Two Events Commemorating the 1676 Great Falls Massacre

Friday, May 19, 7pm
Greenfield High School, 21 Barr Ave.,
Talk by Lisa Brooks; “Shoshanim’s Journey: Turners Falls and the Treaty of 1676”

Professor Lisa Brooks presents new research on King Philip’s War and Turners Falls, focusing on the spring of 1676, when the Nipmuc leader Shoshanim, of Nashaway, traveled toward the Connecticut River Valley on a diplomatic mission, which was halted by the violence at the traditional fishing falls and gathering place. This mission was part of the larger peace negotiations during the spring and summer of 1676, towards a treaty that never came fully to fruition. This new research raises crucial questions about how Puritan narrators, and even later historians, have portrayed the “end” of the conflict, and places the war in the context of Indigenous protocols of diplomacy.

Lisa Brooks is Associate Professor of English and American Studies at Amherst College & Chair, Five College Native American and Indigenous Studies Program.  Her first book, The Common Pot: The Recovery of Native Space in the Northeast reframes the historical and literary landscape of the American northeast. Illuminating the role of writing as a tool of community reconstruction and land reclamation in indigenous social networks, The Common Pot constructs a provocative new picture of Native space before and after colonization. Free and open to everyone. This program is sponsored by the Nolumbeka Project and supported in part by a grant from the Greenfield Local Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. Free. Donations welcome.

Saturday, May 20, 10am-3pm
Day of Remembrance of Great Falls Massacre
Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Ave. A, Turners Falls
Free and open to the public
Bring a few pieces of wood for the fire!

We are offering ample time during the day and between presentations for conversations, personal reflections and individual touring of this historically significant district of Great Falls and the 341st anniversary of the battle that changed the course of King Philip’s War

10:30am – History Presentation by Nolumbeka Project members David Brule and Nur Tiven.

1pm- Ceremony officiated by Tom Beck, Medicine Man and Ceremonial Leader of the Nulhegan - Coosuk Band of the Abenaki Nation.

Special guests during the day include Loril Moondream of Medicine Mammals and Strong Oak of Visioning B.E.A.R. Circle Intertribal Coalition.

Co-sponsored by the Nolumbeka Project, the Department of Recreation and Conservation, and Turners Falls RiverCulture

Posted in Events.