Responsibility and Repair: Legacies of Indigenous Enslavement, Indenture, and Colonization at Harvard and Beyond
Institutions in the United States and around the world have begun, in recent years, to reckon with their historical ties to slavery and its legacies. Yet these efforts at truth telling and repair often fail to engage another “original sin” at the heart of the story: slavery in America began with the enslavement of Native peoples and the violent dispossession of the lands on which they had lived and thrived for generations.
As Harvard and other universities confront their own histories of enslavement and colonization, it is critical to elevate, examine, and honor the experiences of Native communities.
This conference, “Responsibility and Repair”—led by Harvard University’s Native American Program in collaboration with Harvard Radcliffe Institute—will bring together Native and university leaders to advance a national dialogue, expand research, and establish and deepen partnerships with Indigenous communities. Using the landmark Report of the Presidential Committee on Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery (2022) as a starting point, the conference and its participants—activists, scholars, Native leaders, tribal historians, and others—will explore the responsibility of universities to confront their past and will recommend steps toward repair that is often centuries overdue.
The opening session of the conference will feature a keynote by Dallas Goldtooth (Mdewakanton Dakota and Dińe), an activist, actor (Reservation Dogs, Rutherford Falls), organizer, writer, Dakota culture and language teacher, and founding member of the sketch comedy group the 1491s. The second day will bring together scholars, tribal leaders and historians, university representatives, and others to explore issues of enslavement and indenture, colonization in New England, and Harvard and New England tribal repair. The Friday program will also feature a keynote by Tara Houska (Couchiching First Nation), an environmental and Indigenous rights advocate and the founder of the Giniw Collective.
See "Responsibility and Repair: Legacies of Indigenous Enslavement, Indenture, and Colonization at Harvard and Beyond Evening Event” for event information on the Thursday, November 2, 2023, program.
Stepping toward Justice (Harvard Gazette, 11/14/23)
Painful Questions from Indigenous Leaders (Harvard Magazine, 11/9/23)
Indigenous Speakers Demand Harvard Return Human Remains at Radcliffe Conference (Harvard Crimson, 11/7/23)
Event Videos
Introduction of Dean Brown-Nagin
Daniel Carpenter, Allie S. Freed Professor of Government and chair of the Department of Government, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Welcome Remarks
Tomiko Brown-Nagin, dean, Harvard Radcliffe Institute; Daniel P.S. Paul Professor of Constitutional Law, Harvard Law School; and professor of history, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Session 1: Enslavement, Indenture, and Dispossession
Margaret Ellen Newell, College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor, Department of History, The Ohio State University
Andrés Reséndez, professor of history, University of California, Davis
David Silverman, professor of history, George Washington University
David Weeden, tribal historic preservation officer and tribal councilman, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
Moderator: Tiya Miles RI ’24, Radcliffe Alumnae Professor, Harvard Radcliffe Institute; and Michael Garvey Professor of History, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Introduction of University Representative
Ann D. Braude, senior lecturer on American religious history, Harvard Divinity School
University Representative 1
Carrie Anne Vanderhoop (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head [Aquinnah] and Haida), director, Haida Gwaii Institute, University of British Columbia Faculty of Forestry
Session 2: Colonization in New England
Linda Coombs (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head [Aquinnah]), author and historian
Tobias J. Vanderhoop, former tribal chairman, Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)
Moderator: Matthew Liebmann, Peabody Professor of American Archaeology and Ethnology and chair of the Department of Anthropology, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Welcome Back
Kelli Mosteller (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), executive director, Harvard University Native American Program
Introduction of University Representative
Christopher Pexa (Spirit Lake Nation), associate professor of English, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
University Representative 2
Shannon Speed (Chickasaw Nation), director, American Indian Studies Center and professor of gender studies and anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles
Introduction of Tara Houska
Kabl Wilkerson (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), PhD candidate, Department of History, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Keynote Address
Tara Houska (Couchiching First Nation), environmental and Indigenous rights advocate; and founder, Giniw Collective
Discussant: Vic Hogg (Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi), research lab manager and faculty assistant, Bloomberg Center for Cities, Harvard Kennedy School
Welcome Back
Joseph P. Gone (Aaniiih-Gros Ventre tribal nation of Montana), professor of anthropology, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences; professor of global health and social medicine, Harvard Medical School; and faculty director, Harvard University Native American Program
Introduction of University Representative
Daniel Heath Justice (Cherokee Nation), Harvard College Visiting Professor of Ethnicity, Indigeneity, and Migration, Department of English, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
University Representative 3
Constance Owl (Eastern Band Cherokee), assistant director, Native American Cultural Center, Stanford University
Session 3: Harvard and Massachusetts Tribal Repair
Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, chairwoman, Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)
Lydia Curliss, council member, Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band
Elizabeth Solomon, council member, Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag
David Weeden, tribal historic preservation officer and tribal councilman, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
Moderator: Megan Minoka Hill (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), senior director, Project on Indigenous Governance and Development and director, Honoring Nations Program, Harvard Kennedy School
Introduction of Provost Garber
Daniel Carpenter, Allie S. Freed Professor of Government and chair of the Department of Government, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Closing Remarks
Alan M. Garber, provost, Harvard University; Mallinckrodt Professor of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School; professor of economics, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences; professor of public policy, Harvard Kennedy School of Government; and professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Thanks and Introduction of Traditional Closing
Joseph P. Gone
Traditional Closing
Thomas Fantasia (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head [Aquinnah]), singer, song maker, and drummer
