FACING 400 YEARS OF COLONIZATION
WALKING INTO THE FUTURE
Peace Walk
May 31 – June 22
Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut
2019 IS THE 4TH IN A 5-YEAR SERIES OF WALKS LEADING UP TO 2020, THE 400TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MAYFLOWER LANDING
This year we will walk in prayer a portion of regions which underwent “The Great Dying” in 1616 – 1619, prior to the landing of the Mayflower. Indian villages from Maine to Massachusetts, including Patuxet (later named Plymouth) lost 90 -100% of their population to a terrible disease bringing a catastrophic, rapid and agonizing death. Rituals for the deceased could not be performed. The pathogen causing this plague was from Europe, although the exact point of contact has not been traced yet.
We will also visit and offer prayers at sites of early massacres, such as the Pequot Massacre in Mystic, CT and the Great Swamp Massacre in RI.
“The 2020 Commemoration which is already in the planning stages on both sides of the Atlantic, definitely must not be an occasion of self congratulations,… but will have to be a time of deep introspection and reflection by the society that was transplanted here on Indian land!
If this isn’t understood… then we will be losing for all our future generations the extremely vital teaching moment the Creator is giving us at these extremely troubled times we are living in.”
Tall Oak, Elder, Historian, Pequot-Wampanoag
“When change is shallow, violence can emerge; when it is deep, the fruit will be peaceful.” –
(Paraphrase) from Most Ven. Nichidatsu Fujii, Founder, Teacher, Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Order – 1885-1985
“Did You Hear The Cry?”
It is the youth of today – sometimes as young as 10 or 11 years old, who cry out the truthful question…
“Will there be an earth to live on, or water to drink when I am adult? Are today’s adults actively making change and showing care for the people and the earth???”
This soul-shaking cry from the youth comes as this country prepares to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower at Plymouth. 2020 marks the passage of 400 years since the Pilgrims and others aboard Mayflower set foot on this land – the very land which had sustained and been cared for by the Peoples of the New England Tribal Nations for over 10,000 years!
The iconic images and stories of the Mayflower and First Thanksgiving are enshrined as the blessed beginnings of this nation-state. Unspoken and unknown, muffled in deafening silence are the stories and understanding of the rich spiritual cultures of the Indigenous Peoples of that very same land, and the horrific stories of the violent conquest and colonization of the people and the land by those who came on the many boats from 1620 onwards. Conquest and colonization continued westward for nearly 300 years; millions of Native Peoples died in that conquest and many of the colonizing people also suffered and died in the violence.
The ways of thinking about people, culture, and the natural world which engendered this unrecognized holocaust of Native people and
culture persist, bringing us to the crisis which today’s youth speaks to with great honesty and sincerity.
In the words of Penobscot Healer and Teacher Sherri Mitchell “In order to create a healthy path forward, we must deal with the spiritual illness that plagues our past and present reality.” Sherri Mitchell also writes, “The simple truth is that this country was founded on genocide and slavery. This is something we are all going to have to acknowledge. Until we are able to discuss this honestly there can be no healing.. The first step in the reconciliation process is truth. If we hope to reconcile our path and move forward with any sense of hope we must begin by telling truth of our shared history…we fear others’ response and our own grief, but without this opening there can be no authentic unification between us.” And it is through genuine coming together of peoples we can open a path for a future for all.
Let Us Walk the Walk Together
Listening To The Call Of The Great Spirit
We walk through Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island to learn and acknowledge the largely unspoken history of what colonization has been for Native Peoples of New England. As we walk together, we open our hearts and minds to transformation within, in order to work towards the transformation without.
We find great guidance and inspiration from our longtime associate gkisedtanamoogk, Wampanoag, who has shared a message for this walk:
“This Commemorative Walk initiates the energetic vibratory shift, transcending present realities to the monumental Healing so much needed… As we open our Hearts to this Walk we open our bodies to Divine Healing, with every step, with every breath. To do so, sets the intention and will to openly transform what waits to what the Wampanoag and the many other Indigenous Nations understood: the Way of Life is the Way of living with the Sacred. The alternative coming here was the alternative to living with the Sacred.…”
Schedule and Itinerary
(Subject to Change)
| Fr May 31 | Opening Ceremony, Leverett, MA |
| Sa June 1 | Grafton Peace Pagoda |
| Su June 2 | Ellsworth , ME |
| Mo June 3 | Pleasant Point, Peter Dana Point, ME |
| Tu June 4 | Old Town, Indian Island, ME |
| We June 5 | Augusta, ME |
| Th June 6 | Portland, ME |
| Fr June 7 | Leverett Peace Pagoda Rest Day |
| Sa June 8 | Amherst, MA |
| Su June 9 | Turners Falls, Northfield, MA |
| Mo June 10 | Lancaster, MA |
| Tu June 11 | Natick, MA |
| We June12 | Concord, Lexington, MA |
| Th June 13 | Boston, MA |
| Fr June 14 | Mystic, CT |
| Sa June 15 | Charlestown, Westerly, RI |
| Su June 16 | Barrington, RI – Rest Day |
| Mo June 17 | Bristol, RI |
| Tu June 18 | Taunton, MA |
| We June 19 | Stoughton, MA |
| Th June 20 | Marshfield, MA |
| Fr June 21 | Plymouth, MA |
| Sa June 22 | Mashpee, MA |
This walk is initiated by the New England Peace Pagoda with the support of :
Friends from the Mashpee Wampanoag
The Justice and Witness Council, Massachusetts United Church of Christ
Numerous friends, networks and organizations from the regions to be visited have also help in their local communities
For more information contact Tim Bullock 413-485-8469
email – walk4anewspring@gmail.com
http://www.newenglandpeacepagoda.org
