Yesterday, Rao and I spent the day visiting with several members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Tribe on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.  Our goal was two fold: 1)to discover handcrafted footwear related items which we could bring into the Common Soles catalog  2)to learn about the community and what potential initiatives could be funded by the sale of said products via Common Soles.

Our journey was both educational and successful! We met with a kind women who handcrafts jewelery from Quahog shells found along the shores of Cape Cod. She produces amazing and beautiful pieces of jewelery from these shells.  Critical for her is not using any glues, cements, or other non-natural elements in the fabrication of the items. Only natural materials such as silver, leather or sinew.  Below is an exceptional pair of earrings we saw fashioned from quahog shells. Quahog's are an edible clam of the Atlantic coast of North America which boast a hard, rounded shell. The coloring of the quahog varies but the most common have a deep purple marbling effect on the base white shell.  

We then were introduced to members of the tribe who operate a health care clinic and the housing authority for the Wampanoag. Incredible individuals who have dedicated their lives to helping their people and protecting their rich heritage. 

The Wampanoag Tribe was the first tribe of Native Americans to meet European explorers in the 1600's. Since that time it has been a struggle for the Wampanaog to maintain land to live on, jobs for their people, and the legacy of their heritage. In recent years the Wampanoag have earned the attention of the federal government and introduced several social programs to benefit the Wampanoag in the region. These are some of the individuals we met with from the housing office and health care clinic. More to come on our work with the Wampanoag. 

Excited!
-Dave