Contact with the Native Americans came in March 1621 through Samoset the sachem of the nearby Pokanoket tribe .
Samoset is an English - speaking Abenaki who arranged for the Pilgrims to meet with Massasoit .
Contact with the Native Americans came in March 1621 through Samoset , an English - speaking Abenaki who arranged for the Pilgrims to meet with Massasoit , the sachem of the nearby Pokanoket tribe .