Land Acknowledgements

“When we talk about land, land is part of who we are. It’s a mixture of our blood, our past, our current, and our future.
We carry our ancestors in us, and they’re around us. As you all do.”  —Mary Lyons (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe)

The Burlington Players acknowledge that our theater sits on the unceded lands of the Massachusett people, whose name was appropriated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We’d like to pay respect to the ancestral line of the Nipmuc, Penacook, and Massachusett Peoples and to their descendants. We honor the Indigenous Peoples who are connected to this land— past, present, and future. 

  What Land Do You Occupy? 

You can take steps to honor Indigenous and Native lands by learning more about the land on which you live. Explore the ineractive map at native-land.ca to learn more. The map does not represent or intend to represent official or legal boundaries of any Indigenous nations, and is an ongoing project.

What are the names of past and present Indigenous people connected to the land where you live? What are the correct pronunciations for tribal names and places in your area? What is the history of the land? How do you make meaning of your place within this history?  How can you honor Indigenous communities? Here are some reources to learn more--

Historical Villages of Massachusetts Nation www.massachusetttribe.org/our-history

MASS Center for Native American Awareness www.mcnaa.org

North American Indian Center of Boston  www.naicob.org

Cultural Survival  www.culturalsurvival.org 

BEING AN ALLY TO INDIGENOUS PEOPLE with Claudia A Fox Tree & Allies

 a workshop with the Burlington Players 

Presented on June 15, 2021

Claudia A. Fox Tree (she/ her/ hers) has been a middle school special education teacher for over 30 years. During this time, she has also taught professional development, social justice courses at the college level for Initiatives for Developing Equity and Achievement for all Students (IDEAS), as well as presenting at numerous national and local conferences and events. Claudia earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts (Boston), teaching certification in elementary and special education from Fitchburg State College, and a Master’s Degree in Education from Northeastern University with a focus on educational research. She is currently a doctoral student at Lesley University. Claudia is also a polymer clay artist, blogger, and mother to five young adults (and four cats).

Claudia has been on the board of the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness (www.mcnaa.org) for over 20 years. MCNAA’s mission is to preserve Native American cultural traditions; to assist Native American residents with basic needs and educational expenses; to advance public knowledge and understanding in order to dispel inaccurate information about Native People; and to work towards racial equality by addressing inequities across the region.

Claudia is a tribal member of the Iukaieke Guainia Taino Tribe and a Massachusetts liaison for the United Confederation Of Taino People headquartered in New York (http://uctp.blogspot.com/). UCTP spans the Greater and Lesser Antilles as well as the United States and beyond. The UCTP is dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights, cultural heritage, and spiritual traditions of the Taíno and other Caribbean Indigenous Peoples for present and future generations, and endeavors to assist its citizens in their social, economic, educational, cultural and spiritual development. Claudia is multiracial German and Arawak (First Nations) and currently lives on unceded, unsurrendered Pawtucket territory of the Pennacook (in Massachusetts).