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Helen Edith Vanderhoop Manning Murray (September 24, 1919 - January 25, 2008) was a historian best known for her book Moshup's Footsteps. As a Native American author from the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, Manning gave insight into the history and traditions of the Aquinnah people. The book was published in 2000 with help from Derrill Bazzy and Joanne Eccher.

Education, Work, and Marriage
Manning was born in Gay Head to Evelyn Magretta (Moss) and Arthur Herbert Vanderhoop. An only child, she spent her summers in her tribal homeland at Gay Head while receiving her education in Washington D.C. From the age of seven, she would live with her maternal grandmother Lavina Moss, aunt Edith Moss, and uncle Berry Armstrong Claytor during the school year in order to gain a higher level of education than she would at Gay Head. She graduated from the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in 1963, and later earned her bachelor's degree in education in 1941, from Miner Teachers College. Manning also took courses at New York University, Hunter University and Bridgewater State College before receiving her master’s in education from Lesley College.

Manning's first job was at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. She later moved to the Department of Labor in the Children’s Bureau, the War Labor Board, the Library of Congress, and also served as the assistant dean of women at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. Additionally, she worked in Boston for two years for the department of family services. While working at Fisk University, she met Joseph Murray, and the two married in July of 1946. In 1953, Joseph was deployed to Korea; upon his return, the couple divorced. Manning remarried, to fellow Aquinnah Wampanoag James Manning in 1961, becoming a stepmother to his three daughters, June, Judith, and Jyl. Together the two along with James’s parents (Captain Walter Manning and Ada) opened up a family restaurant on the Edwin DeVries Vanderhoop Homestead. In addition they established a gift shop, Manning’s Snack Bar, and cottages near the town’s lighthouse. There, it was Manning’s role to prepare the food for the restaurant, including chowder, lobster, fried clams, and pie. James Manning passed away in 1974, leaving Manning to close down the family restaurant. Today, the building has been transformed into a cottage and is rented out to visitors. In 2002 Manning remarried her first husband Joseph Murray, moving back to Washington D.C.

Years at Gay Head
In 1956 a teaching position at the Gay Head School became available and Manning found herself teaching 15 children in a one-room schoolhouse. The students were of differing ages and grade levels, but Manning sought to give them pride in their heritage through a series of cultural lessons. In 1968 the school was forced to close due to low enrollment, whereupon Manning took a job as a special education teacher at the Oak Bluffs School. She taught there for 16 years before leaving in 1984.

Manning also served for 16 years on the Wampanoag Tribal Council, beginning in 1972. During this time, she worked on the tribe's suit for federal recognition, which was successful in 1987. Manning became the new tribal council secretary. Manning served in a number of other civic roles on Martha's Vineyard, including the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (to which she was elected in 1974), Gay Head Board of Selectmen (1976-1979), Aquinnah Cultural Council, Philbin scholarship committee, and library trustee.

Manning was the director of education for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head. As part of this position she served on many committees such as the human services, health, hospitality and Christiantown museum. Also, on the Aquinnah Cultural Board, she was a part of the community service programs as well as the language revitalization program. Manning helped found the Wopanaak Language Reclamation Project (WLRP) with Jesse Little Doe Bird in 1993 to further the cause. She also represented her people on the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs in addition to being the treasurer of the Aquinnah Cultural Center. She accomplished all of this before officially retiring as the director of education for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head in 1996.

Even though technically retired, Manning still worked at the Stony Squaw Gift Shop on the Cliffs for five years following 1996 with her two cousins. She also traveled, going everywhere from Maine, New York, Connecticut, Hawaii, and of course Washington D.C., to international excursions including the Caribbean, Caracas, Venezuela, Cozumel, Spain, Morocco, England, and Bermuda. It was during her retirement that Manning published her one and only book, Moshup’s Footsteps in 2000. In this work she delves into the Aquinnah’s culture, providing far more insight than her smaller publications in other’s work regarding her knowledge on historical lineage. Manning had many achievements as a Wampanoag writer and teacher before passing away in January of 2008.