The Rural We: Heather Bruegl
Have you noticed that some organizations and businesses are now including a land acknowledgment in their bios? On July 2 at the Stockbridge Library, Heather Bruegl, director of cultural affairs for the Stockbridge Munsee Community — and a historian by training — will be leading a workshop on how to do a land acknowledgment. Western Massachusetts is the tribal land of the Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohican Indians. At the end of the Revolutionary War, the white population had largely taken over the town and the tribe was pressed to sell its lands. After a series of moves, the tribe settled in Wisconsin, which is now the tribe’s seat of government, and where Bruegl resides.
Land acknowledgment is simply acknowledging who was there before you were. We know that prior to the arrival of Columbus, indigenous people lived on the continents of North and South America. It’s important to acknowledge that it is our traditional territory, because many native nations were moved to various locations.
I’m a historian first, so I will introduce the workshop with some historical background, a little removal history focusing on the Stockbridge Munsee, and then go into how to create a land acknowledgment. Usually these workshops attract people from educational and cultural institutions.
The Stockbridge Munsee tribe has such a complex history. Prior to colonization and removal, it was the Mohican Nation. Throughout history, the name changed, but it has always made a reference to Mohican.
I am what’s considered a first-line defendant, which means I have a parent who is enrolled in the Stockbridge Munsee Nation, but due to blood quantum, I’m not able to be enrolled in that particular tribe. However, because of my maternal grandmother, I’m allowed to be enrolled in the Oneida Nation. It’s very complicated. But Stockbridge Munsee is my heritage, and I feel a strong connection with that culture.
I was supposed to fly out to the Berkshires for the first time right before the pandemic. I’m actually grateful to the pandemic because it gave us the opportunity to create a virtual world and allowed us to speak to people in our homeland. When I come out at the end of this month it will be my first time ever in the homeland. Besides this workshop, I will be involved with the opening of an exhibit at the Mission House in Stockbridge.
I think it’s great that people in the Berkshires are stating that they are on Stockbridge Munsee land. It doesn’t diminish anything going on now. It’s an acknowledgment of truth.
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