[Speaking of which, parts of this post may be “dated” because I began writing it about 3 years ago (in early 2019) and then set it aside awaiting further research, which I have never quite completed. So, now (early 2022) I will publish a slightly revised and updated version to reflect what I now know …
Category: Indigenous People
Dec 05
Reparations
In preparing for my next OLLI course on local (Northeast) indigenous culture https://berkshireolli.org/IndigenousWinter2022 I have written a short essay on reparations. I will be able to devote only a short amount of time in one class (out of six) that will focus on the issue of racism: its origins in 15th century Europe, and its …
Sep 15
Indigenous Resilience
In my studies of local indigenous culture, I have noticed a growing interest in this area among the general public. I’m not entirely sure how to explain this, but it’s a good thing, in my view. I think we are all aware that many vital systems are broken, and we search for new ways of …
Sep 11
High Points in New England
The New England Historical Society (NEHS) has provided a somewhat light-hearted survey of the highest points in each of the New England states. The entry for Massachusetts, however, contains at least a couple of errors. One has to do with Herman Melville: The snow-covered mountain reminded Herman Melville of a great white sperm whale, which …
May 03
Populating the Americas
Scientific American published an important article in the May 2021 issue (pages 26-33) entitled “Journey into the Americas: Genetic and archaeological discoveries tell a new story about how the continents were populated” — although not much of the story is “new” to those of us who have been following developments in academic research. See the …
Apr 01
Mohican History Walking Tour of Stockbridge
This post is an abbreviated version of a longer page on “Native American Heritage in the Upper Housatonic River Valley” by the Housatonic Heritage organization. Here, I cover only the portion that relates to a walking tour of Main Street in Stockbridge Massachusetts called “Footprints of Our Ancestors” – providing links to 12 short videos. …
Jan 17
My Early Experience as a Student of the Western Abenaki Dialect
I began my language studies of Western Abenaki (one of the many Algonkian dialects native to the Northeastern part of Turtle Island) in late 2019. I live in the homelands of the Mohican people (Muhheconneok), but at that time all Mahican classes were being conducted in Wisconsin. I had met Jesse Bruchac at a story-telling …
Jan 20
Resources for OLLI Course: “A Walk Through Berkshire History” Spring 2019
Here is a list of links to the slides I used in my classes, as well as various blog posts, articles, and other resources that have been referenced during my lectures, or mentioned in my emails to the OLLI students, or that came to mind as I was preparing this list. Background Here is a …
Nov 18
Wealth Inequality: Causes and Cures
… only a carefully designed mechanism for redistribution can compensate for the natural tendency of wealth to flow from the poor to the rich in a market economy. Is Inequality Inevitable? The “natural tendency” mentioned here ^ is the hypothetical outcome of a random process. It is remarkable that, in a market economy, although there …
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