Native Governance Center co-hosted an Indigenous land acknowledgment event with the Lower Phalen Creek Project on Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2019 (October 14). The event featured the following talented panelists: Dr. Kate Beane (Flandreau Santee Dakota and Muskogee Creek), Mary Lyons (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe), Rose Whipple (Isanti Dakota and Ho-Chunk), Rhiana Yazzie (Diné), and Cantemaza (Neil) McKay (Spirit Lake Dakota). We’ve created this handy guide to Indigenous land acknowledgment based on our panelists’ responses.
"What is now called Andover, North Andover, and parts of Lawrence, Massachusetts were once Cochichawick. This is the Indigenous name for the place where many of us work and live."
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"Archaeologist Eric Johnson (1999:155), in his book chapter on Native political geography, provides a different way of thinking about Indigenous groups in the area during the seventeenth century that helps inform Cutshamache’s sale of Cochichawick."
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"Johnson (1999:158) argues for a different model to understand the geography of the area that takes into account the dynamic and heterogeneous polities. Further, he suggests that groups in the region consisted of autonomous communities that regularly underwent expansion, contraction, and internal upheaval, depending on a variety of socio-political strategies at play among leaders and group members."
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"Within this context, Kathleen Bragdon (2009:206-209), in her second book on the Native people of the Northeast, points to connections between Indigenous communities across the region, stating, 'linkages between the Pennacooks and Pawtuckets of the Merrimac drainage of what is now northeastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, show connections ranging as far south and east as Natick and Charlestown. Other historical evidence shows marriage ties between Pennacooks and Pawtuckets with Niantics and Wamesits as well.'"
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"Historian Peter Leavenworth (1999:277) explains the ways in which Pennacook-Pawtucket lands moved into English ownership in the seventeenth century, principally through legal means, but also via violent incursions. He also documents important instances where Indigenous people resisted land loss. Leavenworth describes a violent attack against the Pennacook during King Philip’s War (1675-78), but helps us understand that the extensive transfers of land, through deeds or appearances in the General Court like Cutshamache’s, occurred during the 1640s, following the smallpox epidemic of 1633-34 and decisions by Passaconaway, including the belief that Indigenous people could share land with the English. According to Leavenworth (1999:281), there were serious misunderstandings in terms of what was happening, especially as these more informal land 'sales' occurred: English colonists believed they were buying large tracts of land, while the Indigenous “sellers” believed they retained their usufruct [the right to use or enjoy something] rights."
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"So, there’s a lot to unpack in Cutshamache’s sale of Cochichawick. Most notable are the traditional cultural patterns that involved seasonal movements, settlement, and marriage that linked widely dispersed groups versus our modern desire to have Indigenous people fit into neat territories that align with historical and modern municipal, county, state, and national boundaries. It’s also impossible to think about this outside the devastating disruptions wrought by European incursions and the attendant diseases and demographic shifts (Strobel 2020:71-75). For example, Daniel Gookin, one of the English colonists, recorded 3,000 Pawtucket men in the earliest days of European conquest, but by 1674, the tribe had been reduced to “not above 250 men.” Within this milieu—traditional Indigenous practices, the disease and disruptions brought by the English, and attempts to adapt—land moved from Native to European hands."
"Andover was originally settled in 1636 under the Native American name of Cochichawicke, a local waterway. The community was incorporated in 1646 as the Town of Andover, named after a town in England where many of its settlers had come from."
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"Within the past several years archaeologists have uncovered evidence that primitive people who survived as hunters and gatherers lived in the Merrimack Valley area as early as 7000 B.C. When the first European settlers arrived, the Native Americans living where Andover is now located were probably part of the Pennacook Confederacy who spoke the Algonquian language. They lived in seasonal camps, planting corn and tobacco, and catching salmon and alewives. During 1615 and 1616, archaeologists believe a plague reduced the Native American population in eastern Massachusetts from 100,000 to about 5,000. This may be why the early European settlers reported that they met little resistance when they settled into the Merrimack Valley."*
* From "The Andover Town Handbook," published by the Andover League of Woman Voters, 1994.
Stanford University's Indigenous Land Acknowledgement, offered in this video by two Native undergraduate students, reads:
Stanford sits on the ancestral land of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. This land was and continues to be of great importance to the Ohlone people. Consistent with our values of community and inclusion, we have a responsibility to acknowledge, honor, and make visible the University’s relationship to Native peoples. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ This acknowledgement has been developed in collaboration with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe.
Welcome to the Territories page for the Agawam. This is a page managed by Native Land Digital. Please let us know if you have any corrections or improvements we can make. Last updated on August 6, 2022 1.
"Misconceptions regarding Indigenous peoples and their history continue to impact present-day communities, according to activist and college admissions professional Megan Red Shirt-Shaw.
During the All-School Meeting (ASM) on Monday, October 12, Red Shirt-Shaw addressed the significance of Indigenous People’s Day and her ongoing work to combat the legacies of settler colonialism.
Organized by Native Americans at Phillips Academy (NAPA) and LaShawn Springer, Associate Director of College Counseling, the ASM began with a land acknowledgment that recognized Andover’s occupation of the traditional land of the Pennacook Confederacy, Wabanaki Confederacy, and Wampanoag Peoples. According to Red Shirt-Shaw, the celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day for non-Indigenous citizens serves as an opportunity to express gratitude for, and reconcile with, the occupation of Native land.
Red Shirt-Shaw said, 'You might be asking yourself, ‘Why do we celebrate this day?’ Currently in America, we live in and occupy the traditional homelands of Native nations everywhere, in this country, so no matter where you go, no matter where you travel to, there likely was an alliance or a confederacy or nation or a group of different communities that occupied that space.'"
The Massachusett-Ponkapoag Tribe were greatly honored by the Harvard Club of Boston with an official Land Acknowledgement and the permanent raising of our Tribal Flag outside of their building on Friday, October 8, 2021!
It's becoming increasingly common to hear statements that the land one is standing on once belonged to Indigenous people. But while land acknowledgments are a start, they can be hollow if not done right, some scholars say.
Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European colonization of the Americas. At the time of European arrival, Massachusett and Naumkeag people inhabited the area south of the Merrimack River and Pennacooks inhabited the area to the north.[9] The Massachusett referred to the area that would later be renamed Andover as Cochichawick.[9]
Establishment and incorporation
In 1634, the Massachusetts General Court set aside a portion of land in what is now Essex County for an inland plantation, including parts of what is now Andover, North Andover and South Lawrence.[10] In order to encourage settlement, early colonists were offered three years' immunity from taxes, levies, and services (apart from military service). The first permanent settlement in the Andover area was established in 1642 by John Woodbridge and a group of settlers from Newbury and Ipswich.
SHORTLY AFTER THEY ARRIVED, THEY PURCHASED LAND FROM THE MASSACHUSETT SACHEM CUTSHAMEKIN FOR "SIX POUNDS OF CURRENCY AND A COAT" ON THE CONDITION THAT A LOCAL COMPANY OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE HEADED BY A MAN NAMED ROGER BE ALLOWED TO PLANT CORN AND TAKE ALEWIVES FROM A LOCAL WATER SOURCE.[9] Roger's Brook, a small stream which cuts through the eastern part of town, is named in his honor.[9]
In May 1646 the settlement was incorporated[11] as a town and was named Andover. This name was likely chosen in honor of the town of Andover in England, which was near the original home of some of the first residents. The first recorded town meeting was held in 1656 in the home of settler John Osgood in what is now North Andover."
For help in understanding this little-known theory, VOA reached out to Kyle Swan, a professor of philosophy at California State University, Sacramento, who has written about Lockean property rights.
'I think he [Reges] is making some mistakes in the way he applies Locke’s theory,' he said. 'Locke was talking about the commons, earth in its original state, when nobody owned anything yet.'
In a later chapter of his 'Second Treatise of Government' titled 'On Conquest,' Locke said property could only be legitimately acquired when it was not already owned by someone else.
'Why were they making contracts to acquire land from the natives if the natives didn't already own the land?' Swan asked. 'They wouldn't do that if they believed that the lands were unused, unoccupied and unowned.'
'The second thing is that the person appropriating something from the commons, they have to do that in a way that improves it through their productive activity — gathering berries, hunting, fishing,' Swan said. 'And finally, in acquiring the land, they have to leave enough and as good [land] for others.'"
Today, October 12, 2020, is Indigenous People’s Day, which honors the culture and legacies of Native American peoples throughout the United States. To mark this day, we offer the following land acknowledgement, written by Native Americans at Phillips Academy (NAPA) and adapted by The Phillipian, vol. CXLIII: We, as the board of The Phillipian, meet and work on Indigenous land. We acknowledge our presence on the traditional land of the Pennacook Confederacy, Wabanaki Confederacy, and Wampanoag Peoples. We honor the land we occupy and all the Indigenous peoples who were here at the time before and of colonization, are here now, and will be here in the future. We recognize that we are guests on this land and must be mindful of our impact. With this acknowledgement, we are committing to continuously be mindful of the land we are on, and work towards dismantling the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism.
To the Phillips Academy Board of Trustees: We are on Indiegnous land. We must honor this land and all of the Indigenous peoples who were here at the time before colonization and are here now.
To the Phillips Academy Board of Trustees: We are on Indiegnous land. We must honor this land and all of the Indigenous peoples who were here at the time before colonization and are here now. Martin Luther King Jr. Day honors the legacy of the work of Dr. King and other civil rights leaders across the world, as well as calls us to focus on all of the people who still do not receive justice. In Dr. King’s book, ‘Why We Can’t Wait,’ he writes:
'Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. Even before there were large numbers of Negroes on our shores, the scar of racial hatred had already disfigured colonial society. From the sixteenth century forward, blood flowed in battles of racial supremacy. We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe out its Indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or feel remorse for this shameful episode. Our literature, our films, our drama, our folklore all exalt it.'
Dr. King understood the importance of acknowledging the history of what is currently known as The United States, and of supporting Indigenous justice today. Acknowledging the historical, current, and future presence of Indigenous people directly connects to honoring the legacy of Dr. King. Phillips Academy, along with all of what is currently known as the United States of America, rests on Indigenous land. There were Native people on this land before colonization, there are Native people here now, and there will be Native people on this land in the future."
Welcome to the Territories page for the Pawtucket. This is a page managed by Native Land Digital. Please let us know if you have any corrections or improvements we can make. Last updated on July 31, 2022 1.
Welcome to the Territories page for the Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett). This is a page managed by Native Land Digital. Please let us know if you have any corrections or improvements we can make. Last updated on July 31, 2022 1.
"As Audubon Vermont joins a growing number of organizations recognizing the historical and continued presence of local Indigenous peoples, it’s important to ask ourselves - what are the purposes of land acknowledgments, and are they enough?"
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"Audubon Vermont Land Acknowledgement for use at designated events:
We pause to acknowledge and reflect upon the fact that the Green Mountain Audubon Center, located in present-day Huntington, Vermont, sits on land which has served as a site of sustenance, community, meeting, and exchange among Indigenous peoples since time immemorial. The Western Abenaki [A-ben-A-kee] are the traditional stewards of these forests, lands, and waters, which they call Ndakinna [in-DAH-kee-NAH], or 'homeland.' We respect their spiritual and lived connections to this region and remember the hardships they’ve endured - both past and present, including violence and forced displacement at the hands of colonizing peoples.
Let us take a moment of silence to pay respect to the Abenaki people and to the indigenous inhabitants of these lands…
We give thanks for the opportunity to share in the joys of this place and to protect it. We welcome all opportunities for Abenaki citizens and other Indigenous people to connect with their relations - including water, soil, plants, and animals - across Green Mountain Audubon Center grounds.
Audubon Vermont Land Acknowledgement for written documents/webinars/presentations:
The Green Mountain Audubon Center sits on land which has served as a site of sustenance, community, meeting and exchange among Indigenous peoples since time immemorial. The Western Abenaki are the traditional stewards of these forests, lands, and waters, which they call Ndakinna, or 'homeland.' We respect their connection to this region and remember the violence they have endured at the hands of white supremacy and colonialism. We give thanks for the opportunity to share in this place and to protect it.'"
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