Description
Is King Philip’s War really part of the past? Four Indigenous speakers tell us that it’s still deeply present.
People who are not Indigenous often think of Metacom’s Resistance – more commonly known as King Philip’s War – if they know of it - as part of a distant past. If we have read children’s stories of an idealized colonial life, or educated with traditional textbooks, we might think of the war as a single violent chapter in an otherwise quaint, albeit colorful, history, with colonial heroes bravely conquering their enemies.
Historical markers dotting the New England countryside, especially in Massachusetts, reinforce this idea: it was brutal, but the colonists emerged victorious, and in any event it was long ago – nothing to do with life today. For Indigenous communities, the past is not so easily left behind – and nor should it be for non-Indigenous people. We all live today with its aftermath. King Philip’s War continues to shape daily life, experience, and memory.
Panelists include:
- Hartman Deetz, Mashpee Wampanoag
- Brad Lopes, Aquinnah Wampanoag
- Brittney Walley, Hassanamisco Nipmuc
- Elizabeth Solomon, Massachusett at Ponkapoag, moderator
On the eve of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, this panel invites audiences to grapple with a foundational war of Indigenous resistance on its 350th anniversary - and to see that it is not past, but deeply present, for us all.
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