Acknowledge & Respect Indigenous Residents
Holyoke Community College acknowledges that our institution and community inhabit land that was once and still is the homeland of Indigenous peoples. The area commonly known as “New England” was, at the time of first contact with Europeans, the homelands of millions of native peoples whose numbers were reduced by European diseases, warfare, and unscrupulous land acquisitions. We honor the earlier inhabitants of the Connecticut River Valley, the Pocumtuck, the Nonotuck, the Woronoco, and the Agawam nations, among others. We acknowledge the surviving Native nations, which include the Nipmuc and the Wampanoag, the Mohegan, the Pequot, the Mohican, and the Abenaki.
The College community must go beyond a statement alone to reconcile this history. We pledge to maintain respect for Indigenous peoples. We are committed to increasing college-wide programming that informs and educates our community about Native contemporariness, histories, cultures, and sovereignty. HCC’s land acknowledgment statement is a living document to living cultures.
Pronunciation Guide: (Source: Springfield College. Used with permission.)
Pocumtuck [poe-come-tuck]
Nonotuck [non-oh-tuck]
Woronoco [wore-oh-no-co]
Agawam [aa-gah-wahm]
Nipmuc [nip-muck]
Wampanoag [wamp-ah-nawg]
Mohegan [moh-he-gahn]
Pequot [pee-kwaht]
Mohican [moh-hee-kuhn]
Abenaki [a-ben-a-kee]
Moment of Gratitude:
Thank you to the ARIR - Acknowledge & Respect Indigenous Residents Committee for their incredible work and support.
Committee Chairs: Patricia Kennedy, Amreen Shaikh
Members: Alicia Hyman, Olivia Kynard, Rachel Rushing, Elizabeth Trobaugh, Ileana Vasu
Thank you to Rhonda Anderson (Inupiaq Athabaskan), Western Massachusetts Commissioner on Indian Affairs, founder and co-director of the Ohketeau Cultural Center and the Native Youth Empowerment, for her valuable insights as we created our land acknowledgment statement and resources list.
Below is the list of Indigenous resources.
- Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda → MAIndigenousAgenda.org
- Nipmuc Indian Development Corporation.
- The Nolumbeka Project (Greenfield) → https://nolumbekaproject.org/
- Ohketeau Cultural Center (Ashfield) → www.ohketeau.org
- Kestral Land Trust (We are on Native Land): → www.kestreltrust.org/the-native-names-project-2021/
- Indigenous Voices: A Resource Guide for Teachers and Lifelong Learners → https://nolumbekaproject.org/indigenous%20voices/
- Ohketeau Cultural Center (Ashfield) → www.ohketeau.org
- University of Massachusetts-Amherst Native Studies Program: (library resources) → guides.library.umass.edu/nativestudies
- Kestral Land Trust (We are on Native and Land) → www.kestreltrust.org/the-native-names-project-2021
- Nipmuc Indian Development Corp. https://nippi.org
- Land Back Initiatives: https://landback.org
- Native American Heritage Trail (Stockbridge) → https://housatonicheritage.org/heritage-experiences/native-american-heritage-trail/
- https://www.mohican.com/mohican-miles/
- Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center: https://www.pequotmuseum.org/
- Tantaquidgeon Museum (Uncasville, CT): https://www.mohegan.nsn.us/explore/museum
- Pocumtuck Homelands Festival (Turners Falls) https://calendar.powwows.com/events/annual-pocumtuck-homelands-festival-a-celebration-of-native-american-art-music-and-cultures/
- Native land Digital: https://native-land.ca/
- Amherst College’s Native and Indigenous Students Association https://amherst.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/nisa
