On the sidewalk where you walk to class, the grass where you sit with your friends, and the roads on which the Boston College buses drive, the elaborate societies of the Wampanoag tribe and the Massachusett tribe flourished. Before the first colonial ship arrived on their shores 400 years ago, up to 40,000 Indigenous People lived in current-day Massachusetts. Nomadic hunters by winter and skilled fishers by summer, these people had become a vital part of both the natural ecosystem and the complex trading and economic system they maintained with neighboring tribes; yet we hear very little about their story.
Boston is, first and foremost, a deeply historical city. Whether you are a resident or have just visited a few times, you cannot miss the ample Civil War and presidential monuments, including the commanding statues of George Washington and Paul Revere atop horseback. Indeed, the history of Boston is a rich story to tell, but it seems that the devastating tale of Indigenous People has been reduced to a mere footnote. Few Native American monuments of any fame have made their way onto the lists of tourist destinations. Why is the Indigenous history of Boston not given the same merit as the colonial history? If you care about the Wampanoag People, dare to know the atrocities inflicted upon them, and wonder how they are doing today, please continue reading.
After nearly 800 years of prosperity, when the greatest concern of the Wampanoag might have been hunting disputes with neighboring tribes, this golden age quickly ended. Various diseases brought by European explorers decimated Native populations in a period known as the Great Dying. Because they were isolated from the rest of the world, Indigenous communities had no immunity to any of these illnesses, like smallpox, measles, and influenza, brought by the first contact with foreigners.
Consequently, we must wonder if these unfortunate and unjust epidemics were the only reason that the Indigenous Peoples could not protect and maintain their land.
The way of life of the Wampanoag began to crumble even before the colonies took root. Agricultural plots and hunting expeditions quickly fell into disarray, and the deaths of tribe leaders led to political turmoil.
It is understandable, then, that the Wampanoag were extremely wary of the Mayflower voyagers, even though they seemed considerably more submissive to the tribes and much less dangerous than their predecessors, the explorers. Eventually, they saw some merit in forming a sort of mutually beneficial relationship with the Pilgrims. Tribe members who could speak English due to previous capture and enslavement worked to develop relations between the chiefs and the English. In this way, the Wampanoag saved the Pilgrims from starvation, and the intimidation of their alliance protected the Wampanoag from the neighboring Narragansett tribe. This was a time of relative peace, but the First Thanksgiving, however idyllic it may be in the American mind, may have not included the Wampanoag at all.
The peace of the initial relationship between the Native Peoples and the Pilgrims did not last. New Pilgrims sailed to the shores of Massachusetts to form the city of Boston. A wave of smallpox fractioned the fraction of those left from the Great Dying. Tensions rose, and battles between the Pilgrims and the Natives erupted. At this time, the first missionaries became instigators of a cultural genocide in their efforts to convert the Wampanoag to Christianity.
You may have been able to guess that King Philip’s War, the deadliest war in American history, was fought in Massachusetts, but probably not that it was an uprising by the Native tribes of Massachusetts. Indeed, Indigenous Peoples have a vital role in our history, and yet, they are looked over repeatedly. Colonists committed genocide and murdered tribal women and children, leaving the Indigenous unable to recover from a population and morale that were lower than ever before.
The Wampanoag continued to have a strong role in Massachusetts history despite the helpless narrative heralded by your history books. Crispus Attucks, a Wampanoag, was the first death of the Boston Massacre. In the American Revolution, the tribe went on to fight in the name of independence. Ironically, they would then battle for their independence from the colonists for hundreds of years thereafter.
Today, around 4,500 Wampanoags live in New England. There are just six out of the 69 original tribal subsects of the nation. Many celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day on the Mashpee Wampanoag Reservation, where, like Indigenous reservations across the country, they suffer at the hands of a poverty rate 20 percent higher than that of whites, an addiction rate 13 percent higher, and redlining. Indigenous Peoples are often the demographic most affected by issues such as these, with little third-party advocacy in their names.
The Society of Jesus, known for heralding issues of social justice, are some of the guiltiest of culprits against the Native Americans. A long history of assimilation, forced labor, and residential schooling seems to go against everything that we are taught in our Jesuit college. How do we reconcile this? How can we make it right?
In recent years, the Jesuits have worked to make amends and address their central role in the cultural genocide brought about by Native Residential Schools across North America. Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their tribes and families and brought to these schools where virtually every aspect of their identity was taken from them. Their traditionally long hair was cut, they were corporally punished if they spoke in their Native languages, and they were taught that every aspect of their way of life would condemn them to hell if they did not change. The children were mentally, physically, and sexually abused. Thousands of them died. Families were destroyed, and on a more national note, this mass assimilation almost quelled an entire way of life. It augmented the centuries of trauma born by Native Peoples.
The Jesuits have formally addressed and apologized for such atrocities with the acknowledgment that their participation in assimilation is contrary to the core tenets of the Catholic faith. They have opened their files to the public in an effort to be transparent about the genocide and are working with Native communities to decide the best ways to take accountability. In the Vatican, however, there is more controversy surrounding Native reparations. Pope Francis, a Jesuit, has also formally apologized, and has denounced the “Doctrine of Discovery” of the Catholic Church, which justified the seizure of Native lands. Regardless, there has been no release of school records or return of tribal artifacts held in the Vatican to the First Nations Peoples of North America. While the apology may have been a productive start, there needs to be more openminded dialogue between the Church and Indigenous Peoples.
Sadly, I believe that there is absolutely no feasible way to undo the centuries of trauma inflicted upon Native Americans. So, what can you do? I implore you to recognize that the Wampanoag are still here and vote for officials who support giving more land grants to reservations and those interested in reservation reform. Support Indigenous artists and entrepreneurs. Here is a list of businesses owned by Wampanoag individuals and families. Visit the Wampanoag Tribe website, where there are resources on how to educate yourself and how you might get involved in making a difference. Consider advocating for more awareness and academic resources at BC.
BC, as a Jesuit institution, has not done enough to address this history. It does not offer any specific Native American courses or any Indigenous Studies major, minor, focus, or concentration, as seen in many schools of higher education today. The only resource is the Office of AHANA Student Programs for individuals of African, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American Descent. In general, we are seeing appreciation for the Native American culture on a smaller scale. BC Dining recently hosted a Native American Heritage Culinary Showcase, and for Native American Heritage Month, BC is hosting an event honoring Indigenous identity and culture on November 4th, allowing students who attended to educate themselves.
However you choose to involve yourself, I implore you to reflect upon the inherent privilege in your life on American soil. We are all benefactors of genocide. I hope that this Thanksgiving might be more than just a football event or an excuse to eat delicious food. At the dinner table, please consider recognizing the stolen land on which we live and asking for a moment of silence for the over half a billion Indigenous Peoples killed through the practice of colonization. The next time you are walking to class, sitting in the grass with your friends, or riding the BC bus, remember the Peoples who were here before you and recognize that it is your duty to rectify the injustices inflicted upon them.
To end, I would like to quote the American author Annie Dillard from her book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
“Inuit hunter: ‘If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?’
Priest: ‘No, not if you did not know.’
Inuit hunter: ‘Then why did you tell me?’”
