Honoring the Past • Healing the Present • Celebrating the Future

We want to acknowledge that we are standing on and benefiting from land that has been seized, expropriated, and stolen from Indigenous peoples. For thousands of years, this has been Pocumtuck land. This is still the homelands of the Pocumtuck, Norwottock, Woronoco, Agawam, Nipmuck, Abenaki. These Native peoples and their descendants are still living here among us. Every time we gather here we must acknowledge and respect that fact

8th Annual Pocumtuck Homelands Festival: A Celebration of Native American Art, Music, and Cultures, Saturday, August 7, Sunday. August 8, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Special Guests: Tom Porter, Mohawk Spiritual Leader and Annawon Weeden, actor, activist, dancer and artist with Mashpee Wampanoag, Narragansett and Pequot heritage. Justin Beatty, emcee. Traditional music by the Kingfisher Singers; Jennifer Kreisberg; Black Hawk Singers; Bryan Blanchette, Nulhegan-Abenaki Singer-Songwriter. More TBA. Superior Native American arts and crafts vendors, drums, Eastern Woodlands skills demonstrations, children’s activities, social dancing, history presentations, Native American food vendor. Kerri Helme will teach children to make their own corn husk dolls. Free, welcoming, accessible, and fun and interesting for all ages and backgrounds.

Look for upcoming details about the Paddle to Peskeompskut in partnership with the Connecticut River Conservancy on Friday August 6 alongside the mishoon started at the festival in 2019 and launched last year on the date that would have been the festival. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIMpiFfIZ_Y, https://www.recorder.com/nolumbeka-boat-launch-35514141 Questions? email nolumbekaproject@gmail.com ATTENTION VENDORS: SPACES ARE LIMITED AND PREREGISTRATION AT ABOVE EMAIL IS REQUIRED. NO EXCEPTIONS.

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Link to Indigenous Voices of the Berkshires: Native American Herbalism:

https://vimeo.com/554484129?fbclid=IwAR3n1z2JDpTU1CigNwf78hBpIsDhlpAh53vjb_HpG-oBID7elR3raPUfFnU

Link to video about the creation of the Mishoon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIMpiFfIZ_Y

The concept of building the Peskeompskut (Great Falls) mishoon (dugout canoe) began during a lunchtime conversation between David Brule and Jonathan Perry at the 2nd Street Bakery on 4th Street in Turners Falls following a monthly Battlefield Grant meeting. Two years later the actual construction of the 18-foot-long vessel was started at the 2019 Pocumtuck Homelands Festival with 55 consecutive hours of fire carving and scraping and the goal of launching it the following year as part of the 2020 festival. Due to Covid-19, plans for the festival were scrapped. We were very disappointed, but it felt spiritually and symbolically important to find a way to put the mishoon in the river as originally planned.

Thanks to the Connecticut River Conservancy we were able to organize a paddle with a limited number of participants. Thanks to Melissa Vanek of CRC for the beatuiful cover photo (seen above). We are so grateful to Vince Hogan (Quinetucket LLC) for the spectacular filming and documenting of this very special event. The breathtaking footage makes it almost as good as being there! We give thanks to Jonathan Perry for his vision, expertise, inspiring words, and for completing the project on time despite pandemic related obstacles. Many thanks to the crew members for bringing this dream to life from fire carving a large log into a beautiful canoe to paddling the first mishoon to be on the river in a very long time. Bryan Camden donated his time and the use of Turners Falls Airport equipment to transport the log/mishoon to various locations and gave the firewood that was used to burn the dugout. David Brule spent countless hours coordinating the construction and launch of the mishoon in the Quonektakut to honor and celebrate the history and continued presence of the Indigenous Peoples of the Northeast. Also, deep appreciation to the many sponsors who supported this construction and event. They are listed at the end of the video. Please remember to thank them, too. We are planning the Pocumtuck Homelands Festival and another paddle with more participants on the weekend of August 6 – 8. We will post updates at www.nolumbekaproject.org/

8TH ANNUAL POCUMTUCK HOMELANDS FESTIVAL:
A CELEBRATION OF NATIVE AMERICAN ART, MUSIC AND CULTURES,
AUGUST 7 & 8, UNITY PARK WATERFRONT, TURNERS FALLS, MA.
NATIVE AMERICAN VENDORS WELCOME.
REQUEST APPLICATION: NOLUMBEKAPROJECT@GMAIL.COM

JESSE BRUCHAC SPEAKS TO CHILDREN AT COLRAIN CENTRAL SCHOOL

https://www.recorder.com/Colrain-Central-School-virtual-presentation-features-Abenaki-speaker-pollinator-expert-37768390

Link to Deborah Spears Moorehead & Annawon Weeden, October 25 event

A Wampanoag Perspective 400 Years After the Mayflower

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At9SAsGdWC0

Link to YouTube of 400 Years: Truth & Healing for the Next Seven Generations:

Here is the link. https://youtu.be/K07l7PpZizg

Thanks to the wonderful presenters and special guest Miguel Garate.

An article about the launch of the mishoon: https://www.recorder.com/nolumbeka-boat-launch-35514141?fbclid=IwAR3MZ_DNNlb9NDU6FD-NblTY6a8ot4I0jscyX825GILwisEuWyKu3ZdeZ1k

Photos of the paddle from Melissa Vanek of the co-sponsor Connecticut River Conservancy: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rIgCLEmqlUtkbgk55OkW35TXiXTMhp6W?fbclid=IwAR3FyYHoTP_TDGA_ZM99a3msgidbzlZtgLsDtmT9ZV6HltULNmro2zuqRUg

Past Virtual Events:

LIVE FROM MINNEAPOLIS, JUNE 28, TALL PAUL, ANISHANAABE AND ONEIDA HIP-HOP ARTIST

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xkLsmf6AKw

We have a wonderful and powerful collection to share with beautiful and thoughtful compositions that were submitted by friends to commemorate the 344th anniversary of the May 19, 1676 Great Falls Massacre. Here is a link to the compilation. Thanks so much for the thoughtful submissions. Here is the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IAgVb26b26hCrLmkFg8jEpPTWEoBqSdL/view
The Water Water Song by Bear Fox sung in Kanienke:ha by Lily-Rakia near the Great Falls 
https://www.facebook.com/578154759/posts/10157985408739760/?d=n

Nisnol Siboal/Two Rivers: Celebrating the Waters of Ndakinna (Our Land), link to the April 4 webcast with Joseph and Jesse Bruchac. Sponsored by Mascoma Bank, Peace Development Fund, Great River Hydro, and the Brattleboro Coop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5kwGArXGk8

Social & Stomp Dance with Annawon Weeden and James Moreis, February 1, Greenfield Community College, sponsored by Greenfield Community College, Greenfield Savings Bank, the Babson 2020 Fund of the Peace Development Fund, and the Greenfield and Shelburne Local Cultural Councils.