Connections: Northeastern University and the Massachuset Native American Tribe
Wilfred Holton and William Fowler
By Jason Kornwitz
Two Northeastern professors and a former student will lead a series of events aimed at educating the public on the largely unknown, yet rich traditional story of the Massachuset (pronounced “Massachuseuk”) tribe, a native people who lived in the Boston area thousands of years before the English and gave the state its name in the early colonial period.
The Partnership of the Historic Bostons Inc. and the Massachuset-Ponkapoag Tribal Council will present the eighth annual Boston Charter Day program, titled, The Story of the Massachuseuk in the Time Before Now in recognition of the naming of Boston for our “mother town” of Boston, Lincolnshire, England on Sept. 7, 1630. The celebration is supported, in part, by a $5,000 grant from The Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities and is scheduled to be held Sept. 4 through 7 at locations throughout Boston.
Wilfred Holton, associate professor of sociology and anthropology and president of The Partnership of the Historic Bostons, said several of the Charter Day program’s goals is to dispel myths surrounding New England’s Native Americans and to provide an opportunity for the public to interact with Native Americans.
“There is a very important but untold story of the natives’ rich traditional culture, the European diseases that decimated their population before 1620, their first contacts with the English, their treatment by the English Puritans who settled in Massachusetts, their survival over more than three centuries and the state of their tribal group today,” Holton said.
William Fowler, Distinguished Professor of history, will speak on the English perspectives of life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, while former Northeastern electrical engineering student Sachem Gill Solomon of the Massachuset-Ponkapoag Tribal Council will speak from a Native American’s point of view.
“Encounters between the European and native culture were often marked with great friction and violence,” Fowler said. “We need to understand how cultures interact with each other because we can’t escape history. Those who came before us shape us and while history doesn’t repeat itself, it certainly does rhyme. We can learn something from the past by examining other people’s encounters with one another.”
Solomon, who also goes by his Native American name “Feather-on-the-Moon,” will lead a talk on the spirituality of the Native Americans as well as their close relationship with nature and animals. In addition, he will discuss Native American legacies during a tour of the Boston Harbor Islands once inhabited by the Massachuset tribe.
On the importance of respecting the environment and its inhabitants, Solomon said, “We have to live with the seventh generation from now on our minds. It is important to understand that we are not temporary beings, but rather permanent beings living in all time.”
Here is a list of scheduled events for Charter Day held throughout the city of Boston between Sept. 4 and 7.
Thursday, September 4: “In The Time Before Now: Stories of the Massachuset People”
Sachem Gill Solomon will offer a Native American’s perspective on the creation of the earth and discuss the Native American’s concept of spirituality and relationship with nature.
7-8 p.m.—The Abbey Room, Boston Public Library, Copley Square, Boylston St.
Thursday, September 4: “Native Americans in the Time Before Now: Perceptions from Boston and Beyond”
A display of objects, reproductions, photographs and documents of Native Americans spanning the 17th to 20th centuries. The exhibit will be open through September.
5:30 p.m.—Boston Room, Boston Public Library, Copley Square, Boylston St.
Friday, September 5: “Perspectives of the Early Colonial Period of the Massachusetts Bay Colony”
Professor William Fowler and Sachem Gill Solomon will discuss Native American and English aspects of life during the 17th century in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
6 p.m—Reception and Exhibit
7 p.m.—Presentation
The Commonwealth Museum, 230 Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester (near the Kennedy Library)
Saturday, September 6: Boston Harbor Islands: Boat Tour of Native American Legacies
The Boston Harbor Association and Sachem Gill Solomon will lead a boat tour of the Boston Harbor Islands, which were once inhabited by Native Americans.
10 a.m-1 p.m (Weather and security permitting)
Leaves from Rowes Wharf
Free—Reservations are required before September 3.
Saturday, September 6: The Massachuset People
Members of the Massachuset-Ponkapoag Tribal Council will present workshops on Native American culture and customs. Each workshop will be presented twice.
2 p.m-5 p.m.—Boston Public Library—Rooms will be posted
2 p.m and 4 p.m—“Living in Two Worlds”
2 p.m. and 3 p.m—“The Massachuseuk Language”
3 p.m. and 4 p.m—“A Living Spirituality of Balance, Well-being and Healing”
3 p.m.—“Two Worlds: A Youth’s Perspective”
Sunday, September 7: Charter Day Sabbath Gathering
An Interdenominational Service at Boston’s oldest religious institution established in 1630. The Rev. Stephen Kendrick will speak on “Lost in Translation: John Eliot, Administering to Two Cultures.” The program will be broadcast live on WERS 88.9 FM and online at www.wers.org/listen.
11 a.m-noon—The First Church in Boston, 66 Marlborough St.
Sunday, September 7: Boston’s 378th Birthday Party
An event for children and families in celebration of the naming of the Town of Boston.
2 p.m.—The Bostonian Society. The Old State House, corner of Washington and State Streets, Boston.
Sunday, September 7: Free admission for Massachusetts residents to the 1713 Old State House and the Boston Historical Society Museum. Visit the headquarters of the British government during Boston’s colonial period and see exhibits of the American Revolution’s history.
9 a.m-5 p.m—The Bostonian Society. The Old State House, corner of Washington and State Streets, Boston.