Finding Our Place in the Connecticut River (Kwinitekw) Valley

Finding Our Place in the Connecticut River (Kwinitekw) Valley

Beginning to Heal 400 Years of Settler Colonialism

The Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst’s (UUSA) Indigenous Awareness Circle  is sponsoring a series of  educational workshops this spring to learn about the rich history, worldviews and lifeways of the valley’s Indigenous peoples, past and present – and the  traumas that 400 years of settler-colonizer violence have done, and continue to do, in this place.  At a time of increased repression of marginalized voices in this country, this work to acknowledge the harms done and work toward healing is particularly important.  You are invited to join us on this journey. 

Each workshop will begin with a presentation by an expert on the topic, followed by facilitated small group discussions among the participants.  We encourage participants to explore their reactions to, and questions raised by, the material in the presentations, including any thoughts on colonial ancestors or predecessors.  We also see this as an opportunity to build relationships of mutual support with others who wish to explore ways to participate in healing the wounds of generational trauma. 

The workshops:

March 22, 2026; 3:00pm-5:00pm at the UUSA Meetinghouse* or by Zoom

Recovering Histories of Native Presence in the Kwinitekw (Connecticut River) Valley  – Dr. Margaret Bruchac

For many millennia, Native people lived alongside the Kwinitekw (the Connecticut River) in present-day western Massachusetts, sustained by local flora and fauna, and supported by reciprocal trade and diplomacy with their Native neighbors. During the 1600s, Native leaders in Agawam (now Springfield), Woronoco (now Westfield), Nonotuck (now Northampton and Hadley) and Pocumtuck (now Deerfield and Greenfield) invited English colonists to establish trading posts and small settlements. Sachems like Chickwalloppe, Mashalisk, and Umpanchela negotiated diplomatic and trade relations with English colonial settlers and attempted to preserve, in written deeds, Indigenous rights to hunt, fish, gather, plant, and live here in perpetuity. Yet, during the late 1600s and into the 1700s, colonial conflict and warfare violated these agreements and fractured these relations.

This workshop offers glimpses into colonial relations, while also reflecting on the lives of Native families who remained highly visible – literally “hiding in plain sight” – in the aftermath of warfare and displacement, utilizing long-standing Indigenous skills, kinship networks, and ecological knowledges to supply their white neighbors with medicinal, material, and practical assistance.

Following the presentation, participants will be invited to meet in small, facilitated groups to discuss their own understandings of Indigenous and Colonial Settler relations in the past.  We will examine the histories and stories we were taught, and consider how better understandings could affect our thinking on current questions such as reparations, land back projects, inter-cultural relations, and the on-going oppression of immigrant populations.

The UUSA Meetinghouse is located at 121 N. Pleasant St, Amherst, MA

This series is offered by the UUSA Indigenous Awareness Circle and is open to all interested people.  The purpose of this work is to explore ways to engage with Indigenous histories and Indigenous people here in the valley.  Our work is guided by the 5-step framework for Developing right relations with Indigenous Peoples.