Indigenous Memoryscapes in Natick and Wellesley

Reckoning with the Past for Healing, Justice, and a Shared Future

From Wellesley’s Lake Waban to Natick’s monument to John Eliot, our local landscape tells a story about the violent conquest now known as King Philip’s War. How do these sites of memory justify violence and affirm white settlers' (and their descendants) claims to stolen land? How have local indigenous peoples produced alternative memories of resistance, healing, and cultural survivance? In a collaborative conversation, Kristen Wyman (Nipmuc) and Christine DeLucia will shed light on these contested memories and their enduring significance in our community. 

Christine DeLucia, Associate Professor of History, Williams College, is author of Memory Lands: King Philip’s War and the Place of Violence in the Northeast (2018). Her teaching, scholarship, and public humanities projects focus on how communities across the Northeast cultivate relationships with the past, and draw upon what has come before to shape the present and future.  

Kristen Wyman (Nipmuc), advocates for BIPOC communities in the areas of gender-based violence, substance abuse prevention, youth development, food sovereignty, and transformative leadership. Her work is deeply personal and motivated by the important roles of indigenous womxn as landholders, farmers, culture bearers, artisans and diplomats.

This virtual event is free and open to the public. Advance registration is required. Click here to register.