UMass Chan Medical School acknowledges that its campus is located on lands that were once part of the original homeland of the Nipmuc people. We denounce the violence that stripped these original stewards of lands that were their ancestral home and denied their descendants the opportunity for an authentic connection to it. In making this acknowledgement, we announce our intention to listen to and follow the lead of our Indigenous neighbors and work together to create new legacies of equity and respect.
Published by UMass Chan Diversity and Inclusion Office: https://www.umassmed.edu/dio/forms/land-acknowledgement2/
Slides for Centering the Margins: Land Acknowledgement Discussion held virtually for the UMass Chan community on September 15, 2021. The presentation covers the importance of a land acknowledgement, examples of land acknowledgements, and a brief history of the Nipmuc Nation.
Visit their tribal website to read about the government, history and current events of the Nipmuc community.
Reclaiming Heritage: Digitizing Early Nipmuc Histories from Colonial Documents
An online exhibition created by the American Antiquarian Society showcasing early manuscripts, Algonquian language monographs, and town records. "In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, these translated texts and manuscript records were meant to replace Indigenous traditions and knowledge with Eurocentric ones. They are used in the twenty first century to piece back together the histories and heritages of Native communities in ways that underscore their persistence and resilience in the face of hundreds of years of subjugation."