Grace Wagner, a Winchester High School senior, moved to Winchester with her family when she was 2. It was just before she started high school that Grace began to notice the negative stereotypes that people in town held toward Native cultures. A member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe, Grace recognized a connection between the emotions … Read more
As part of the Network’s ongoing work around Indigenous peoples’ advocacy, the Indigenous Peoples’ Advocacy Committee (IPAC) has worked to craft and adopt an Indigenous land acknowledgement statement to be read at the beginning of Network programs. The Select Board has also crafted a statement to be read at the beginning of their meetings. According … Read more
We at the Network for Social Justice understand the intensity of emotions evoked by the School Committee vote on Tuesday evening to discontinue the use of the Sachem mascot. There are youth and adults on both sides who feel strongly about their perspectives. While the differences appear stark right now, we believe that there are … Read more
Written by WHS Student (Class of 2023) Adah Nordan For the past 6 months, I have worked with Winchester Student Allies for Native Mascot Change (WSANMC), a group of high school allies aiming to remove and change the Sachem mascot. On Thursday, July 16th, I attended a rally organized by Mass Peace Action, United American Indians … Read more
Winchester, MA (July 13, 2020) – Calls for the changing of the Winchester High School and the Arlington High School Mascots. Read the full press release here
We at the Network believe that being actively anti-racist requires working to eliminate the systemic racism so fully embedded in our society, our institutions, our behavior, and our culture that it is like the air we breathe. This work is a herculean and multi-generational process, and no one does it alone. With the path laid … Read more
By Katherine Herlihy, Network Intern On Wednesday the 17th, the Winchester Student Allies for Native Mascot Change (WSANMC), in conjunction with the Network, hosted a discussion about racism and the Winchester Sachem mascot. Panelists included: Elizabeth Solomon, Ed Harris and Rhonda Anderson. Nearly one hundred people attended the event, including some Winchester Public School administrators … Read more
With the realization that COVID-19 infections have been inequitably distributed, as reflected in the disproportionate number of cases in African American and Latinx communities, health experts predicted a disastrous impact on the more than 5 million people who identify as “American Indian and Alaska Native.” Pandemics have historically wrought catastrophic outcomes on Native communities. Smallpox … Read more
Written by Lauren McDowell On March 9th, the Network played host to a student organized and oriented conversation about Native American representation and mascots at the Winchester Unitarian Society. The conversation was facilitated by Network Executive Director and lead by Faries Gray, a resident of Woonsocket, RI and Sagamore (or “War Chief”) of the Massachusett … Read more
Joining the MA Indigenous Legislative Agenda, Mass Peace Action, and Senator Jason Lewis’s office, the NFSJ organized a State House Lobby Day for the Agenda, which includes five bills addressing Native American concerns. There was a public committee hearing that included one of those bills, a resolve to establish a commission to evaluate the flag … Read more
