Indigenous Perspectives on Environmental Justice

This unique intertribal event features Massachusetts-based Native American leaders in their communities.

Through intentional partnerships with Native American members of the Nipmuc, Massachusett, and Mashpee Wampanoag communities, multidisciplinary dance theater artist Marsha Parrilla will facilitate the creation of Harbor Islands: Past, Present, Future. The residency will: shed light on the historic accounts of Harbor Islands as expressed through the voices of the people whose ancestors were part of the islands; illuminate their contemporary history (and the ongoing presence of Native peoples on the islands), and serve as a platform to collectively create a fresh vision for Indigenous people from Boston. This project creates spaces to heal these collective wounds to our land, our minds, and our spirits- and to dream a better future for generations to come.

This unique intertribal event features Massachusetts-based Native American leaders in their communities:

- A dynamic panel, moderated by Cedric Woods (Lumbee), will focus on Indigenous perspectives on Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice in the Harbor Islands. Panelists include: Elizabeth Solomon (Massachusett), Faries Sagamore Gray (Massachusett), Robert Peters (Mashpee Wampanoag), Hartman Deetz (Mashpee Wampanoag), and Michelle Cook (Navajo).

- Fun, interactive, and educational family activities will include: the creation of a model of the Harbor Islands' transition through time with climate change, led by Andre Strongbearheart Gaines Jr. (Nipmuc), Miles Bernadett-Peters (Mashpee Wampanoag); a Healing Salve-Making Workshop, led by Nia Holley (Nipmuc); and a songwriting workshop dedicated to Mother Earth's healing- and recognition of her sacredness, led by Jasmine Rochelle Goodspeed (Nipmuc).
This Indigenous-led event will be the first of a series! Save the date for the second one on September 14th, featuring the history of the Harbor Islands, with a focus on Deer Island.

Lead Artist Bio

Afro Taíno choreographer Marsha Parrilla is the founding Artistic Director of Danza Orgánica. After obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in Foreign Languages ​​from the University of Puerto Rico, Marsha moved to New York, where she completed a Master's Degree in Dance Education at New York University. Now a resident of Boston, Parrilla is a recipient of several awards from the New England Foundation for the Arts, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Boston Foundation, among others. Parrilla is also a Luminary artist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where she has been commissioned to create artistic work - and is a dance ambassador for the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art. In 2017, Parrilla received the Brother Thomas Fellowship Award from the Boston Foundation. Recently, Parrilla received a Creative Development Residency at Jacob's Pillow, and performed at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Inside/Out Festival. She is also the producer and founder of the Boston-based acclaimed annual festival: We Create! Celebrating Women in the Arts. In 2018, Marsha was selected for the Boston AIR program (artist in residence), with a focus on environmental justice. Currently, she is developing the program: Daka Yanuna (I am Mother Earth, in Taíno), with a focus on best practices towards decolonization and environmental justice. www.danzaorganica.org

About Harbor Islands: Past, Present, Future

Through intentional partnerships with Native American members of the Nipmuc, Massachusett, and Mashpee Wampanoag communities, multidisciplinary dance theater artist Marsha Parrilla will facilitate the creation of Harbor Islands: Past, Present, Future. The residency will: shed light on the historic accounts of Harbor Islands as expressed through the voices of the people whose ancestors were part of the islands; illuminate their contemporary history (and the ongoing presence of Native peoples on the islands), and serve as a platform to collectively create a fresh vision for Indigenous people from Boston. This project creates spaces to heal these collective wounds to our land, our minds, and our spirits- and to dream a better future for generations to come.

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