Indigenous People’s Day Brings Celebration from Students of Malden High

After inclement weather had unexpectedly canceled plans for the intended “Blessing of the Water” event on October 7th, an informative interactive event took place at Malden High’s Gallery. Thomas “Spirit Tree” Green, a member of the Neponset Band of the Massachusett Tribe, presented an informative lecture on the nature and historical significance of his ancestors to the city of Malden and beyond.

The week after the event held at the High School, there was a Fishweir Building and Park Cleanup held at the Malden River, for the second year in a row, following Andre Strongbearheart Gaines Jr. ‘s Blessing of the Water the year prior.

Malden, a land previously owned by members of the Pawtucket Band of the Massachusett Tribe, has honored its past in a myriad of ways, whether it is through the yearly “Blessing of the Water” event or by the tribal flag raising that will take place next year, the city has always accepted and embraced it’s past through a positive light. The Mayor, having attended the event at the High School on October 7th, praised the informative lesson as, “…the teachings, traditions, and histories of Indigenous people while also raising awareness of the historical challenges and injustices they have suffered, and still encounter today.” As this event involved many Malden residents from a variety of age groups, ethnicities, and backgrounds, the overall goal of “understanding our past”, and creating a ‘“more inclusive, accepting, and tolerant” community for our present and future generations has certainly been successful.

Karen Buck, the president of the Friends of the Malden River, and the environmental advocate for Malden River works further explained the main purpose of this event was to “Celebrate Indigenous People’s Day,” as well as “honoring our pre-colonial history” while educating the present and future generations of the Malden community. By introducing people to the Malden River, Friends of the Malden River is able to, “show the connection of the residents of Malden to our natural world, being water and land”. 

The week after the informative lesson at the High School, an event centered around the environment of the Malden River and its importance to Malden Native American culture took place. Events like a Blessing of the Water, Fishweir Building, an Invasive Species Workshop, and a park cleanup were hosted at the Malden River, sponsored by the Friends of the Malden River, a 10-year-old organization founded on the basis of cleaning up the river as well as providing public access to it. The action of “Blessing the Water” is commonly used in Native American culture and it is a water ritual, where water is seen as the origin of life in which individuals present offerings by performing in the water. Fishweir Building is also used in Native American culture and is an ancient way to trap fish by directing their movements. 

The Malden River Works’ goal of these informative events is to not only showcase Native American cultures but to, promote and protect the cleanliness of our waterways within our Malden River ecosystems as well as create a climate-resilient park for all members of the Malden community to enjoy.

The Friends of the Malden River have also welcomed Malden High School students and staff to join them at the Cambridge Health Alliance (195 Canal Street, Malden) on Monday (11/13: 6:30PM -8:00 PM) as they welcome Jim Bradley, a resident of Mass Bay Co-housing in Malden. Jim is a renowned local archaeologist, specializing in local precolonial history.

Bradley welcomes us to discuss our local history pre-colonial times, focusing on our native people’s history. He has also worked with schools and institutions to “translate the oftentimes technical and obscure language of archaeology” and to bring to life our buried history.