TURNERS FALLS — Community, education and celebration of culture were front and center on Saturday as the Pocumtuck Homelands Festival returned for its 13th year at Unity Park.
The festival, hosted by the Nolumbeka Project, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the history of Native Americans in New England, drew in hundreds of attendees on Saturday. The festival aims to celebrate Indigenous music, art and culture, and has been ongoing since 2013.
Each year, the festival is held at Unity Park to continue the mission of reconciliation and healing from the Great Falls Massacre of 1676, when 300 women, children and elders were killed during a surprise pre-dawn attack led by Capt. William Turner.
This continued effort was set forth by the 2004 Reconciliation Ceremony, where the town of Montague and members of the Narragansett Tribe formally recognized past conflict and committed to local healing.
This year’s festival featured new and returning vendors, speakers and performers, including Tom Porter, spiritual leader of the Mohawk community of Kanatsiohareke in New York. As one of the first speakers of the weekend, Porter, speaking in the Mohawk language, welcomed attendees to the festival, noting that the “best assembly in the world is right here, right now.”
‘It’s all about curiosity’
At the festival this year were several local and regional organizations, including No Loose Braids. The Nipmuc-led nonprofit is based in Ashfield and is focused on “reviving Eastern Woodlands traditions and cultural practices,” according to the organization’s pamphlet.
Jennifer Albertine, who does education and outreach for No Loose Braids, explained that the nonprofit has been successful in land stewardship efforts, including in Ashfield, where the hope is to build an educational cultural center for Nipmuc and other Indigenous youth to learn about caring for land.
“We’re happy to come and support Nipmuc people and other Indigenous people,” Albertine said about what it means to be present at the festival.
Ieasha Garate, a Nipmuc land steward and cultural leader with No Loose Braids, attended the festival for the first time on Saturday. She said that living her life each day, actively protecting the land and following the traditions of her ancestors is her way of preserving her culture.
Garate also shared her appreciation for the open display of Native culture at the festival, which comes with personal significance for her and her family.
“My dad couldn’t even speak the language, and that’s not that long ago,” Garate explained, “… My kids are 25, 23, and 17, so for them to be able to grow up not like my dad is something special.”
Returning to the festival for a second year was Eddie Cuevas. He owns a business called Taíno Trinkets, based in Connecticut, that highlights Taíno culture. He sold apparel from his brand “DsNdAnTs,” along with other items made by other Puerto Rican artisans who couldn’t be at the festival to share their own pieces.
Outside of his vendor tent was an information board explaining that the Taíno people are indigenous to the Caribbean, and have established religious, political, and social systems before Spanish colonization, and that influences from the Taíno have survived today and are woven into Caribbean cultures.
Cuevas explained that he’s Puerto Rican with Taíno ancestry and how Taíno food, language, and symbols were understood as just being part of Spanish culture, even though they originated from the Taíno. He incorporates the phrase, “We Are Still Here,” into his merchandise to share that the Taíno are still here, being that “Our ancestors were the first contact people, so the erasure started sooner than anybody else.”
In reflecting on the festival, Cuevas said he appreciates the emphasis on education. When asked how he connects with youth and other curious people with Taíno culture, Cuevas said, “It’s all about curiosity,” and further examined how one lives to find out what ancestry is behind it. In fact, he says his “greatest reward” is connecting with youth about who they are as Taíno.
“You can’t build a house without a foundation, and being Taíno is our foundation,” Cuevas said about what it means to him to be at the festival, displaying Taíno culture. “So if you don’t know who you are, you’ll just be whoever they tell you you are, so it means a lot.”
