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This is Fresh Air. I'm Tanya Mosley.

Martha's Vineyard, just seven miles off the coast of Massachusetts, is an island

known for its wind-swept beaches, clay cliffs, and cedar-shingled cottages. It's a place

synonymous with presidential vacations, affluent visitors, and shops selling pearls and polo shirts.

But beneath that postcard perfect image lies a much older story, one that debut

author Joseph Lee uncovers in his new book, nothing more of this land, community, power, and the

search for indigenous identity. As a member of the Aquina Wampanag, Lee takes readers beyond the

celebrity summer scene and into the

heart of Noepe, the name his people have called the island for centuries. Lee begins the book

with the legend of Moshep, a giant whose toe is said to have carved the island from the sea,

and whose whale hunts left the cliff in Aquina stained deep red. Beyond the myth, Lee takes

readers on a deeply personal exploration of indigenous life around the world and what it means to

belong to a land that is both a sacred home and a luxury playground, a place where tourism

sustains families, even as it threatens to displace them.

Joseph Lee grew up in a suburb of Boston and spent his summers on the family's land,

working at his parents' store on Martha's Vineyard.

He teaches creative writing at Mercy University and has written for several publications,

including The Guardian, BuzzFeed News, Vox, and High Country News. Joseph Lee, welcome to fresh air,

and congratulations on this book. What a sweeping journey. Thank you, and thank you so much for

...