To the editor:

Some weeks ago I brought my 10 year old grandson to Mt Hope Farm to continue our exploration of the history and lives of the Indigenous peoples who once inhabited the very land where we live today. To my surprise and disappointment, the entrance to the path leading to the “Miery Swamp” monument to King Philip was blocked, with a message instructing the public to contact Mt. Hope Farm for further information. I called immediately and spoke with the Executive Director, Ms. Sherri St. Germain, who expressed regret that Brown University now prohibits the public from visiting this historic site.

So now, under the stewardship of Brown University, there is no longer a Haffenreffer museum, where we brought our children to be amazed and enlightened. Seekers of knowledge and history are turned back from walking the path to King Phillip’s Seat. And access to the site of King Phillip’s death is prohibited. All of these historic and sacred places are now denied to the Pokanoket Nation, and to the citizens who live in the community, Sowams, from which the Indigenous people of the East Bay were driven.

I ask you, to whom does this history belong? Brown, a veritable synonym for knowledge, a promoter of justice for the enslaved and oppressed, hoards these lands which are powerful and of great importance to the Pokanoket people. In doing so, Brown delays the healing and reconciliation that comes of opening the past to the citizens of today.

Return these sites to the Pokanoket and let them share their presence, their culture and our shared past to the living and the generations to come. My grandson wants to learn and experience the true history of the place he lives.

Barbara Dobbyn, MSW
Warren

Note: This letter was also sent to Christina Paxton, president of the Corporation of Brown University.