite web |last1=Hufstader |first1=Louisa |title=Aquinnah Sites Reveal 10,000 Years of Wampanoag History |url=https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2018/08/19/aquinnah-sites |website=The Vineyard Gazette}}</ref>

The Wampanoag have a separate history; their creation myth tells that their ancestors reached the island after traveling on an [[Drift ice|ice floe]] from the far North. They sided with the English settlers in [[King Philip's War]]. They performed [[whaling]] from small boats.<ref name=aqui>[http://www.mass.gov/hed/docs/dhcd/profiles/104.doc "Aquinnah (previously known as Gay Head)"], ''[[Government of Massachusetts#Governor.27s Cabinet|Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development]]''. Retrieved August 14, 2012.</ref> The character [[List_of_Moby-Dick_characters#Tashtego|Tashtego]] in Herman Melville's novel ''[[Moby-Dick]]'' is a Native American [[harpoon]]er from Aquinnah.<ref>Melville, H., [http://www.foliosociety.com/book/MBY/moby-dick "Moby-Dick"], chapter 27. ''The [[Folio Society]],'' 2009. A Limited Edition with 281 illustrations by Rockwell Kent.</ref>

This area was first settled by English colonists in 1669. Later colonists officially divided the town of Aquinnah from [[Chilmark,_Massachusetts|Chilmark]] and incorporated it in 1870 as Gay Head, [[Massachusetts]]. Gay Head was a descriptive name referring to the brilliant colors of the cliffs<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n134 135]}}</ref> and was frequently noted on lists of [[Place names considered unusual|unusual place names]].<ref>{{cite book | title=Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An Insider's Guide to 201 of the World's Weirdest and Wildest Places | publisher=Adams Media | author=Parker, Quentin | year=2010 }}</ref>

[[Image:Seal of Gay Head, Massachusetts.png|thumb|100px|left|Seal for the town under the name Gay Head, used until 1998.]]In 1997, by popular vote of 79 to 21, the town changed its name to ''Aquinnah,'' Wampanoag for "land under the hill."<ref>[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BG&p_theme=bg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADDCA7494773F9&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM ''Boston Globe'', May 15, 1997]</ref><ref>[http://www.cradleboard.org/cnat/profiles/wanpanoag.htm "Wampanoag"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200624/http://www.cradleboard.org/cnat/profiles/wanpanoag.htm |date=October 29, 2013 }}, ''[[Cradleboard Teaching Project]]''. Retrieved August 14, 2012.</ref> Throughout the town's history, a Wampanoag community has been among its residents. The people gained federal recognition as the [[Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head]] in 1987 and controls sovereign tribal lands within the town boundaries.

In 2015, erosion at the town's western end led to a $3.5 million, 129 feet (39 m) move of its prominent, red brick [[Gay Head Light]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sigelman|first=Nelson|date=June 3, 2015|title=Gay Head Lighthouse move is complete|url=https://www.mvtimes.com/2015/06/03/gay-head-lighthouse-move-is-complete/|access-date=August 12, 2020|website=The Martha's Vineyard Times|language=en-US}}</ref>

In February 2019, the [[Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head]] announced it will begin construction of the Aquinnah Cliffs Casino in March 2019. The [[List of federally recognized tribes|tribe]] is scheduled to proceed with construction despite opposition from the towns of Aquinnah and [[Chilmark, Massachusetts|Chilmark]], and a request from the Martha's Vineyard Commission for the Wampanoag tribe to work with the commission to "preserve the unique values of the Vineyard." The Wampanoag tribe says the commission has no [[jurisdiction]] over the project.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brennan |first=George |url=https://www.mvtimes.com/2019/02/24/tribe-moves-ahead-casino-construction/ |title=Tribe moves ahead with casino construction |work=[[The Martha's Vineyard Times]] |date=February 24, 2019 |access-date=February 26, 2019 }}</ref>

During the Island's earliest tourist booms of the late 19th century, ferries brought tourists directly to the Cliff's shores. Today, there is no direct transit between Aquinnah and the mainland. Visitors to the island use commercial planes serving [[Martha's Vineyard Airport]], located in nearby West Tisbury, while others travel by car and [[The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority|ferry]].