CANCELLED – No Safety for Us: The Internment of Native Americans on Deer Island

UNFORTUNATELY, THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO THE CURRENT LAPSE IN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS TO THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.

 

This year marks the 350th anniversary of King Philip’s War.   This 14-month rebellion, which was led by the Wampanoag chief Metacom (later known as King Philip), was the Native Americans’ last-ditch effort to resist English authority and stop English settlement on their lands (history.com).

 

Soon after the war began, colonists set up an internment camp on Deer Island to relocate “Christianized” Indigenous people whom they believed could turn against the English and join the rebellion.  In the winter of 1675-76, approximately 500 Native Americans were imprisoned on the island, many of whom perished without adequate food or shelter in the harsh New England temperatures. (National Park Service)

 

The Natick Historical Society and the Bacon Free Library will host Shawn Quigley from the National Park Service to discuss this tragedy on Deer Island.  Shawn’s program will explore the historic use of the Boston Harbor Islands, their role as an internment camp for Native Americans from praying towns, and stories of survival and reliance from those imprisoned on Deer Island. 

 

This program will take place at the Natick Historical Society, located downstairs from the Bacon Free Library.