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We’re planning multiple events and family friendly activities to celebrate the many indigenous communities across Massachusetts and the country; and commemorate their shared history and culture. Wellesley will celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day on October 12th and 14th. Please save the dates!
There are no upcoming events.
The livestream and pre-recorded content for the National Day of Mourning on November 26 can be viewed beginning at approximately 12 noon EST via the United American Indians of New England (UAINE) website, at the UAINE facebook group, on Youtube, and at the hate5six website.
If you plan to have your students learn and write about Thanksgiving, this webinar will help you teach this topic with greater accuracy and sensitivity. Kisha James, enrolled member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gayhead Aquinnah and Oglala Lakota and the grand-daughter of Wamsutta James, will cover common myths. Dr. Debbie Reese, tribally enrolled, Nambé Pueblo, will share recommendations for books and curricular materials. Hear advice on materials selection and suggestions for teaching Thanksgiving with cultural sensitivity. See examples of possible Thanksgiving writing tasks, and hear them critiqued.
This event is offered by our partners.
Please join us for a short film presenting Lyla June, an Indigenous environmental scientist, educator, community organizer and musician. Lyla June, who is of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineage is from Taos New Mexico. She inspires personal, collective and ecological healing through her multi-genre presentations on the topics of climate crisis, Indigenous rights, inter-cultural healing, and traditional land stewardship practices. After the short film there will be a community discussion.
Let’s honor Mother Earth by working together to clean up our town!
World of Wellesley is proud to launch the 30 Day+ Racial Equity Indigenous Peoples Challenge aimed at breaking down barriers and biases by collectively and individually:
How it works:
From smallpox and measles, to cholera, dysentery, and tuberculosis, Indigenous peoples have suffered disproportionate loss of life from disease since European settlers began to trade with them and later occupy their land. The novel coronavirus has impacted Indigenous peoples with a familiar ferocity, flagging their perennial lack of good jobs, housing, and healthcare. Join a distinguished panel of experts to learn about the historical and present-day conditions that have made Indigenous people especially vulnerable to disease, and the strategies required to break this pattern of discrimination and social violence.
Panelists will include Ramona Peters (Mashpee Wampanoag), Chairwoman of the Native Land Conservancy, Lorén Spears (Narragansett/Niantic), Executive Director of the Tomaquag Museum, and Mishy Lesser, Learning Director at the Upstander Project. The discussion will be moderated by Claudia Fox Tree (Arawak) of the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness.
This is a partner event co-presented by Revolutionary Spaces and the Upstander Project.
How did European explorers and colonial settlers use the Doctrine of Discovery to justify the taking of Native peoples’ land in what became the United States?
“We study the Doctrine of Discovery to listen to voices that have been silenced and disregarded for centuries. These voices tell a frequently overlooked story about the origins of the United States.”—Upstander Project.
For more information on the Doctrine of Discovery, visit upstanderproject.org.
Please join the World of Wellesley in honoring Indigenous Peoples Day with a children and family event that will explore Indigenous culture, traditions, and history. Professional educator Claudia Fox Tree, M.Ed. (Arawak/Yurumein), will lead our engagement together with a presentation centered on Native American (First Nations People) identity, culture, and history. Indigenous food options and pizza will be served. Opening ceremony begins at 11:00 AM. FREE and open to the public.
See video clips and photos from this event.
The World of Wellesley invites the community to join for this special presentation.
Annawon Weeden explains that “Wampanoag means ‘People of the First Light’ due to our geographic location as the furthest eastern tribe.” Born and raised in the tribal community of Charlestown, R.I., among relatives of both Narragansett/Pequot lineage through his father, Annawon now resides in his mother’s Wampanoag community in Mashpee. Following in his father’s footsteps, Annawon began sharing the culture of his tribes with his family during public programs and performances at a young age. As an adult, Annawon’s passion for preserving the culture has been clear throughout decades spent working at Plymouth Plantation as a museum interpreter and outreach educator, as well as the Boston Children’s Museum as a Native program specialist. He has also been invited to visit Wellesley Public Schools over 20 times.
This program is free and open to the public, made possible by Wellesley business sponsors in this year’s program book. Pre-registration is encouraged.
We as people who reside, work, and engage in Wellesley acknowledge this town is located on the traditional territory of the Massachusett Tribe. Learn more about Native Land.
© 2020 World of Wellesley