The announcement of a “Native American” cultural center potentially under consideration by the Montague Economic Development and Industrial Corp (EDIC) has resonated both positively and negatively with tribal and non-tribal entities alike.
However, the well-written article by Julian Mendoza does merit clarification and caveats concerning just such a center.
Montague Town officials have shared that although the announcement during the EDIC meeting was likely well-intentioned, it had not been presented to, or vetted by Montague officials, and at best was exceedingly premature.
Our most serious concern is that any non-tribal group proposing to use the term “Native American” without consulting or without permission of our tribal partners constitutes a serious misstep in protocol and respect.
What Mendoza accurately reported was my quote that Montague’s tribal partners need to be involved at the very outset of any conceptual plan, if it is to be deemed a Native American project. Otherwise there will be pushback from the tribes as well as accusations of cultural misappropriation.
The Town of Montague has been working actively for more than six years with the four tribes most closely associated with our region at the falls known currently known as Turner’s by some Montague residents and Peskeompskut by Indigenous peoples.
Within the structure of the National Park Service Battlefield Study Advisory Board (Battle of Great Falls/ Wissatinewag and Peskeompskut, 1676), the Elnu Abenaki, the Chaubunagungamaug Band of Nipmuc Indians, the Aquinnah Wamapanoag, and the Narragansett Indian Tribe have been reviewing the history and archaeologies of that massacre and counter-attack of 1676. Historical commissioners of Montague, Deerfield, Greenfield, Gill and Northfield have been meeting with our tribal counterparts monthly.
The proper channel for any such proposal as a cultural center could be the focus of a collaborative effort between the EDIC and the Battlefield Advisory Board, given the close relationship that the advisory board has labored to develop with local tribes over the past six years. To have sprung this proposal un-vetted, even though well-intentioned, could create unfortunate issues of potential loss of confidence in the town among our tribal partners.
The Battlefield Advisory Board has long been wrestling with locating an appropriate venue for local curation of records, archives, archaeological finds, colonial as well as Indigenous, related to the fight in 1676. We are also seeking a locale for the thousands of artifacts in the hands of local amateur collectors who would like to place their materials where the public could view them.
There are a number of potential buildings in Montague and Gill that we have considered, but the decaying factories suggested by the EDIC are not among them.
Most Montague officials suggest that it would be best to demolish the buildings at 8 and 20 Canal St. Certainly, gifting such a building along the canal, even rehabbed, could be seen as disrespectful to local tribes. A cultural and heritage center should be housed in a new, clean and deserving building near the falls.
In addition, it is to be noted that officers of the recognized tribes are the only entities authorized to speak for and act for their memberships, so consultations about such a center should be broached with those recognized tribal authorities.
We have invited the members of the EDIC to attend the next meeting of the Battlefield Advisory Board to be held in September. Given that this board is composed of tribal and non-tribal partners who have been working together for years, we feel that this board would be the appropriate channel to begin discussions about locating an inclusive and appropriate cultural center.
David Brule is an Erving resident, president of the Nolumbeka Project, Inc. and coordinator of the Battlefield Advisory Board.