Pokanoket Nation and Po Metacom Camp Lead March on Brown, Will Students Support the Effort?

Pokanoket Nation and Po Metacom Camp Lead March on Brown, Will Students Support the Effort?

The Pokanoket Nation and Po Metacom Camp have announced they will march on Brown University in an effort to reclaim the land they claim is theirs. The groups set up a settlement in Bristol in late August and have been negotiating with Brown University with little success.

The announcement made on Monday provided the following details. The unknown is will Brown students join the cause of the indigenous Rhode Island group.

 

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Who: On August 20th the Pokanoket Nation established the Po Metacom Camp to reclaim their sacred territory of Potumtuk (also known as Mt. Hope) from Brown University. The Pokanoket Nation and allies from the community and from other tribes will be taking part in the first public demonstration since the camp was established.

 

What: The Pokanoket Nation will be leading a march to reclaim the sacred land of Potumtuk from Brown University. The march, called “Pokanoket Convocation: A March for the Land” coincides with Brown University’s annual convocation ceremony which they hold for the incoming first-year students. Potumtuk is the spiritual high ground of the Pokanoket Nation and was also the site where Po Metacom, who led the Pokanokets in their fierce revolt against the colonizers, was slain and beheaded. Brown University has had control of the land since it was donated to them by the Haffenreffer family in the 1950s.

 

Where: The march will begin at Brown Street Park on Brown Street in Providence, RI (behind Hope High School). The march will then proceed to the entrance of the main green at Brown University.

 

When: March participants will meet at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 5th. The March will start at 1:30 p.m.