TURNERS FALLS — In honor of the 345th anniversary of the Great Falls Massacre, a Day of Remembrance gathering will be held at Peskeomskut Park on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3:30.
The event, intended to recognize the often untold story of the conflict of May 19, 1676 at the falls, is organized by the Nolumbeka Project. It has been held yearly since the town’s reconciliation ceremony in May of 2004, but was canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Nolumbeka Project Outreach Coordinator Diane Dix.
The event will feature guest speakers from various Native American tribes, as in other years. The speakers this year are from the Nipmuc and Abenaki tribes, which historically are the tribes that lived in the area of the falls, said Nolumbeka Project President David Brule. In past years, the event has usually featured speakers from coastal tribes that visited the falls periodically, he said.
“In my opinion they are the tribes that are local to us,” Brule said of the Nipmuc and Abenaki tribes. “Their original homelands are right here at the falls.”
Guest presenters will be Elnu Abenaki Chief Roger Longtoe Sheehan, a traditional artist, musician and education; Nipmuck Tribal Council member Liz “Coldwind” Santana Kiser; Nulhegan Abenaki singer-songwriter Bryan Blanchette; Rich Holschuh, director of the Atowi Project in Brattleboro, Vt., and a cultural relations liaison for the Elnu Abenaki band; and Brule, who is of Nehantic descent.
According to a Nolumbeka Project press release, the Great Falls Massacre is considered the major turning point of King Philip’s War, when 300 women, children and elders were killed during a surprise pre-dawn attack by Captain William Turner and colonial militia.
The yearly Day of Remembrance, which is supported in part by grants from the Gill and Montague cultural councils, is in some ways a continuation of the reconciliation ceremony of 2004, when the town of Montague and members of the Narragansett tribe formally recognized the conflict of May 19, 1676, said Dix.
“In many ways I feel as if that reconciliation ceremony buried the hatchet,” she said. “It is very uplifting and hopeful, how looking at past history and how taking responsibility can change the direction of things.”
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.