In US Northeast, Volunteers Work to Restore Native Lands
2022-08-28
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1Asa Peters walked into a forest near Kingston, Massachusetts this summer and started cutting down a plant called Japanese knotweed.
2"It's hard. You got to keep pulling and pulling...but it's cool," he said.
3It was difficult work in the hot August weather.
4Peters and other Native American volunteers were working to bring the land back to how it was before European settlers arrived in North America.
5That means taking away the kinds of trees and plants that were not believed to be there 500 years ago.
6He said the idea is "to create a special place where we can do all kinds of great things."
7The Wampanoag Common Lands project aims to turn the land back to how it was long ago when members of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe used it for ceremonies.
8The land is next to a body of water called Muddy Pond.
9It is less than 10 kilometers from where settlers known as Pilgrims started the English colony of Plymouth about 400 years ago.
10Ramona Peters started a group called the Native Land Conservancy.
11She said the 13 hectare piece of land is "where the first impact of colonization of this country happened."
12Beth Rose-Middleton is a professor who studies Native American environmental policy and conservation at the University of California, Davis.
13She said the Wampanoag Common Lands project is part of a movement to preserve and restore native culture.
14She said the projects help fight climate change because many areas where Native Americans live have been "depleted," or used up.
15She said taking care of the land in the way the Native American groups plan to might help it become "resilient."
16Native American groups are having trouble living in the places where they have been for many years.
17Extremely dry weather in the American Southwest is causing problems for tribes there.
18In the wetlands of Louisiana, native groups are worried about flooding from powerful storms.
19The group in Massachusetts hopes to copy a similar project in Northern California.
20In October of 2019, the Associated Press reported that the Wiyot Tribe has worked for 20 years to restore an island in Humboldt Bay that was polluted.
21Michelle Vassel is the administrator of the Wiyot Tribe.
22She called the work "healing."
23She said that is because the island is where an attack on the Native people by white settlers took place in 1860.
24The attack killed many people and the tribe almost died out.
25Vassel said the attack was "a scar on the community" and the work to bring the island back to health "was a way to change that history."
26Like the Wiyot Tribe, the Wampanoag Common Lands project hopes to make the pond and forest a better home for animals.
27Old buildings have been torn down.
28Sports areas have been cleared.
29Even large trees that are not native to Massachusetts have been taken out.
30New trees and plants were put in this summer.
31They include white oak trees, blueberry bushes and witch hazel plants.
32Cameras have been set up to look for the return of animals like otters.
33If new buildings are put on the land, they will be traditional Wampanoag shelters made for guests or other community events.
34Asa Peters said he hopes to return one day to see how the plants he put in are doing.
35He also wants to find out how the people are using the land.
36"My hope for it is to be a beautiful, comfortable space," Peters said.
37"A place where people can come and it helps fill them back up."
38I'm Dan Friedell.
1Asa Peters walked into a forest near Kingston, Massachusetts this summer and started cutting down a plant called Japanese knotweed. 2"It's hard. You got to keep pulling and pulling...but it's cool," he said. 3It was difficult work in the hot August weather. Peters and other Native American volunteers were working to bring the land back to how it was before European settlers arrived in North America. That means taking away the kinds of trees and plants that were not believed to be there 500 years ago. 4He said the idea is "to create a special place where we can do all kinds of great things." 5The Wampanoag Common Lands project aims to turn the land back to how it was long ago when members of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe used it for ceremonies. 6The land is next to a body of water called Muddy Pond. It is less than 10 kilometers from where settlers known as Pilgrims started the English colony of Plymouth about 400 years ago. 7Ramona Peters started a group called the Native Land Conservancy. She said the 13 hectare piece of land is "where the first impact of colonization of this country happened." 8Beth Rose-Middleton is a professor who studies Native American environmental policy and conservation at the University of California, Davis. She said the Wampanoag Common Lands project is part of a movement to preserve and restore native culture. 9She said the projects help fight climate change because many areas where Native Americans live have been "depleted," or used up. She said taking care of the land in the way the Native American groups plan to might help it become "resilient." 10Native American groups are having trouble living in the places where they have been for many years. Extremely dry weather in the American Southwest is causing problems for tribes there. In the wetlands of Louisiana, native groups are worried about flooding from powerful storms. 11The group in Massachusetts hopes to copy a similar project in Northern California. In October of 2019, the Associated Press reported that the Wiyot Tribe has worked for 20 years to restore an island in Humboldt Bay that was polluted. 12Michelle Vassel is the administrator of the Wiyot Tribe. She called the work "healing." She said that is because the island is where an attack on the Native people by white settlers took place in 1860. The attack killed many people and the tribe almost died out. 13Vassel said the attack was "a scar on the community" and the work to bring the island back to health "was a way to change that history." 14Like the Wiyot Tribe, the Wampanoag Common Lands project hopes to make the pond and forest a better home for animals. 15Old buildings have been torn down. Sports areas have been cleared. Even large trees that are not native to Massachusetts have been taken out. 16New trees and plants were put in this summer. They include white oak trees, blueberry bushes and witch hazel plants. 17Cameras have been set up to look for the return of animals like otters. 18If new buildings are put on the land, they will be traditional Wampanoag shelters made for guests or other community events. 19Asa Peters said he hopes to return one day to see how the plants he put in are doing. He also wants to find out how the people are using the land. 20"My hope for it is to be a beautiful, comfortable space," Peters said. "A place where people can come and it helps fill them back up." 21I'm Dan Friedell. 22Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by the Associated Press. 23_____________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25cool-adj. (informal) appealing to young people 26impact -n. the effect or influence of something 27preserve -v. to keep something as it was in the past 28restore -v. to return to an earlier condition 29resilient -adj. able to become healthy or strong again after something bad has happened 30scar -n. a mark that is left after a wound heals 31comfortable -adj. producing a good physical feeling; not unpleasant 32We want to hear from you. Are there native lands where you live that could be restored? 33We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 341. Write your comment in the box. 352. Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. 363. Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free. 37Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.