The City of Salem will commemorate Indigenous Peoples’ Day with a series of community events and programs starting October 9th through October 12th. All events are free and open to everyone.
Friday, October 9
- Learn the history: The Jonathan Corwin House (“Witch House”) and Pioneer Village: Salem in 1630 jointly launch The Naumkeag, an online exhibit exploring the history, culture, and legacy of the Indigenous peoples of Naumkeag. Find it online starting Friday at www.thewitchhouse.org and www.pioneervillagesalem.org.
Saturday, October 10
- Honor the land: Keep Salem Beautiful invites volunteers to join them for the Great Downtown Salem Clean-Up at 8:30 a.m. at Riley Plaza to participate in a downtown community clean-up. Volunteers will deploy as small teams to help clean up the downtown. Coffee, juice, and some light morning snacks will be on hand. Trash grabbers, gloves, trash bags, water, and sanitizer will be provided, but feel free to bring your own materials. COVID-19 protocols to include masks, hand sanitizer, and social distancing will be followed.
- Honor the land: the Salem Beautification Committee invites residents to join them in a clean-up along Lafayette Street starting at 12 noon. Meet at the Lafayette Street/Dodge Street intersection. To ensure the health of all participating, volunteers should use their own bag, tools, and gloves for this event. Please remember to wear a mask!
Sunday, October 11
- Honor the land: the Salem Beautification Committee invites residents to participate in a community-wide litter clean-up effort in their own neighborhood. To ensure safe distancing, residents are encouraged to use their own bag to clean up litter in their neighborhood, then either dispose of the bag into your own trash toter or contact the Department of Public Services at 978-744-3302 to arrange for it to be picked up. Please remember to wear a mask!
Monday, October 12
- Hear the voices: Elizabeth Solomon of the Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag shares greetings from the Tribe and a Land Acknowledgement reading. After, Annawon Weeden of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Nation speaks about the history of the Mashpee Wampanoag and the cultural influences, contributions, and legacy of the Northeast Woodlands tribes. The presentation will be available online at www.thewitchhouse.org and www.pioneervillagesalem.org and broadcast on Salem Access TV.
- Celebrate the legacy: Pioneer Village invites all members of the community to participate in the Naumkeag Circle community art project throughout the month of October, celebrating the legacy and history of the Indigenous peoples of Salem. Bring a stone to the Village and add it to the circle near the Naumkeag exhibit site. Stones can be plain, decorated, or written upon with messages for members of the Indigenous community, and should fit in the palm of your hand. Once completed, the Naumkeag Circle will be used to share stories and performances from the local Indigenous community and from cultures from around the world. Pioneer Village is open to the public from 12 noon to 5:00 p.m. seven days a week throughout October. Please remember to wear a mask and maintain physical distancing of at least six feet from others.
- Peabody Essex Museum Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Virtual Celebration
For the first time, the Peabody Essex Museum is offering virtual programming in honor of our first Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The rich histories and vibrant communities of this ancestral territory where the Peabody Essex Museum now sits include the Pawtucket, Pennacook, Massachuset, Nipmuc, and Wampanoag communities, and Indigenous people from many nations live and work in this region today. Please join us in honoring these communities, and their continued creativity and resiliency. Learn more and register at: pem.org/events/indigenous-peoples-day.
Virtual Holiday Monday PEM Pals: 10:30 am | Free
Follow us @peabodyessex or our YouTube channel | bit.ly/PEM-Pals
Sing along with Miss Bethany, then enjoy a reading of We Are Water Protectors by author Carole Lindstrom (Anishinabe/Metis), who is tribally enrolled with the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe.
Virtual Harvest Season Makers Workshop: 11 am | Free
On Zoom
Elizabeth James-Perry leads us through a workshop exploring sustainable art inspired by native corn husk weaving, celebrating the harvest season. James-Perry is an enrolled member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head-Aquinnah.
Instagram Live Conversation: 4 pm | Free
Follow @peabodyessex to join
Tune in to Instagram for a live conversation with Heather Fleming, Executive Director of Change Labs, and Jennifer Himmelreich (Diné), PEM’s Native American Fellowship Program Manager. Watch the two discuss the creation and vision of Change Labs and how it is helping the Navajo and Hopi Nations meet the present moment by providing Indigenous-based resources and solutions.
Instagram Takeover: Tune in to @peabodyessex stories throughout the day
The Peabody Essex Museum will be featuring Indigenous artists, businesses, and organizations on our Instagram stories, to share who they are, their work, and shine light on the ways in which they serve Indigenous People and Communities.
Click here to listen to an audio version of this announcement.
