The Brookline Indigenous Peoples Celebration Committee (IPCC) invites the community to attend the Town’s annual Indigenous Peoples Celebration Event, which will take place on Monday, October 14, between the hours of 1:00 and 4:00 p.m., at the Brookline Health Building, 11 Pierce Street, Brookline Village, MA 02445.
Speakers will include:
- Kailey Bennett, a Brookline resident, IPCC member, and Cherokee Nation citizen;
- Dr. Asa Sevelius, Roland Hayes School Principal;
- Kristen Wyman, a member of the Nipmuc tribe in Massachusetts and co-founder of Eastern Woodlands Rematriation.
Since 2019, the Indigenous Peoples Celebration Committee has been building programming and creating space for conversation and celebration surrounding Indigenous history and culture through partnering with and promoting local Indigenous vendors and organizations, providing resources and information about the Massachusetts legislative agenda and education around the history of Brookline.
This year’s programming is set to be in person; both indoors and outdoors. A speaking program will take place at the Peace Garden Podium, located on the side of the building. With support from Brookline Interactive Group, this portion of the event will be recorded.
This year’s theme is “Indigenous Past, Present, and Future” and the Committee will host breakout speakers on topics such as the Sydney Act of 1924, the creation of land acknowledgments, as well as discussions around the future of our environment and resources.
The event will also feature a reading of the land acknowledgment and an original poetry reading by Felina Silver, a Brookline resident of Cherokee lineage and Chair of the IPCC.
This year’s event will also host several local Indigenous craft and goods vendors and free food from Native Kitchen, a small Indigenous owned business located in Medway. Local Brookline organizations will also be present with books for sale, Massachusetts Legislature agenda information, and local social and environmental actions of Indigenous peoples and allies in Brookline and throughout Massachusetts.
For reasonable accommodations, language access, or for any questions or concerns, please reach out to Caitlin Starr at cstarr@brooklinema.gov or at 617-730-2345.
More about the work of the Indigenous Peoples Celebration Committee can be found here.