TURNERS FALLS — The annual Pocumtuck Homelands Festival will serve as an intertribal confluence once again this weekend, returning to Unity Park for its 10th year.

Organized by the Nolumbeka Project — a nonprofit dedicated to cultural and historical preservation of Native American history — with help from RiverCulture, the free festival celebrates Indigenous art, music and culture from the region and beyond. It aims to reprise the 12,000-plus-year tradition of Indigenous peoples from all over the Northeastern United States gathering at the site, according to event coordinator Diane Dix.

Organizers hope continuing this tradition can foster a feeling of togetherness and help people heal from a history of violence and tension between tribal and non-tribal peoples that impeded such congregations.

“For millennia, the Pocumtuck hosted huge annual gatherings of tribal nations at the falls from all over the Northeast to celebrate and share the bounty of the prolific fish runs,” Dix wrote in her event announcement. “Today, their descendants, who were forced to deny their heritage for centuries, come together again to share their traditions and stories with the public, reclaiming the joy of reunion and thanksgiving.”

“There was an interruption, but we are trying to facilitate the continuation of this gathering that the Pocumtuck hosted,” added David Brule, president of the Nolumbeka Project. “The healing is taking place and we are resuming the ancient tradition of welcoming people.”

Ushering in this year’s festival will be the fourth “Paddle to Peskeompskut,” which will take place on Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aquinnah-Wampanoag artist Jonathan James Perry, along with the craft’s original builders, will paddle their mishoon — a dugout canoe — along the Connecticut River starting from the Barton Cove campground in Gill.

The celebratory procession will proceed up the river for approximately 3 miles, stopping for lunch on the return leg before returning to the point of departure. The paddle will take roughly three hours and may include waves from boats, reversing currents due to hydro storage pumping, strong headwinds and unmarked debris. Prior paddling experience is encouraged. Paddlers with kayaks or canoes may register to join the paddle at peskeompskut_paddle.eventbrite.com.

The main portion of the Pocumtuck Homelands Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. It will feature Indigenous music, dancing, storytelling, skill demonstrations and more. There will be more than 30 vendors and artisans, as well as at least 20 tribes represented by those in attendance, Dix said.

New to the festival this year will be an “author’s tent” featuring Brule and Dr. Ron Welburn, who will be telling stories they’ve written about. There will also be three featured Indigenous artists from Spanish-speaking communities, including Vincent Cruz, who makes jewelry, leather, tee-shirts, blankets, flutes and textiles; Sito Zapaktli of Earthworks Creative Indigenous Arts and Crafts; and craftsperson Marcelo Cachiguange.

Another change involves moving history talks from a side tent to the main stage.

“That’s an important change because we were finding people wanted to be at the main stage to hear some music … and people were having to choose between activities,” said Brule, who will be delivering a history talk alongside Evan Pritchard, founder of the national Center for Algonquin Culture.

Dix and Brule highlighted Mohawk elder and spiritual leader Tom Porter, as well as Nipmuc flute maker, flute player and culture bearer Hawk Henries, as returning speakers that those in the area shouldn’t miss catching.

“We feel tremendous honor when people like Tom Porter and Hawk Henries come,” Dix said of the performers, who are two of more than a dozen featured guests slated to demonstrate at the festival.

Dix also voiced particular excitement for the “really outstanding acts” that will be featured Saturday evening to close out the festival’s first day. Afro-Algonquin instrumentalist Mixashawn will perform alongside percussionist Royal Hartigan and Greenfield-based violinist Nina Gross, who teaches and performs across the Pioneer Valley. Their performance will be “a blend of contemporary arrangements of traditional Indigenous styles and original songs that span this hemisphere and time as we conveniently perceive it,” Dix said.

“So many times,” she added, “people are focused on the traditional and sometimes forget, ‘Oh yeah, Indigenous people became modern like the rest of us.’”

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.

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