Zerviah Gould Mitchell (July 24, 1807 – March 5, 1898) was a Wampanoag educator, basket weaver, and direct descendant of the sachem Massasoit.

Mitchell was well educated and worked as a teacher at a private school in Boston while her husband would spend prolonged periods of time overseas.

[9] Mitchell first challenged the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ treatment of Native Americans in 1857, when she petitioned to have the guardianship removed from four lots of land on the Fall River Indian Reservation.

[10][2] Following the death of her husband in 1859, Mitchell relocated to her homestead in Betty's Neck, on the Indian reservation in Lakeville with her daughters Melinda and Charlotte, both of whom were unmarried.

After publishing her book, she often received visits from scholars and news reporters, and she played an important role in educating about the Wampanoag people.