Download the IKSI Working Syllabus

Mapping and Tools

Indigenous Knowledge

New England + Native America

Envision Resilience Tribal Land Acknowledgement Sources

Nantucket
Narragansett Bay
New Bedford and Fairhaven

The IKSI Working Syllabus 

The IKSI Working Syllabus provides Envision Resilience Challenge participants and the public with foundational resources focused on Indigenous sustainability within architecture, planning and design, inclusive of landscape architecture and environmental design.

As Envision Resilience Challenge sites are added and needs transform for each Challenge program, analyzed resources and case studies will be added to the IKSI Working Syllabus continuously. 

In each section, resources are presented in the following order:

  • Project, Initiative, Organization

  • Article

  • Document, Book

Mapping and Tools
Resources of historic and contemporary maps of Indian-related geographic data of place names, settlement sites, trails and tribal range are presented. In addition, current resources indicating the physical environment, natural resources of Indian lands, reservation and trust land and climate resiliency efforts are found here. 

Indigenous Knowledge
The greater Indigenous knowledge base of climate change and sustainability, education, government policy, housing and land are presented here. To see Indigenous knowledge base resources specific to New England, refer to the New England + Native America section.

New England + Native America
Organized by the New England region and the six states, this section provides documents pertaining to early contact and colonization, the historic social affairs with Indigenous peoples and presents Indigenous knowledge of place names and current sustainability and climate change impact. 

Envision Resilience Tribal Land Acknowledgement Sources

Organized by Envision Resilience Challenge sites to date, this section presents the earliest recorded documents of what was considered land acquisition agreements between the New England colonies and the Wampanoag, Nauset, Tommokomoth, Narragansett, Pokanoket and other Algonquian-speaking tribes of the Challenge sites. 

These documents were made between groups of people with different ways of living, understanding of sovereignty and time, while speaking different languages. Agreements were often made under circumstances of duress for tribal leaders and tribal community members and, at times, did not require the agreement of any tribal leader or tribal community.  

  • Nantucket

    • Tribal Affiliation: Wampanoag, Nauset, Tommokomoth

      • Land Acquisition

        • Tribal Land Acquisition Document 1: James Forret Deed 

          • Event Date: October 1641 

          • Description: This agreement is referred to as the first purchase agreement for Nantucket and is based on the doctrine of discovery. James Forret, the agent for the Earl of Sterling, was responsible for selling and settling the islands between Cape Cod and the Hudson River. Forret sold Nantucket to Thomas Mayhew and his son for 40.

          • Agreement Parties:

            • James Forrett

            • Thomas Mayhew

          • Source: Vote of Town, Report on The Committee on Long Pond and Madaket Ditch: Submitted March  20 1882, at an Adjourned Meeting of the Annual Town Meeting of 1882, 1882, https://www.nantucket-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/29055/Report-of-the-Committee-on-Long-Pond-and-Madaket-Ditch

             

        • Tribal Land Acquisition Document 2: Deed of Nantucket, Thomas Dongam Patent, 1687

          • Event Date: June 28, 1671

          • Document Date:  June 27, 1687

          • Description: Thomas Dongan, the English King appointed Governor of New York, fixed the land titles and rights of the Proprietors of Nantucket from 1687 and onward in this patent. This invalidated all prior agreements with Indigenous leadership and invalidated claims based on the doctrine of discovery. This patent is the basis of all titles on Nantucket and was later used at the General Court of the Province of Massachusetts in 1693 to enact a law confirming all titles on Nantucket that were based on grants from the Governors of New York Colony.

          • Agreement Parties: 

            • “The Indian Proprietors” 

            • John Gardner 

            • James Coffin 

            • William Gyer 

            • Peter Coffin

            • Nathaneel Bernard 

            • Stephen Hussey 

            • John Macy 

  • Tribes Today

    • Herring Pond Wampanoag

      • The Wampanoag Tribe of Plymouth Indians known in the present-day as the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe, have also been identified in historical documents as Patuxet, Comassakumkanit, The Herring Pond Indians, The Pondville Indians and Manomet. They have lived on their lands that encompass Plymouth, MA for thousands of years. Their sacred place at the Dina Path property, a 6 acre parcel, was deeded back to the Tribe by the Town of Plymouth in late 2019. Built from an 1838 Petition by “John Conet and the Herring Pond Indians” the Pondville Meetinghouse was at the time, the center of tribal existence and is so today. 

      • 128 Herring Pond Road, Plymouth, MA 02360

      • https://www.herringpondtribe.org/our-history/ 

    • Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe 

      • The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, also known as the People of the First Light, has inhabited present day Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island for more than 12,000 years. After an arduous process lasting more than three decades, the Mashpee Wampanoag were re-acknowledged as a federally recognized tribe in 2007. In 2015, the federal government declared 150 acres of land in Mashpee and 170 acres of land in Taunton as the Tribe’s initial reservation, on which the Tribe can exercise its full tribal sovereignty rights. The Mashpee tribe currently has approximately 2,600 enrolled citizens. 

      • 483 Great Neck Road South, Mashpee, MA, 02649

      • https://mashpeewampanoagtribe-nsn.gov/ 

    • Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah

      • The Wampanoag Tribe has lived on the island of Noepe, (Martha’s Vineyard), for over 10,000 years. Today, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head Aquinnah has 901 members with 300 living on their aboriginal island. The Wampanoag Nation used to encompass all of the Southeastern Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island and consisted of 67 distinct tribal communities, six of which remain today. In 1987, after two petitions and lengthy documentation, our tribe obtained federal acknowledgement by an act of the U.S. Congress. 

      • 20 Black Brook Rd. Aquinnah, MA 02535

      • https://wampanoagtribe-nsn.gov/ 

  • Narragansett Bay

    • Tribal Affiliation: Narragansett

      • Land Acquisition

        • Tribal Land Acquisition Document 1: Aquidneck Deed, 1637 (transcript noting earlier deed)

          • Area: Aquidneck Island, Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island

          • Description: The Aquidneck Deed of 1637 is a transcript noting an earlier deed; the said earliest agreement of acquisition of land made for Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island between Sachems, Cannonnicus and Milantunnomi and William Coddington. The deed describes the boundaries of the sold land, when Indigenous inhabitants would leave the land and recounts the goods and money that were agreed upon. 

          • Event Date: March 24, 1637

          • Document Date: May 6, 1638

          • Agreement Parties: 

            • Sachem Cannonnicus

            • Sachem Milantunnomi

            • William Coddington

          • Source: Aquidneck Deed, 1637 (transcript noting earlier deed), e3547596-a297-4234-9f45-79579d45b494. Rhode Island State Archives. https://catalog.sos.ri.gov/repositories/2/digital_objects/800 

          • Photo File Source: catalog.sos.ri.gov/repositories/2/archival_objects/2278

        • Tribal Land Acquisition Document 2: Memorandum of original deed for Providence, December 10, 1666

          • Land Area: Providence, Rhode Island

          • Description: Roger Williams wrote this memorandum to the General Assembly in order for the agreements to be recorded with the state legislature. Williams restated the terms of his 1638 agreement with Sachem Canonicus and Sachem Miantonomi for Providence, Rhode Island. The memorandum states the boundaries of the land and mentions the money agreed upon. 

          • Event Date: August 1638 

          • Document Date: December 25, 1666 

          • Agreement Parties: 

            • Roger Wiliams

            • Sachem Caunounicus 

            • Sachem Miantunome

          • Source:Memorandum of original deed for Providence, December 10, 1666, C#00232. Roger Williams deeds, C#00232. Rhode Island State Archives. https://catalog.sos.ri.gov/repositories/2/archival_objects/2233

          • Photo File Source: https://sosri.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_c7bf5513-bc13-4db0-9163-297bdf99828f/ 

    • Tribes Today: 

      • Narragansett Indian Tribe 

        • The Narragansett Indians are descendants of the aboriginal people of the State of Rhode Island. Archaeological evidence and oral history of the Narragansett People establish their existence in the region more than 30,000 years ago. The first documented contact between Europeans and the Indians of Rhode Island took place in 1524 when Giovanni de Verrazano visited Narragansett Bay and described a large Indian population, living by agriculture and hunting and organized under powerful “kings.” The Narragansett Indian Tribe received federal recognition and acknowledgement on April 11, 1983. The current population stands at approximately 2400 members.

        • 4533 South County Trail, Charlestown RI, 02813 

        • https://narragansettindiannation.org/

  • New Bedford + Fair Haven 

    • Tribal Affiliation: Pokanoket, Wampanoag

      • Land Acquisition

        • Tribal Land Acquisition Document 1: A Deed Appointed to be Recorded (Dartmouth Purchase)

          • Land Area: New Bedford, Acushnet, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, Westport, Massachusetts

          • Description: This document is a purchase deed from 1652 for Old Dartmouth (now New Bedford, Acushnet, Fairhaven, Dartmouth and Westport) in Massachusetts. Sachem Wasamequin and his son Wamsutta sold the land to Winslow, Bradford, Standish, Southworth, Cooke and their associates. The deed provides the boundaries of the land and lists the goods and money Wasamequin and Wamsutta agreed upon. The deed copy was made in the presence of Jonathan Shaw and Samuel Eedy.

          • Date: November 29, 1652

          • Agreement Parties: 

            • Sachem Wasamequin (Massassoit) 

            • Wamsutta 

            • John Winslow 

            • William Bradford

            • Myles Standish 

            • Thomas Southworth

            • John Cooke

          • Source: Winslow, John, et al. 1652. A Deed Appointed to be Recorded Dartmouth Purchase. The Gilder Lehrman Collection, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, New York. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/glc02924002 

          • Image Source: https://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/glc02924002  (Must be logged in to see)

        • Tribal Land Acquisition Document 2: 

          • Area: New Bedford (Acushnet), Compton (Coaxet), Massachusetts

          • Description: King Philip’s father, Massassoit, first sold the area in the Dartmouth Purchase in 1652. With this agreement King Philip took over the collection of payment for the territory from the English purchasers and drew a map, outlining the territory previously and currently agreed upon for use. 

          • Event Date: 

          • Document Date: June 23, 1664 

          • Agreement Parties:

            • William Brenton

            • Pumatacom (King Philip)

            • Pumatacom’s Wife (King Philip’s Wife)

            • Tockomock

            • Wecopauhim

            • Nesetaquason

            • Pompaquase

            • Aperniniate

            • Taquanksicke

            • Paquonack

            • Watapatahue

            • Aquetaquish

            • John Sassamon

            • Rowland Sassamon

            • Two Englishmen

          • Source: Drake, Samuel Gardner, The Book of the Indians of North America; Comprising Details in the Lives of About Five Hundred Chiefs and Others, Volume III, Josiah Drake, 1833, https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=HnpxAAAAMAAJ&pg=GBS.RA2-PA14&hl=en. 

          • Photo File Source: https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=HnpxAAAAMAAJ&pg=GBS.RA2-PA14&hl=en

  • Tribes Today

    • The Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag

      • For years beyond counting, Indigenous Massachusett Villages spanned from Salem to Plymouth along the coast and inland as far west as Worcester. The Massachusett People led by their Sac’hems, hunted, fished, worked their quarries, created their tools and sculpted their weapons. They planted vast fields of grain, corn, squash and beans, harvested, prepared and stored their harvests. In their villages they celebrated, practiced their religion, built their homes, raised their families and enjoyed prosperity. 

      • Canton, MA, 02021 & 02062

      • http://massachusetttribe.org/our-history 

    • The Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation

      • Descendants of the Algonquin Language Bands, The Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe is a member of the original Pokanoket Federation led by Grand Sachem Massasoit otherwise known as Ousamequin (Yellow Feather). The Pocasset Tribe encompassed present-day Tiverton, RI and parts of Southeastern Massachusetts including Fall River, Freetown, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Westport, Swansea and Middleboro. The Pocasset Tribe is true to its Eastern Culture and maintains a Pokanoket Nations Drum shared by the Affiliated Tribes of New England Indians in which we use the traditional Algonquin language. There are over 200 members of the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe today.

      • Watuppa Pond Reservation, 275 Indiantown Rd, Fall River, Massachusetts 02722

      • https://pocassetpokanoket.com/pocasset/ 

    • Pokanoket Tribe / Pokanoket Nation 

      • American Indians located in present-day Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The Pauquunaukit Wampanoag (anglicized as Pokanoket, literally, "land at the clearing" in Natick) is an indigenous group in present-day Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Prior to European colonization, the Pokanoket were the leadership of the tribal groups that make up the modern-day Wampanoag Nation. Today, the tribe has over 300 recognized members.

      • Potumtuk (Mount Hope), Bristol, RI, 02809

      • https://pokanokettribe.com/ 

A marker by the entrance of Miacomet Indian Burial Ground. A 1764 census counted 148 “Indians + Squaws,” many of whom were forced into indentured servitude (Tiya Miles, 2023)

First Light Shellfish Farm, courtesy of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

102nd Annual Mashpee Wampanoag Pawaw, courtesy of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

Roger Williams depiction, courtesy of the Narragansett Indian Tribe.

Organization-Wide Work

Envision Resilience’s parent organization, Remain Nantucket, engages in charitable work and community investments as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Schmidt Family Foundation. Founded in 2006, the foundation furthers the development of access to clean, renewable energy, resilient food systems, healthy oceans and the protection of human rights through its grantmaking and investment programs. One of the unifying elements across many of these grants and investments is a focus on community-led movements and self-determination; specifically, the 11th Hour Project, a program of the Schmidt Family Foundation, provides grantmaking, network-building, and convening support to Indigenous peoples through its Indigenous Communities program. Visit their website to learn more about the program's approach and get to know some of the Tribally-led organizations and communities they support.

Hand drawn map by Wampanoag sachem, Metacom, related to the land sales. 1668. The book of the Indians of North America. Samuel Gardner Drake. Boston, Josiah Drake, 1833, p. 15.

Photo courtesy of the Pokanoket Nation.

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