Norwood Historical Society Holds Annual Meeting On April 27

NORWOOD, MA - The Norwood Historical Society will hold its annual members’ meeting in person at the F. Holland Day House at 93 Day St. on Wednesday, April 27 at 7 p.m. and will feature a presentation on the Massachusett tribe.

Following the business meeting of the Society, Annawon Weeden will speak on “Massachusett: Land of the Massachuseuk.”

Before settlers arrived, before this area was known as Norwood or, earlier, South Dedham, who were the Massachuseuk who lived here and served as stewards of this land? We invite all to join us and learn more about this earlier history of this area on one side of the Neponset River.

This talk will be presented by the Norwood Historical Society in collaboration with Morrill Memorial Library and the Norwood 150 committee. This event has the support of Progress Norwood, the Norwood Cultural Council, and Norwood Community Media, who will record this talk and help us reach a wider audience.

All attendees are asked to wear masks properly while indoors.

Please RSVP at this link.

Anawon Weeden

Born and raised on the Narragansett Tribal reservation in Charlestown Rhode Island, Weeden eventually made his home in his mother’s Wampanoag community located in Mashpee.

Following in his father Tall Oak's footsteps, Weeden began sharing the culture of his tribes with his family during public programs and performances at a very young age. As an adult, Weeden's passion for preserving the culture has been clear throughout decades spent working at Plimoth Plantation as a Museum Interpreter/Outreach Educator and at the Boston Children’s Museum. Currently, he works with the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness and serves as executive director of the First Light Foundation.

Although many have witnessed the accomplishments and contributions made throughout his journey, in October of 2016 Congressman James “Jim” Langevin took special notice and decided to commemorate the life efforts of Weeden, awarding him with a Congressional Honor as Culture Bearer for the entire New England region during the Tomaquag Museum Annual Honoring reception.

Weeden dedicates much of his time visiting schools, colleges, museums, libraries, birthdays, corporations and more, as he continues his efforts to correct misinformation and misrepresentation of Indigenous people. He has found many ways to educate any audience. On stage or in the classroom, his ability to share his tribal culture has been sought after by many institutions such as the Smithsonian, National Geographic, Scholastic, PBS, History/Discovery Channel, Harvard, Nike, Reebok, and many other corporate, educational and environmental organizations.