Linda ‘Red Spirit’ Coombs

Aquinnah Wampanoag

Linda Coombs is a citizen of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Martha's Vineyard and has lived in Mashpee with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe since 1977. Her two grandchildren, along with their father and grandfather, are enrolled members of the Mashpee Wampanoag.

With a career spanning 50 years as a museum educator, Linda began at the Boston Children’s Museum, where she spent 11 years, followed by 30 years in the Wampanoag Indigenous Program at Plimoth Plantation, reclaiming significant aspects of her ancestors' material culture. She then worked for 9 years at the Aquinnah Cultural Center, a museum of Aquinnah Wampanoag history housed in an original Wampanoag homestead from the late 19th century. Throughout her career, Linda has served as an interpreter, researcher, and artisan; led workshops and teacher institutes; written children’s stories and articles on Wampanoag history and culture; and developed both gallery and outdoor living history exhibits.

Her work has been dedicated to providing accurate and respectful representations of Wampanoag and other Indigenous histories, cultures, and communities, both within her own Wampanoag communities and to the public.