CHARLEMONT — The family of the Harold Roberts, the late owner and caretaker of the Indian Plaza Gift Shop and powwow grounds off Route 2 have come forward to express their concerns regarding a group’s efforts to get the land historically recognized, cleaned up, and ready to host powwows again.

On Oct. 13, a group of people with Indigenous ancestry held a land recognition ceremony at the property. The group was led by Theresa “Star” Stewart, who said she is a seer and that Roberts came to her in a dream and told her to revitalize the land. 

She has been in talks with various native tribes in an attempt to get the land a historical designation and start hosting inter-tribal powwows, however the granddaughters and son of Roberts say she has no right to do so. 

The answer to who owns the property is a bit murky as Roberts never wrote a will. His family is working to sort out ownership with the probate court and the town of Charlemont property card still names Roberts as the owner. 

“He wasn’t planning on dying so he never finished the paperwork,” said Chelsea Connors, one of Roberts’ granddaughters. 

Granddaughter Jessica Brooks said Roberts had told his closest friends that he wanted to leave the property to her, but without a written will it will be difficult to prove and claim ownership, particularly as Roberts was not her biological grandfather. 

Brooks’ grandmother Carole married Roberts shortly after Brooks was born. The couple gained custody of her and raised her on the property when she was 10. 

“He was not my my biological grandfather, however; he is the only grandfather I ever knew. I grew up at the Indian Plaza,” Brooks said. 

Without a biological connection, Brooks said it may be difficult for her to claim ownership of the property, and she hopes Robert’s biological son, William Herzig, of Clayton, North Carolina, steps forward to claim the property. 

Herzig said he has been in touch with a lawyer and plans to seek ownership of the property.

While the family are unsure of who will gain ownership, they all agree that Stewart has acted out of turn and was not even a friend of Roberts. 

“She didn’t even know our grandfather,” Connors said. “She’s basically squatting and trying to take claim to something that’s not hers to claim.”

Brooks said neither Stewart nor any of the other attendees of recognition ceremony visited Roberts in the months leading up to his death when he was in and out of the hospital, nor came to his funeral after he died. 

Connors said that their grandfather did not want the land to go to Stewart, and did not want her to host any ceremonies or events there.  She alleges that Stewart and others have trespassed on the property on multiple occasions. 

“It  breaks my heart to continue to see them there trying to take over what has been my families home my entire life,” Brooks said.

Stewart acknowledged that she did not receive permission from the family before beginning work to get the land recognized, and said the family members have no right to the property. She said she believed they just wanted to sell the property, while she has been there each weekend cleaning, landscaping and caring for it. 

“They haven’t cared for the property, my father and I mow and paint and have been taking care of the property since January,” Stewart said. 

Stewart said she is working with an attorney to get the land placed in a trust that would allow groups to host powwows and other events there. 

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com