Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians President Shannon Holsey participates in the founding documents event at Williams College on Tuesday. The speeches were moved inside Sawyer Library due to concerns about the weather.
Independence, Indigenous People Contemplated in Williamstown
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — July Fourth celebrations Tuesday included a reminder that the land the American Revolution freed from Great Britain was first taken from its original inhabitants.
"Williamstown was a part of the original homelands of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community," Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians President Shannon Holsey told a crowd gathered in Williams College's Sawyer Library.
"Today, Williamstown is constituted by Mohican land agreements negotiated in 1758 and in 1763 with our Mohican sachems. At that time, they were facing colonial pressures, which forced signing of treasured places, such as the one here today, as we sought to survive as a tribe."
Holsey was part of the annual reading of founding documents hosted by Williams College.
Since 1987, the college and Williamstown Theatre Festival have partnered to present dramatic readings of documents like the Declaration of Independence and the response of King George III to the Continental Congress.
In 2017, excerpts from Frederick Douglass' "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" were added to the program.
This year, for the first time, organizers invited the Stockbridge-Munsee Community to participate.
For her text, Holsey, who has led the Stockbridge-Munsee since 2015, chose a July 4, 1854, address by John Quinney, himself a leader of the Mohican people.
Like Douglass' antebellum "What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?" address, Quinney's speech offers the perspective of those Americans who were and are able to enjoy the "Blessings of Liberty" referenced in the Preamble to the Constitution, the fourth text read at Tuesday's event.
Actor Kevin O'Rourke read the Declaration and Preamble. TL Thompson read from Douglass' oration.
Holsey capped the event with her thoughts and the words of Sachem Quinney.
"It may seem strange to you ... that I, an Indian, am interested in your Fourth of July celebration," Quinney had a crowd in Reidsville, N.Y., the Capital District. "After all, your people took away the land of my fathers, and the troubles you have caused will continue to hurt my race as long as we live.
"But, lucky for me, I have had a chance to go to school. I have read your histories and your stories of what happened between your people and my people. I learned that you are happy today because you are celebrating the birth of your nation. For me, I am sad, as I remember how many people were weak and let these lands get taken away from them."
Holsey said she hoped that Quinney's words would resonate with a 21st century audience.
"I hope Sachem Quinney's speech will give you pause to think about my tribe, who now live in northern Wisconsin and who once had a presence here in Williamstown," Holsey said. "We are still strong and mighty and fighting for tribe's land and rights.
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Teacher of the Month: Frani Miceli
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
Students say teacher Frani Miceli makes learning fun.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williamstown Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Frani Miceli has been selected as the July Teacher of the Month.
The Teacher of the Month series, in collaboration with Berkshire Community College, will run for the next 12 months and will feature distinguished teachers nominated by community members. You can nominate a teacher here.
Miceli has been teaching for 26 years and has worked to develop a happy, comfortable, and creative learning environment for her pupils.
Through her connection with her students and the decor on her classroom walls, Miceli hopes to help them realize that being kind is possible.
"I have a thing on my wall that says, 'Character is what you do when no one is watching.' So, I hope that they have internalized that," Miceli said.
"We make personal decisions because it's the right thing to do, and sometimes our actions can negatively impact other people, and sometimes they can positively impact other people. So I think happy kids make happy choices, and so I just want them to be happy, engaged children"
Every single one of her students in her morning math class jumped at the opportunity to praise their teacher.
The Prudential Committee on Wednesday discussed the need for a policy for all call-volunteer firefighters who reach the state's mandatory retirement age.
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The Select Board on Monday was told that it should let the people who walk their dogs in the Spruces Park decide how the 114-acre town-owned park is managed. click for more
The exhibit "Fragile Beauty" fills the pavilion with glass objects from the Corning Museum of Glass, showcasing different cultures, time periods and techniques, and will run through Oct. 27.
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The Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday began its review of the development plan for a new Williams College Museum of Art at the junction of Routes 2 and 7. click for more
Greylock Canine Club owner Peter Umbrianna is always surprised when owners drop off their dogs at his South Williamstown doggy day-care. click for more