The People - The Re-Monument

Beverly Soaring Feather Wright

Beverly Soaring Feather Wright is a citizen of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). From 1992 – 2004, she provided leadership as Chairperson of the Tribal Council.

For over ten thousand years, the “people of the first light” (Wampanoag) have inhabited the “land amid the waters” (Noepe, also known as the island of Martha’s Vineyard), principally on the “land under the hill” (Aquinnah). Although the community bore the English name of Gay Head from 1870 to 1997, residents voted to officially restore its ancestral Wampanoag name of Aquinnah in 1998.

Soaring Feather is wearing a brain-tanned deerskin leather maxi-dress that is handpainted with long fringe flowing from the hemline, chest and shoulders. Leather leggings, moccasins, a matching headpiece and a fringed leather handbag, all accented in Eastern Woodlands style with a painted curvilinear scroll motif and linear glass beading, complete the attire. A wampum quahog shell necklace and bracelet accessorize her ceremonial dress.

Beverly has worked tirelessly over the years to ensure the well-being and fortitude of the Town of Aquinnah, the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe, and their respective citizenry. Presently, she is the Treasurer of the Aquinnah Cultural Center. She is a docent of the historic Aquinnah Lighthouse, and in 2024 she was appointed to a three-year term on the Town of Aquinnah’s Cemetery Commission. Beverly is also a Board member of two non- profit organizations in the region: the Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living, which supports persons with dementia and dementia caregivers in Dukes County via delivery of programs, services and activities, and the Island Housing Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to securing affordable housing options and cultivating housing opportunities across six island towns. In years past, she has served on the Wampanoag Social Services Committee and as an elected member of the Town of Aquinnah Select Board.

Soaring Feather is the granddaughter of the late Harrison Vanderhoop and Celina Manning Vanderhoop. Known as Chief No-Ho-No, tribal records and federal reports from a twentieth century tribal recognition review cite that Harrison Vanderhoop was a fisherman, Aquinnah Postmaster, Chief of the Tribal Council, and leading figure in solidifying the cultural identity of the Aquinnah Wampanoag from the late 1920s through 1951 when he was succeeded as Chief by his nephew, Donald Malonson. Soaring Feather has family ties to many Wampagnoag citizens; moreover, she learned a number of Wampanoag cultural traditions and practices directly from her grandparents. Accordingly, she can be found leading the periodic workshop or teaching traditional crafts such as pinch pot making to the next generation, and acting upon her commitment to civic engagement within and on behalf of her community. She is a cultural steward, knowledge keeper, and respected elder of the Aquinnah Wampanoag who is frequently called upon to offer perspective and guidance on important matters that impact the present and future of the tribe.