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������Ƶ Community College unveiled a permanent Land Acknowledgement plaque in a ceremony attended by Chiefs of three native tribes on Wednesday, September 14, 2022. ������Ƶ is believed to be the first community college in Massachusetts to make this public acknowledgement with a permanent marker and a ceremony of reconciliation and healing. During the ceremony the College announced an Indigenous People Scholarship had been formed for current and future ������Ƶ students, for which fundraising has begun.

Today Indigenous people became VISIBLE,” said Chief Ladybug (Croatan) Native Heritage New England and Program Chair for Health Studies at ������Ƶ. “As a Massachusetts indigenous person today's land acknowledgement that ������Ƶ Community College campuses sits on land that belongs to the Nipmuc, Pawtucket, and Massachusetts tribes was historic for me, my family, and my tribe. Acknowledgment is the first steps to our tribal healing.”

Nine tribes were present at today's gathering, including: Croatan, Ponkapoag, Mi’kmaq, Mohawk, Cherokee, Blackfoot, Wampanoag, Natick Praying Indians, and the Nipmuc. Chief Black Wolf of the Nipmuc, Chief Eagle Rising (Mi’kmaq) from the Great Lowell Indian Cultural Association, and 8-year-old Sophia Wise Owl (Ponkapoag) all spoke at the ceremony of gratitude for this acknowledgement.

“We are proud to hold this important ceremony and to give proper recognition of the land on which our college sits,” said ������Ƶ President David Podell. "As our plaque reads, we cannot change the past. But what we can do and will do is to is honor the land, the ancestors, and the indigenous traditions as we at ������Ƶ use this sacred land as a communal place to nurture learners to move forward and make a more inclusive world.”Chief Caring Hands of the Natick Praying Indians summed up the Ceremony by saying, “I leave you with a truth, ‘A people honor themselves when they honor its original people’.”