Remember, Rename, Remove: Confronting Histories through Monuments, Memorials, and Place Names
Date & Time: Saturday, March 26th @ 1:00pm
Location: Kilachand Hall Common Room, 101
91 Bay State Road, Boston MA
Event Description: In this event, representatives from the Massachusset Tribe and their supporters will be discussing Myles Standish’s legacy, his impact on the Massachussett Tribe, and effective strategies for confronting controversial histories.
It also acknowledges the 399th anniversary of the massacre at Wessagusset, during which Standish and his soldiers murdered and dismembered prominent Massachusett members.
Attendance: You can register for this event in advance on Handshake here. At the event a QR will be posted for you to check-in. Please note that while registration is not mandatory, it should make the check-in process smoother. You must check-in to earn co-curricular attendance credit for this event.
The Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag
The Massachusett tribe are the descendants of the original people that the English Invaders first encountered in what is now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We against all odds have survived as the descendants of the first people of Massachusetts. We continue to survive as Massachusett people because we have retained the oral tradition of storytelling just as our ancestors did. This tradition passes on the Massachusett view of how our world works, our relationship with all of nature and why things are the way they are. There are ways of perceiving and doing things in our community that trace back thousands of years. There are medicine ways thousands of years old that we still practice today. We honor our ancestors for keeping the traditions they were able to keep, for their foresight, for the gifts they left to us and for their continued guidance.
Learn more about the Massachusett Tribe
Effort to rename Myles Standish Hall
Petition to Change the name of Myles Standish Hall
Long celebrated by many as a New England folk hero, Myles Standish is remembered by this lands’ first peoples for the extreme acts of violence he committed against their ancestors. His leading role at the Massacre of Wessagusset resulted in the murder, execution, and dismemberment of several members of the Neponset Band of the Massachusett Tribe. One of his victims, a prominent warrior named Wituwamat, was beheaded after the massacre, and Standish had this gruesome war trophy placed atop the meetinghouse of the fort at Plymouth Colony as a warning to all Indigenous peoples who saw it.
After several months of discussion at tribal council meetings, the Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag–the descendants of the Neponset Band–has proposed a new name for Boston University’s Myles Standish Hall: Wituwamat Memorial Hall. The call to change the building’s name comes amidst a growing movement to redesign the Massachusetts state seal, which features Standish’s arm swinging a sword above the head of a Native American.
Importantly, Standish has no direct connection to BU. The building, built in 1925, was named Myles Standish Hotel. BU inherited that name when they purchased the building in 1949. It’s time to honor the wishes of the Massachusett Tribe with a name that reflects BU’s mission for equality and inclusivity.
“Why BU Should Rename Myles Standish Hall”
WBUR: Cognoscenti
September 21, 2021
Dr. Travis Franks shares the history of Myles Standish, the Pilgrim’s military leader, and why he is working with the Massachusett Tribe to change the name of Myles Standish Hall at Boston University.
Read the full article here.
