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By : North American Indian Center
5 min read
After the success of last year and many tireless hours by the powwow committee, the North American Indian Center of Boston, the Massachusetts Tribe at Ponkapoag, and the VA Boston are excited to announce our 2nd Annual Veterans Powwow, held at Prowse Farm in Canton, Massachusetts on September 16th and 17th from 12-6pm.
Our host drum will be Red Hawk Singers and Dancers, a Mashpee Wampanoag drum and our invited drum is Eastern Medicine Singers, an intertribal drum from the New England area. The head lady dancer is Attaquay Peters, Mashpee Wampanoag and the head man dancer is Andre Strongbearheart Gaines Jr., Nimpuc.
NAICOB, Massachusetts’s oldest urban Indigenous center, has been in existence since 1969, formally as the Boston Indian Council on Washington Street in Dorchester. We have been entrusted with the privilege of supporting intergovernmental relations between the Commonwealth and the tribes whose historic territories are held within so-called Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Tribe at Ponkapoag is one of the tribes of first contact when the English settlers arrived in 1620. With their traditional territory stretching across much of the Greater Boston area, it is with gratitude that we are able to work in partnership with the tribe and host this powwow together. Learn more about them at http://massachusetttribe.org/.
The Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center is a long time supporter of Native Veterans and was a proud partner of last year’s powwow. Their goal is to continue to support American Indian/Alaskan Native veterans in life after service such as health care, cultural support and more.
Originally published in-print in Boston Compass Newspaper #161 September 2023
Check out all the art and columns of September's Boston Compass at www.issuu.com/bostoncccompass