Photo Courtesy of Jenny Yu ‘24
Hope Frances Simpson ’24
Staff Writer
Content warning: this article discusses anti-Indigenous violence.
Beginning this semester, a land acknowledgment recognizing the Indigenous nations which once occupied the land currently owned by Mount Holyoke College must be given before every public event at Mount Holyoke. As the College takes steps to repair its relationship to Indigenous communities both on and off campus, the institution’s history of anti-Indigenous acts has resurfaced. Earlier this month, the College repatriated Indigenous remains that had previously been in their possession. As the College reckons with this and other past violences this National Indigenous Heritage Month, some members of the Mount Holyoke community are calling for further action and accountability.
Land Acknowledgment
According to Kijua Sanders-McMurtry, vice president of equity and inclusion, the idea for a required land acknowledgment started in 2019. The Indigenous Student Cultural Association, an unofficial student organization, met with President Sonya Stephens, as well as Sanders-McMurtry and Lenora Riley, who were working for the president’s office at the time. The group presented a list of concerns, including a request for support for the Zowie Banteah Center and more Indigenous scholar speaking events. The land acknowledgment was a key topic they brought to Stephens’ attention.
Regarding the land acknowledgment, Juliette Gagnon Strong Heart ’24, assistant for the Zowie Banteah Cultural Center, said, “It was a simple joy for me, because I was like, ‘oh my god that’s the first time I think I’ve ever seen someone want to do that, or even recognize that, that’s important.’”
“[The group] saw that as something they felt very strongly we should be doing and we had a dialogue,” Sanders-McMurtry said. “It was beautiful.”
According to Sanders-McMurtry, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion worked with Indigenous scholars to further discuss land acknowledgment. They spoke with educator and activist Claudia Fox Tree, who works with the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness. Fox Tree did two teaching sessions with the College cabinet, according to Sanders-McMurtry: one on implicit bias around Indigenous people and another on understanding Native monuments, history and legacy.
Sanders-McMurty pointed out that in North America, there is a lack of education around Indigenous terminology, tribes and traditions. Therefore, it was important that the College include things like proper pronunciation within the land acknowledgment.
Gagnon Strong Heart emphasized the importance of learning the specifics of different Indigenous identities and not treating all nations as one homogenised group.
“Using native terms that we use to define ourselves is very important. Also I think it just brings somebody’s identity up further than just saying Indigenous people or Native American. I think that’s a step towards dismantling common stereotypes about Indigenous people that are totally untrue,” she said.
Sanders-McMurtry also emphasised the importance of the land acknowledgment from an educational stance.
“We’re just trying to make sure that everywhere it should live, it will live. None of our work is meant to be punitive, but there is an accountability process to all of our work,” she said.
In addition, Sanders-McMurtry emphasized that the land acknowledgment is just the first step and that the College still has a lot of work to do.
Repatriation
Last month, on Oct. 16, human remains of an Indigenous person that had been in Mount Holyoke’s possession were repatriated. According to Sanders-McMurtry the remains were claimed by the Stockbridge-Munsee community, located in the Stockbridge area of Western Massachusetts.
In 1990, the U.S. government passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, requiring all Indigenous remains in the possession of museums and other institutions to be repatriated back to Indigenous nations and organizations. Despite this, more than 116,000 remains have yet to be repatriated. As The New York Times reported in August, the Biden administration has recently made regulatory changes to the law to close loopholes and streamline the process of repatriation. The College’s decision to participate in repatriation came after these adjustments.
Gagnon Strong Heart emphasised that burials are sacred. According to her, exhuming remains and putting artifacts in museums without tribal consent is “an encroachment on the preservation of the piece that was in that space for a purpose.”
Gagnon Strong Heart appreciated that the College repatriated the remains. “My assumption is when people don’t know the importance or how sacred something is they don’t know what to do with it,” she said.
She stressed the importance of focusing on solutions, rather than blame. “Blaming someone about something doesn’t change the fact that [these items are] still in a museum,” she said.
The College plans to have more Indigenous scholars speak at campus events. Within the month of November, there will be two different speakers. On Nov. 15, Dr. Leilani Sabzalian of the Aliituq people will be speaking at 7 p.m. Her talk is titled, “Nothing Was Ever Discovered, Everything Was Already Loved: Critical Conceptions of Land in the K-12 Curriculum.” It will be a virtual event and open to the public. On Nov. 30 at 7 p.m., Larry Spotted Crow Mann of the Nipmuc Nation is giving a talk called “We Are Still Here, We Are the Story and We Are the Land: Honoring the Past, Present and Future of the Indigenous People of Western Massachusetts.” During this event, the College also plans to officially announce the repatriation of the Indigenous remains, accordinging to Sanders-McMurtry. The locations for both of these speaking events are still to be announced.
National Indigenous Heritage Month
The Zowie Banteah center will be moved to another location, to be determined, while improvements on the space are made. Gagnon Strong Heart said she hopes to make the Zowie Banteah Center a place where Indigenous students can form a community, but also where non-Indigenous students can educate themselves. She has noticed that non-Indigenous students are often uncomfortable discussing Indigeneity.
“It’s important to talk about these things so that we can kind of get rid of that and be more comfortable talking about these issues, so that we can actually put things like land acknowledgment to work,” Gagnon Strong Heart said.
While November is National Indigenous Heritage Month, Sanders-McMurtry said the importance of the College’s connection to Indigenous history needs to be incorporated into the school’s traditions alongside Mountain Day, Founder’s Day and other annual events at the College.
Students with questions and concerns regarding the College’s plans for National Indigenous Heritage Month can contact the DEI office.