Lincoln St House - Wampanoag Land
The place where I spent so many cherished childhood moments. The house my grandfather built for my grandmother as a wedding present. The place where my mother and her beloved sisters grew up together. The place built with only 2 bedrooms, forcing the sisters to bond immensely from having no personal space. The place where my grandmother taught me to befriend the animals in the backyard (photo attached). Where I learned to love the smell of mold because it reminded me of visiting her. The place where the rest of the quaint neighborhood cottage-houses were torn down and huge modern houses replaced them. The place where my grandparent's house still stands, as long as they live they live in that house. It represents them. It is them. The photo attached is of my aunt and I, the aunt that I referenced in my I Am poem, who bonded with me over a similarly carefree youth and hosted me over the summers. We are standing in my grandparent's kitchen, one of my favorite places to be. The place where Papa would sneakily give me Cracker Jacks too close to my bedtime when my mother wasn't looking. The place where my Nana always had a tea kettle piping hot by the time I'd walk in the front door. The kitchen where my seat during Christmas dinner would be a step stool and how I loved sitting in that step stool because my Nana convinced me that it was a special seat. Not the real reason (because they didn't have enough chairs for the huge family that we all were apart of). While it holds great meaning to me and my family's history, the land also holds the memory of the Wampanoag. The tribe once lived in this area and was the same tribe that were forced out and murdered by the first set of settlers in nearby Plymouth. They existed on the land for 12,000 years prior to colonization according to one source. In a predominantly wooded area but also with robust waterways, they were hunters and fishers and thrived in a community of over 40,000 people prior to the massacres of settler colonialism. The tribe still exists today in New England.
Walden Pond - Agawam, Nipmuc, and Pawtucket land
The historic waters where Henry David Thoreau once spent his time, hold a history much longer and greater than attributed currently. There was not much information online about any relevance as an Indigenous place of importance in particular, but this does not mean that it is not one. The pond also happens to be historic for my family, as we would go there in the summers to escape the heat and avoid the crowded suburban chlorinated pool. This is the place where my Nana taught me about dragonflies and how they are our friends since they eat mosquitoes, in an effort to make me not afraid of bugs anymore. The place where my dad would plop me in the front seat of a kayak and propel us around the pond while I'd laugh and direct him on where I wanted to go look in the water to scour for fish.
Gloucester Fisherman's Memorial - Agawam and Pawtucket
The Pawtucket people lived in Glocuester and the surrounding coastal area for thousands of years before settlers arrived to colonize the land. They were wise in the knowledge surrounding fishing efficiently and in a way that won't take too much from the balance of nature. They created natural-inspired infrastructure in the form of redirecting waterways to serve the people and the land better. I spent a great amount of time here as a child, as this is where my father's family lives. The first image attached is from 1971. My father is a mere toddler in this image and my great great grandfather is standing beside my grandmother, likely on an afternoon stroll to enjoy the salty air. 41 years later, my father and I walked right by that statue again, on our own salty-aired stroll. It's a tradition and a habit, somehow genetically ingrained in me from my great great grandfather. We walk there every year, and only upon seeing the photo from 1971 did I realize the deep history my family has in this place. Attached below is a URL to an article I found that was interesting about the pre-settler history of Gloucester. https://thegillnetter.com/10830/features/their-history-is-our-history-native-americans-on-cape-ann/#:~:text=The%20Pawtucket%20people%20inhabited%20the,to%20learn%20from%20their%20legacy.
4th of July parade spot - also Pawtucket and Agawam land
Merely a few yards away from the Fisherman statue is the corner next to the Poseidon's Pizza place. 22 years of going to that street corner and that is still how I remember it, not the street names for some reason. The Native history here is the same as the history written under the Fisherman statue tab. Every 4th of July, no matter what was going on with various family member's personal lives, we all always came out to this spot for the 4th of July Parade and then spent the rest of the day and night spending time together. One of the classic activities all the grandchildren (on both my mother's and father's side, over 20 kids) would play was a massive game of flashlight tag in the woods behind my grandparent's house. Many an alliance was formed and broken over those childhood nights.
Wingaersheek Beach - Pawtucket and Agawam Land
Wingaersheek's name comes from Dutch origins, although I could not find the Native name for the land online. This particular beach is where my cousins and I spent most of our time together in the summers. It was close enough to our grandparent's house that we could bike there, and the town was safe enough for a large group of kids to go out on their own in the dog days of summer and be home in time for supper with no problems. We found something special at this beach too, once we were older and had athletic ability. If you swam far enough out, there was a giant sandbar that would sometimes appear (lowtide) and we treated it as our special beach. We would hang out there and bring Mimi's peanut butter sandwiches. One of my cousins hated peanut butter so he would feed his to the seagulls who would then hound him continuously for more food. We shared so many laughs there, so many memories. I went back last year, without my cousins this time, and still felt something. At the time I thought it was just a weird feeling and dismissed it, but now I realize how tied I am to that piece of land. How tied my family is, and the memories are to that space. The earth gave us connection and I will cherish it every time I go back and feel it again.
