One of the pleasures of this holiday weekend is to enjoy its simplicity. No gifts to buy, no greeting cards to send, no traditional menus to prepare, no ceremonies to observe. But because this is an occasion to celebrate indigenous people, I want to rave about a recent book, Nothing of This Land, written by a Wampanoag tribal member, Joseph Lee.   

A few weeks ago, I had read an excerpt of this young man’s book in the New York Times. On those pages he wrote about his teenage summers working at his grandparents’ (now his parents’) gift shop on the Aquinnah cliffs. In this fragment of the story, he wrote of the many questions and remarks made by visitors to the store, often insensitive and just as often, truly offensive. But through these experiences, Mr. Lee realized how naive we are about the country’s first people. And that awareness formed an outline for the book he has produced.

Mr. Lee’s prose is easy, comfortable to read, and in the first half of his book he tells the history of his tribe and of his family. His mother is a Vanderhoop. Of particular Vineyard interest are the changes in the Wampanoag tribe’s status, stability and struggles since receiving federal recognition in 1994.

The second half is a global exploration of tribal identity and questions of community authority. He said in an interview that he was astonished to learn that tribes in the western states and Alaska have identity problems much like those experienced in Aquinnah.

I confess I am basing my enthusiasm for the book on the piece in the New York Times and longer excerpts published online. I also enjoyed interviews with Mr. Lee shown on You Tube and another on the Amazon site. I can’t say more because there are six people ahead of me on the waiting list for the library’s copy, and I am waiting impatiently to read the whole book.

Bruce and Jen Haynes are home after sunning themselves on the island beaches of that other big ocean. They toured a pineapple plantation, swam under the waterfall at Waimea, explored the nightlife and shopping attractions of Honolulu and soaked up the pleasures of a vacation in Hawaii. The trip was a gift to themselves for their 20th wedding anniversary.

David Smith and Joan Apt are home from Beacon, N.Y., where they cared for their grandson, Desmond, during the arrival of his newborn sister Annabelle. Kelli Bird and Alex Smith are the proud parents.

Happy birthday on Thursday, Oct. 16 to Martha Abbott and Cam Napior.