The First Parish Unitarian Universalist-Canton, MA

[Working draft for discussion with the Neponset Band of the Massachusett Tribe and vote by the congregation]

The First Parish Unitarian Universalist-Canton is proud to be a major historical church of Canton, representing a consolidation of two of the oldest churches within Canton – the First Parish Unitarian, founded in the 18th century and the First Universalist Church, founded in the 19th century. We also recognize that our church’s history is complicated by the combined legacies of colonialism and slavery in the United States context. We acknowledge the history of Indigenous peoples and the dispossession of their lands, including that these original lands were named Ponkapoag by indigenous peoples. We pay our respects to the Neponset Band, among other bands, of the Massachusett Tribe, who have stewarded this land throughout generations and honor their continued presence here and throughout their diaspora. We also acknowledge that we here in Canton do not exist independently from centuries of forced labor and economic extraction from enslaved and indentured Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) as well as poor white immigrants. And we want to affirm that while we cannot change history, we can work for justice, and that justice begins with recognition and acknowledgment of our shared history and experiences in relationship first. We celebrate and work in solidarity with BIPOC organizations leading the movement for our collective liberation in line with our 8th Principle commitment.

Testimony on Behalf of Indigenous People’s Day

Testimony on Behalf of Teaching Native Curriculum and Native Youth Ed Outcomes