Diverse businesses, residents, Native American descendants and tribes, ethical archaeologists, land protectors and others are calling for the National Register of Historic Places recommendation for Nayyag's unique 10,000-year-old site to be respected.
Nayyag and Northampton hold many sites from the earliest times up to 1675, yet there's not one place a Native descendant can freely visit, offer tobacco to the Ancestors, or read about the history of our People at a kiosk. But we've been in Northampton for at least 10,000 years. There are plenty of preserved Colonial buildings, places and things in Northampton you can visit from the last 300 years.
Does that sound like equal preservation to you?
Tell our Governor "Do the Right Thing. Recognize and Preserve Early Archaic Native Legacy at Nayyag." Here's a template for speaking truth to power, adapted from one provided by River Valley Co-Op and Rochelle Prunty:
Send Email Letters to the Office of Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito
Email: Jose Delgado at the Governor Baker's Western MA Office: Jose.delgado@mass.gov CC MassDOT: Bryan Cordeiro bryan.cordeiro@state.ma.us Or submit comments through the Governor Baker's Office Website: https://www.mass.gov/forms/email-the-governors-office
You can read the archaeological report for yourself here, with highlights on central points:
Read our letter to Gov. Baker and Lt. Gov. Polito here:
You can learn about the context of Nayyag and its many sites here:
You can listen the actual recorded Mass DOT forum, comments by Native Americans, Business Owners and Residents, with context and more links, here: