About Delilah's Healing and Educational Collective
About Delilah
Artistic rendering of Delilah Gibbs as envisioned by Emma Jo Mills Brennan, Mashpee Wampanoag
Delilah Sampson Gibbs was a Wampanoag woman from the Wellfleet area. It is not known when she was born, only that she lived until 1839. While purported to be the "last Indian" of Wellfleet, not much information about her life has been preserved. We can, however, create context from the pieces we know.
As a Wampanoag woman of that time period, Delilah grew up in a family that taught her the ways of the land. Like so many Wampanoag people, she had extensive knowledge of the landscape – the forest, the plants, and their broad uses for medicine.
In about 1820, Delilah performed an incredible feat. She cured a woman of breast cancer. Her herbal knowledge was such that she knew which plants, where they grew, and when to collect them for medicine. She made poultices which she applied to the woman's tumor for as long as it took, and one day the tumor came off when the poultice was removed.
This story has come down through time only within the family of the woman who was cured, eventually coming to the Wellfleet Historical Society. It made no local, regional, or national media at that time. We must ask – why this is the case? Why was Delilah not acknowledged for her abilities and her knowledge, which descended from countless generations of Wampanoag healers? These are questions that deserve to be answered.
Our interest and curiosity about Delilah was one of the initial sparks to form our collective.
Why we are doing this work
The process of colonization continues today and manifests in a variety of ways. The Wampanoag community on Cape Cod faces significant health and wellbeing challenges deeply rooted in historical injustices, systemic inequities, and the ongoing impacts of social determinants of health, including housing insecurity, healthcare access, and cultural marginalization. This project seeks to address these needs within a framework of truth-telling, reconciliation, and transformation, creating lasting change for the Cape community.
Cape Cod’s “all-cause mortality rate” data underscores disparities that disproportionately impact the Wampanoag Nation with the smallest population on Cape Cod but dying at the fastest rate, approximately three times faster, comparative to their population in the region. This project uses these mortality statistics as a foundation to understand broader health inequities, particularly in behavioral health and chronic disease prevalence. The Cape Cod Healthcare’s 2023–2025 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) data reveals concerning trends: barriers to access culturally competent healthcare and mental health services, and to stable housing. These systemic issues result in poorer health outcomes for underserved populations, including the Native community.
The Wampanoag Tribe is the smallest population on Cape Cod and are dying at the fastest rate.
Truth-telling is the first step towards reconciliation
Truth-telling requires acknowledging the historical context of colonization and its ongoing impact on Wampanoag health disparities. The project engages community members with shared lived experiences, identifies systemic barriers, and validates historical narratives. Acknowledging the injustices faced by the Wampanoag Nation is an essential step toward reconciliation, fostering mutual understanding and collaboration between the Cape Cod and Wampanoag communities.
Reconciliation involves acknowledging Wampanoag perspective which is not only essential for fostering truth-telling and reconciliation but also contributes to an ongoing opportunity to align the historical and cultural legacy with contemporary understanding of the systemic impact on the land and Native peoples.
By connecting the Wampanoag as a people of first European contact with the systemic challenges created by subsequent colonization, this project contributes to the foundation for reconciliation and transformation. Truth-telling about the Wampanoag experience becomes a pathway for reshaping public awareness, addressing historical injustices, and creating a more inclusive and accurate narrative of Cape Cod’s past and present.
The transformative goal is to create the relationship that ultimately fosters healing the earth and ourselves, as we acknowledge Indigenous presence and traditional ecological knowledge.
Delilah's Team
The Team of Delilah's Healing and Educational Collective began forming in 2019 and has grown steadily since then.
Linda Coombs
Aquinnah Wampanoag, Museum Educator, Historian and author of the recently published Colonization and the Wampanoag Story, 2023.
Sheryl Jaffe
Artist and historian who coordinates related programming bridging Wampanoag culture with the Outer Cape community. Her art practice highlights environmental concerns with the vulnerability of life.
Leo Blandford
Clinical social worker on the Outer Cape working towards integrating health equity initiatives and community engagement into the medical care setting, with a specific focus on marginalized populations receiving equitable and accessible care
Alissa Fleet
Program Designer who grew up in Sandwich. Systemic practitioner and peace walker with the New England Peace Pagoda.
Deborah Ullman
Cape Cod native (Mayflower descendant) who has worked in social justice, broadcasting, publishing and as a Gestalt Therapist, currently contributing essays to The Provincetown Independent.
Thank you to our collaborators and generous sponsors
