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Plimoth Plantation Will Change Name By The End Of The Year

PLYMOUTH (CBS) – Plimoth Plantation will be changing its name to be more inclusive of the area's Native American history, the living history museum, which opened in 1947, announced Wednesday.

"Although our educational mission is inclusive of Indigenous history as well as European colonial history, the name of the Museum underscores only half of the story," the museum said in a prepared statement.

According to the museum, discussions about a name change have been underway for more than a year, and the museum plans to announce the new name later this year when it commemorates the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims' arrival.

Plimoth Patuxet Commemorating Swirl light blue
(Courtesy photo: Plimoth Plantation)

However, until the name change is decided, the museum is using a special logo that includes Plimoth, the English colonists' name for the land, and Patuxet, the name the indigenous people gave to the land. The new logo uses both Plimoth and Patuxet with a blue swirl in between the names.

"The story we tell about an indigenous-colonial hybrid society that emerged here in the 17th century is the story of the United States' complex beginnings. It is a story of collaboration and conflict, of understanding and miscommunication. It is a story of diplomacy and subterfuge, of respect and of oppression, of friendship and mistrust. It is a story of ideals and of profound faith. It is a story of growth and change, of triumph and loss, of compassion and cruelty. It is a story of alliances made and broken, of innovations forged of necessity. It is a story of great and inspiring courage in the face of adversity. It is a story of equality and inequality. It is a story of daring greatly, of risking all, of persevering against the odds, of cultural destruction and cultural survival. In short, it is America," the museum said.

The museum is welcoming input from the community on the name change.

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