Edith Andrews pointed to a Native American, standing stately with eyes forever looking into the distance from the canvas his image was printed on.

"That's Jonathan. He lives on Allen Street... or he used to," she said. "He might be in Rhode Island now." As part of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe, Andrews could identify nearly every face in the exhibit on the natives' history.

The "Our" Story: 400 Years of Wampanoag History exhibit opened at the Southworth Library on March 2, drawing more than 100 visitors.

The traveling exhibit started in Mashpee in 2014, but has finally made it to Dartmouth as New England municipalities ready with Plymouth to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower landing in 2020.

"I really feel good about it being here," said Andrews, a Dartmouth resident.

"When we talk about the Paskamansett River, that's our language. And where it intertwines with Russells Mills Road... that's based on real people. Not many people can say they've had family friendships for 400 years," said Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, Andrews’ daughter and chairwoman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

Organizers said the goal was to shed light on the Wampanoag story through the Wampanoag voice.

"In that century and a half, we have a tremendous amount of history. We wanted to make sure that comes through," said Andrews-Maltais, explaining that history books generally jump from the Pilgrims’ landing in Plymouth and the Thanksgiving dinner to the Revolutionary War.

The Historical Commission's Bob Harding, who helped research for the exhibit, was on hand to comment: "History traditionally has been distorted. It's told by the people who took over. [This exhibit is] telling the truth. I love it."

The $1,000, museum-quality panels were funded by the Friends of Dartmouth Libraries, and included a multimedia element, which was appreciated by guests Bob Bergeron and his wife, Debbie.

"It's presented well. It's pretty informative," said Bergeron.

Adjacent the panels were student interpretations of the Wampanoag culture. Potter Elementary students had recently travelled to Plymouth Plantation, which inspired their drawings and dioramas.

"I like how [the Wampanoags] live with all outdoors things, and they use nature for a lot of their stuff," said third grader Siena Parsons, who had created a model fire pit for the exhibit. Other student displays depicted wigwams and traditional clothing.

The children's exhibits were welcomed by Andrews-Maltais, who said some of the panels — specifically ones that show the Wampanoag captured and tied up for their European counterparts to marvel at — were hard to swallow.

"[The Wampanoags] are on display as animals. It's hard to look at and know that that happened to our ancestors," she said. But today, she said the relationship between White people and natives is helpful and appreciated.

They helped facilitate the exhibit, not dictate it, she said. "It's a partnership, and that's refreshing."

The "Our" Story exhibit will be on display at the Southworth Library during normal library hours through March 30.