I love my client’s suggestions as we discuss different things during sessions. I was talking about how I “dork out” about anatomy and physiology and science in general (my bachelors is in environmental science), and she suggested I read “Braiding Sweetgrass –Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants . It is a nonfiction book by Potawatomi professor Robin Wall Kimmerer, about “the role of Indigenous knowledge as an alternative or complementary approach to Western mainstream scientific methodologies.” It was a lovely botany/environment read but also how she has worked to bring her Native American heritage to her work. It really opened my eyes more to what our history is in regards to taking land that belonged to the local Native American peoples.
I was also at a multicultural event in Haverhill, and one of the speakers mentioned all of the Native American groups that used to live in this area. I had no idea there were so many. I was fortunate to find a good internet resource (https://native-land.ca/) where I could input my address and see what group(s) used to be here before being displaced.
It turns out that Haverhill was home to many groups, including Pentucket, Pennacook, N’dakina, Wabanaki, and Pawtucket indigenous people. I would like to share more about these groups to educate myself and others.
The website native-land.ca says this about the importance of land: “Land is something sacred to all of us, whether we consciously appreciate it or not — it is the space upon which we play, live, eat, find love, and experience life. The land is ever-changing and ever-shifting, giving us — and other creatures and beings on the earth — an infinite number of gifts and lessons.
For Native Land Digital, what we are mapping is more than just a flat picture. The land itself is sacred, and it is not easy to draw lines that divide it up into chunks that delineate who “owns” different parts of land. In reality, we know that the land is not something to be exploited and “owned”, but something to be honoured and treasured. However, because of the complexities of history, the kind of mapping we undertake is an important exercise, insofar as it brings an awareness of the real lived history of Indigenous peoples and nations in a long era of colonialism.” (https://native-land.ca/about/why-it-matters/)
I understand this can be a charged topic given how colonizers treated the indigenous people when we came to this country, but I feel it is important to explore the history of the land I am fortunate to live and work on, as I appreciate the earth and the space around me, the plants and the trees and flowers, the animals, the water. I feel very blessed to live on this part of the planet, and grateful that there are still green spaces intact and conserved. So I share all this humbly and in the hopes that I am in no way being offensive. In Part 2, I will briefly explore each of the territories.