Melvin Coombs
Encyclopedia
Melvin Coombs was a Wampanoag dancer, cultural educator, and cultural interpreter
Heritage interpretation
Heritage interpretation is the communication of information about, or the explanation of, the nature, origin, and purpose of historical, natural, or cultural resources, objects, sites and phenomena using personal or non-personal methods....

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Biography

Born and raised in Mashpee, Massachusetts
Mashpee, Massachusetts
Mashpee is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 14,006 as of 2010.For geographic and demographic information on specific parts of the town of Mashpee, please see the articles on Mashpee Neck, Monomoscoy Island, New Seabury, Popponesset, Popponesset Island,...

, Coombs' native name was Kennupmussitaccq, meaning "Quick Foot". He graduated from high school in Falmouth. After attending Cape Cod Community College
Cape Cod Community College
Cape Cod Community College, known locally as "4-C's", is a two-year community college located in West Barnstable, Massachusetts. Cape Cod Community College was established in 1961, the second institution to open as part of what is now a 15 community college system in Massachusetts...

 in Barnstable, he began dancing competitively at local pow-wow
Pow-wow
A pow-wow is a gathering of North America's Native people. The word derives from the Narragansett word powwaw, meaning "spiritual leader". A modern pow-wow is a specific type of event where both Native American and non-Native American people meet to dance, sing, socialize, and honor American...

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Coombs later began speaking in schools and other community gatherings in an attempt to dispel myths and stereotypes about indigenous peoples of the Americas
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

. In the 1990s, he served as a cultural interpreter at the Plymouth Plantation
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...

 while working for the Wampanoag Indian Program. Together with his fiancee, Dawn Dove, he managed the Dovecrest Cultural Center in Exeter, which includes the Tomaquag Museum, the Dove Trading Post and a cultural education program.

On March 18, 1997, Coombs died of severe injuries in Richmond, Rhode Island
Richmond, Rhode Island
Richmond is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 7,708 at the 2010 census. The villages of Alton, Arcadia, Carolina, Hope Valley, Kenyon, Shannock, Usquepaug, Woodville, and Wyoming are located in Richmond.-History:The town of Richmond was originally part...

. He and Lloyd Lance Comer, an acquaintance, were seen together drinking much of the day and night. Comer was initially charged with manslaughter, as Coombs' body was found on his property. He was acquitted.

Marriage and family

At the time of his death, Coombs was engaged to Dawn Dove, a Narragansett
Narragansett
Narragansett may refer to:*Narragansett , a Pennsylvania Railroad train*Narragansett , an Amtrak train*Narragansett **Narragansett land claim*Narragansett, Rhode Island, a town*Narragansett Bay*Narragansett...

. They lived in Exeter, Rhode Island
Exeter, Rhode Island
Exeter is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. Exeter extends east from the Connecticut border to the town of North Kingstown. It is bordered to the north by West Greenwich and East Greenwich, and to the south by Hopkinton, Richmond and South Kingstown. Exeter's postal code...

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