Massasoit Memorial Takes Step Forward

The Warren Town Council passed a motion Tuesday evening in support of repatriation efforts by members of the Wampanoag tribe to rebury Massassoit and 40 other members of his tribe at their original resting place in Burr's Hill Park. The group had been excavated from the land more than 100 years ago, according to John Pierce Jr., who was at the meeting representing the tribe. Plans for the reburial include a 20 x 20 foot piece of land for a burial shaft and a monument.

According to Pierce, the project has been in the works since 1995.

"We're just happy it's starting to... move along now" Said Edith Andrews, also a repatriation officer, of the Aquinnah tribe of Martha's Vineyard.

Andrews appealed to the crowd, stating "I'm sure that... no one here in this room would want their ancestors dug up and put on display like ours have been, for many, many years."

The remains and artifacts that were excavated were "distributed to seven different institutions," according to Kenneth Alves, a repatriation officer for the Assonet Band. The tribe has retrieved remains and/or artifacts from two of those tribes.

According to Alves, the town's approval should be helpful in gathering more support. "We can go elsewhere and talk to different people and say 'alright, the town is graceful, they want to give us this 20 x 20, here's what we need... You're going to be our flag we're going to be waving."

The individuals will be buried facing the water, so that, according to Andrews, "their spirit can look out over the waters there, how we've always felt they should."

"This is the right thing, honestly," said David Frerichs, Town Council Chairman.