Category: Munsee

The white-faced, gray marsupials with almost human-like hands and prehensile tails are Virginia North American opossums, so named by English colonist John Smith of the Jamestown colony in 1610. It is the only marsupial native to the Highland Lakes and North America. It is not, despite popular belief, a possum, which is only found in Australia. In fact, the Australian possum, also a marsupial, was named after the North American variety, whose moniker comes from the Algonquian word apasum, meaning white animal or white face. Possums without the “o” do not have white faces.

And, no, the “o” is not silent. The correct pronunciation is uh-pa-sum, although not many put the “uh” in front anymore.

Opossums have been around for millions of years, evolving from the age of the dinosaur. They are sometimes referred to as living fossils because they have retained many of the same features from the earliest-known marsupials. Their large, strong jaws and teeth as well as the female’s marsupial pouch are a few of their more primitive features.

Male opossums are known as jacks, the females jills, and the young joeys. Jills give birth only 12 or so days after fertilization. The young are only half-baked at this point and far from being fully developed. The newborn, hairless, and blind joeys have only front legs and a mouth and are about the size of a honeybee. They crawl directly into the marsupium, or pouch, and remain firmly attached to the mother’s milk supply for eight more weeks of development. Even after that, they remain in the pouch for another month or more. The young also ride on the mother’s back during this time, watching and learning in preparation for life on their own.

Opossums are opportunistic omnivores: They eat anything. Adaptable and excellent survivors, they are…

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Capt. Joe Berry, right, and longtime mate William K. “Billy” Brown, show off a wahoo in this 1955 photo from the Aycock Brown Papers. Photo: Courtesy of the Outer Banks History Center, State Archives of North Carolina

Editor’s note: Some outdated racial terms that today are considered insensitive or offensive are used in this story, not out of disrespect but solely because of their appearance on official records.

Growing up, she was urged to not speak of her Indigenous roots.

“In our family, we were told not to talk about it,” recalled Marilyn Berry Morrison, chief of the Roanoke-Hatteras Tribe of the Algonquian Indians of North Carolina.

This fear, which “has been embedded” from generation to generation, is often still found among local Roanoke-Hatteras descendants today.

“We have active tribal members who don’t want to put in their paperwork to make them an official tribal member,” Morrison said.

Centuries of fear of forcible removals, government-sanctioned land-stealing and even government-sanctioned murder took its toll.

“Many years ago, if you claimed to be Indian or Native American, you were killed, OK? So that fear has trickled on down through generations,” Morrison explained. “Even having President Theodore Roosevelt say that ‘a good Indian is a dead Indian’… it really had a tremendous impact on being called Native American. And that is who we are.”

She has become an outspoken advocate of the tribe and believes others will follow suit.

“I believe in time we’ll get rid of that (fear) once they accept who they are…

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NORTH ADAMS — The second Monday in October is now Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the city, Mayor Tom Bernard declared on Friday.

“There have been discussions on the recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day among School Committee, the IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) working group, and others to recognize the contributions and history of Indigenous People in our area — as well as pending legislation at the state level to establish Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a formal holiday,” Bernard said in a statement Friday. “This proclamation formalizes the conversations, the implicit commitment of the legislation, and the alignment with our values as an inclusive community.”

The proclamation recognizes that the city is on land previously occupied by the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians.

“The City of North Adams recognizes and acknowledges the ongoing trauma and historical harms, acts of genocide, and violations of human rights of Indigenous People caused by European colonization,” the proclamation reads. It adds, “The City wishes to honor our local Stockbridge-Munsee Community heritage and our national Indigenous roots, history, and contributions.” The entire document can be found on the city’s website.

“This is the start of a conversation,” Bernard told The Eagle. “We will need to look at the places where there is language that needs to be amended to formalize this.”

Bernard credited City Councilor Benjamin Lamb and School Committee Member Tara Jacobs in helping with the proclamation. A number of School Committee members and city councilors signed off on the proclamation, as well as Superintendent Barbara Malkas, according to the announcement. Bernard is encouraging people to read and endorse the proclamation, which can be done on the city’s website.

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ZILWAUKEE, MICHIGAN, isn’t the only city with a name similar to ours, which has its own origins in Anishinaabe or Algonquian. Here are three other places whose names are a little on-the-nose:

1. Milwaukie, Oregon

FOUNDED IN 1903

Founder Lot Whitcomb didn’t hide his admiration for Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when he incorporated this growing community of settlers in 1903 on Clackamas Indian territory. It’s unclear why the ie spelling stuck here, while other knockoff towns changed their names to have the ee ending. This city of 21,000 also sits on the water, only on the Willamette River instead of Lake Michigan.

 

 

2. Milwaukee, North Carolina

RENAMED IN 1915

This unincorporated community in Northampton County between Raleigh and Norfolk was named for Milwaukee as well, according to a text published in honor of the county’s bicentennial. The town formerly known as Bethany was renamed in 1915 after what was then the 12th-largest city in the U.S.

3. Milwaukee, Pennsylvania

FOUNDED IN 1844

It’s possible that this small, unincorporated community west of Scranton in Lackawanna County was named for the Wisconsin city, too. The area was first called Flickerville after a native bird species, the Northern Flicker, but the founders of an 1844 gristmill in the area renamed it Milwaukee after a nearby road. The spelling was inconsistent – sometimes using the ie and other times using the ee ending – but today the region uses the same spelling we do.

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More than 14 months after the Wappingers Central School District board expressed a willingness to end its use of the moniker “Indians” for some of its sports teams, the board announced the next step in potentially doing so.

Board President John Lumia said the district plans to schedule presentations at a future board meeting at which the topic will be discussed, and said residents will have the opportunity to ask questions.

However, a date for the meeting has not been set, nor a timeline for a decision. The issue has not been on an agenda to allow for public comment since summer 2020, when the board first announced it was tabling the issue in the interest of focusing on COVID-19 safety measures.

Roy C. Ketcham High School and Wappingers Junior High both use the word and accompanying logos for their sports teams.

Lumia made the announcement at the board’s regular meeting Monday, and declined to clarify details of a timeline when reached Tuesday.

‘Indians’ still: Talks to drop Ketcham HS moniker on hold a year after push to change

Petitions for change: Ketcham, Nyack grads using petitions to have schools drop ‘Indians’ moniker

Counter argument: Wappinger native, school board president defend Ketcham’s Indians theme amid debate

He said the district has plans to invite local Wappinger descendants and the Stockbridge Munsee Community-Band of Mohicans to presents their thoughts on the issue. 

He said the board will have the opportunity to ask questions. Members of the community will then have two weeks to submit questions to the district clerk, which will then be answered by the two groups, posted to Wappingers’ website and submitted to the board.

A push to do away with the school’s Native American nickname and logos began in July of last year, with some groups including native groups, calling them offensive.

Later that month, some…

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CLARION, Pa. – Rep. Donna Oberlander (R-Clarion/Armstrong/Forest) recently reminded drivers that if their vehicle license plate is difficult to read, that replacement plates are available for free.

To help facilitate the process to turn in the illegible plate for a new one, Oberlander is teaming up with Clarion County Sheriff Rex Munsee for a special event on Tuesday, October 19, at her district office.

“Just like other parts of a vehicle, license plates are susceptible to damage and weather, and sometimes the letters and numbers can be difficult to read over time,” Oberlander said.

“Most motorists are unaware that replacement plates are available at no additional cost from PennDOT, and my office will help facilitate that process for affected drivers.”

From 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 19, drivers can bring their vehicles to the parking lot at Oberlander’s office along South Second Avenue to begin the replacement process. While there, personnel from the Clarion County Sheriff’s Office will determine if the plate is illegible, and if so, Oberlander’s staff will help drivers fill out the appropriate paperwork. A notary will be on site to assist.

Once submitted to PennDOT, the new replacement plates should arrive from Oberlander’s office in approximately two weeks.

According to PennDOT, a registration plate is deemed illegible when one or more numbers or letters cannot be recognized from 50 feet or if the registration plate shows any blistering, peeling, discoloration, or loss of reflectivity. When a registration plate becomes illegible, PennDOT has two main ways of replacing them. First, the law allows PennDOT to reissue a registration plate upon request of a vehicle owner when an authorized representative of PennDOT or law enforcement determines that a registration plate is illegible.

“We daily see many license plates that are not readable,” said Munsee. “This program…

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SHEFFIELD — The Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans wants you to know their story. And they want to be the ones telling it to you. 

Their latest effort, “The Mohican Journey: Homelands, History and Hope,” an outdoor exhibit on display through Monday, Oct. 11, is the result of a nearly yearllong collaboration of the Stockbridge-Munsee community, the Sheffield Historical Society and the art department at Mount Everett Regional School.

If You Go

“The Mohican Journey: Homelands, History and Hope”

What: An interactive, multimedia exhibit that breaks down the history of the Muh-he-con-ne-ok, the “people of the waters that neve stand still.”

When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Oct. 2, 3, 9, 10 and 11

Where: Sheffield Historical Society, 159 Main St., Sheffield

Information: 413-229-2694, sheffieldhistory.weebly.com

“Exhibits like [Sheffield’s] allow us to be able to tell our history our way and in truth. There is no sugar-coating history in Indigenous history. Removal happened. Genocide happened. Loss of language, tradition and culture happened,” said Heather Bruegl, former director of Cultural Affairs for the Stockbridge-Munsees, in an email to The Eagle.

“The Mohican Journey,” is one of four Berkshire exhibits on display regarding the Stockbridge Mohicans. Three other exhibits about the Stockbridge-Munsees include: The Berkshire Museum’s “Muh-he-con-ne-ok: The People of the Waters That Are Never Still,” an exhibit curated by the Stockbridge-Munsee community; “Deeds of our Past: Stockbridge Indian Lands and Colonial Bonds,” an exhibit of biographies and translations of deeds at the Stockbridge Library; and “Mohican Miles,” at the Mission House Museum. 

The reliance on local organizations with an open mind is the kind of partnership that ensures, “the outcome accurately reflects Stockbridge-Munsees’ voice,”  said Bonney…

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Michelle Falkenstein  |  For The Journal News

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COVID deaths of Native Americans linked to limited access to resources and healthcare

COVID ravaged McKinley County, where roughly 74% of the population is non-Hispanic Native American — mostly Navajo and Zuni — and access to resources is scarce.

Jasper Colt, USA TODAY

ANCRAM, N.Y. — Writer and environmental advocate Jasmine Neosh, a member of the Menominee Nation, laments that her people have forgotten centuries of knowledge about native plants. During the pandemic, she says, this lost wisdom was felt even more acutely.

“Many tribes were hit hard by economic hardship,” says Neosh, a student in the Sustainable Development Institute at the College of Menominee Nation in Wisconsin. “In my panic, I realized that we are going to have to learn how to feed ourselves.” And so, Neosh undertook a project to find out about edible flora on the Menominee reservation.

In recognition of her efforts to create a more sustainable food system for her people, Neosh was named one of four inaugural winners of a Forge Project Fellowship, a program designed to support established and emerging Indigenous leaders working in land justice, education, food security and culture.

The fellowship includes financial support of $25,000 and a residency…

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Editor’s note: This piece is part of Communities of New Jersey, a new series meant to highlight, showcase and cover communities underserved by large media organizations like NJ.com.

For the owners of the 14-acre Munsee Three Sisters Medicinal Farm in Newton, farming is more than just a means of generating profit — it’s a means of survival.

“This is what we have to do to save our people’s lives,” said Vincent Mann, Turtle Clan Chief of the Ramapough Lenape Nation and co-founder of the farm.

Mann and Michaeline Picaro, an elder member of the Turtle Clan, co-created the for-profit farm in 2019 to address food insecurity in their community, they said. But, they have much bigger plans in the works.

Through the cultivation of cash crops, the pair hopes Munsee Three Sisters Medicinal Farm will serve as a sustainable source of revenue for their nonprofit, the Ramapough Culture and Land Foundation. Working in partnership, these two ventures hope to provide the Turtle Clan community with opportunities for nourishment, healing and justice.

Turtle Clan Chief Vincent Mann holds a hemp plant at the Munsee Three Sisters Medicinal Farm. Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Chickens of different varieties are raised at the farm. Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The Ramapough Lenape Nation is one of New Jersey’s state-recognized Native American tribes whose members live in northern New Jersey counties, as well as in surrounding areas in New York. It suffers from high rates of poverty, not unlike other indigenous communities across the country. But the Turtle Clan also has a unique threat all its own, having lived for the past 57 years on a Superfund site, a federal designation for areas that have suffered severe…

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