<P> Traditionally Wampanoag people have been semi-sedentary , with seasonal movements between fixed sites in present - day southern New England . The men often traveled far north and south along the Eastern seaboard for seasonal fishing expeditions , and sometimes stayed in those distant locations for weeks and months at a time . The women cultivated varieties of the `` three sisters '' ( the intercropping of maize , climbing beans , and squash ) as the staples of their diet , supplemented by fish and game caught by the men . Each community had authority over a well - defined territory from which the people derived their livelihood through a seasonal round of fishing , planting , harvesting , and hunting . Because southern New England was thickly populated by indigenous peoples , hunting grounds had strictly defined boundaries . </P>
corn beans and squash the three most important crops of the wampanoag were also known as
three sisters