“PLYMOUTH 400 REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY” HELD TODAY TO MARK 400Th ANNIVERSARY AND HONOR WAMPANOAG PEOPLE, MAYFLOWER PASSENGERS, PANDEMIC VICTIMSPLYMOUTH, MA (July 9, 2021) -- Plymouth 400's Remembrance Ceremony was held today at Pilgrim Hall Museum, America’s oldest continuously operated public museum. The ceremony continued the Plymouth-based organization’s mission to commemorate the 400Th anniversary of the Mayflower Voyage, the founding of Plymouth Colony and the interaction with the Wampanoag people. Specifically, tributes were paid to “The Great Dying” of 1616-1619 that afflicted the Wampanoag people, the first winter of 1620-1621 when half of the Mayflower passengers died of contagious sickness and the 2020 global pandemic that caused widespread mortality and disrupted millions of lives, events that share a historic yet somber through line that was highlighted by several of the ceremony’s speakers. Plymouth 400 Board President, Ken Tavares touch on this this through line in his opening remarks, saying:
“The arrival of the Mayflower has come to represent the first seeds of our nation, but it was no easy voyage and today we remember how half of the Mayflower passengers would go onto perish...” He continued, “the arrival of the Mayflower represents so many harsh truths for the Wampanoag people who were already there in what was originally called Patuxet. And in 1620 they were only a few years removed from a deadly pandemic of their own”, before making the connection to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Plymouth 400, Inc. invited a diverse program of speakers including New England’s British Consul General, Dr. Peter Abbott, U.S. Congressman William Keating and a slate of dignitaries, tribal council members, and invited guests. Other speakers included:
D. Brenton Simons, Co-chair of the Plymouth 400 State Commission, Plymouth 400 board member and CEO of American Ancestors/New England Historic Genealogical Society.
Linda Coombs, Plymouth 400 Board Member, Chair Plymouth 400 Wampanoag Advisory Committee and Executive Board Member Pilgrim Hall Museum.
Troy Currence, Medicine Man, Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe of Plymouth led by Chairwoman Melissa Harding-Ferretti (not present)
Jane Riddell Hurt, Governor General, General Society of Mayflower Descendants and Plymouth 400 board member.
Dr. Donna Curtin, Executive Director, Pilgrim Hall Museum and Plymouth 400 board member.
Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, Chairwoman, Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribal Council was scheduled to appear but remained on Martha’s Vineyard due to the storm.
Brian Weeden, Chairman, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council was also invited to speak but was delayed by the storm following a funeral in Mashpee at the time of the Ceremony.
The audience was comprised of descendants of the Mayflower Pilgrims, tribal council members from the Wampanoag tribes of Aquinnah, Mashpee and Herring Pond, Pilgrim Society board members, state legislators, Plymouth town officials, Plymouth 400 board members and staff.

Congressman William Keating spoke on behalf of the US House of Representatives about the national interest in the anniversary and thanked Plymouth 400 for their balanced approach to the Mayflower story, elevating both the stories of the Mayflower passengers as well as the Wampanoag people who were impacted by its arrival.

The Massachusetts House, represented by Rep Kathy Lanatra and State Representative Matthew Muratore, presented the organization with a proclamation recognizing Remembrance Day and the 400Th Commemoration of the Founding of Plymouth Colony. Rep Muratore, a former Town of Plymouth Selectman himself, discussed the impact of 10 years of promotion of leading up to Plymouth 400 and about how all the work was not done in vain. He remarked that the record business reported by Plymouth restaurants and other attractions can be directly attributed to the efforts of the Plymouth 400, Inc., despite the absence of live events last year. Monica Mullin from the office of Senator Susan Moran presented the non-profit with a citation from the Massachusetts Senate.

D. Brenton Simons, himself a descendant of Governor William Bradford, returned to the podium to invoke the famous “One Small Candle” quote from Bradford’s “Of Plimoth Plantation”.

Originally scheduled to take place atop Cole’s Hill, also in Plymouth, Massachusetts, between the Sarcophagus Monument to the Mayflower Pilgrims and the Statue of Massasoit Usamequin, the event was quickly moved to the dry confines of Pilgrim Hall once reports of Tropical Storm Elsa threatened to disrupt the event, earlier this week. The location was significant for obvious historic reasons but was also adjacent to the planned site of “Remembrance Park”, a parcel of land belonging to the Pilgrim Society which wrapped up a state-mandated archaeological dig late last month. The project was initiated by Plymouth 400 to commemorate the anniversary and will be seen through to completion by the Pilgrim Society and Pilgrim Hall Museum.