“The recipes in this book tell the story of the early development of this nation powerful contributions of Americas first people.”
The recipes tell the story of America from the beginning, when the author’s ancestors, the People of the First Light, who walked the land now known as Cape Cod and its islands over 10,000 years ago, encountered the English settlers.
The author presents stories of her ancestors of the Portuguese Diaspora and Seychelle Islands, driven by the whaling industry to the shores of New Bedford and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
The recipes are a map of historical events that formulated the beginning of this nation from the Native American perspective. The recipes are used as a metaphor to examine the author’s own cultural and ethnic identity and personal journey.
The author tells the story of Mashpee, one of the last and largest declared Indian districts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, later incorporated into a town in 1870.
Angela shares stories of her legacy as a member of the Peters family, including her grandfather, who represented the Indian town for over thirty-seven years, and their ties to the Kennedy family and the family’s deep commitment to the survival of this unique community.
Once upon a time, say some Indigenous oral histories, Sky Woman fell to earth when it was all oceans. To save her from drowning, several animals tried to bring up dirt from the sea bottom that would create land. A muskrat finally succeeded, placing a patch of dirt on a turtle’s back. That dirt grew to become the North American continent with all its vast forests and abundant wildlife.
The Wampanoags of Massachusetts are known as “The People of the First Light’ because they were the first to witness the sun rising from the eastern coastline. Angela’s recipes are connected to her cultural heritage and tell the story of her ancestor’s deep ties to the region now known as Cape Cod and the Islands. The recipes tell the story of the successful lifeways and practices of our first people before outside encounters. Americas first people practiced and developed sustainable land management and agricultural techniques that cannot be minimized.
