Introduction

For the project I decided to focus on the history of Indigenous people in Brookline, MA, where I live. Part of it is personal, a Native connection. I am a member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe in Oklahoma through my mother’s side. When I began working on this project it was November, National Native American Heritage Month. To appreciate that, I figured a good way was to look into the history in my community.

To my delight as a researcher, limiting the scope of the project to the Town of Brookline was suitable. As it turns out, much Native history has been erased. Of course that is not unique to Brookline, and all the more reason documenting the history that remains is important. According to Hidden Brookline, a committee formed in 2006 as part of the Office of Diversity and Community Relations, Native Americans were the first slaves in Brookline, bought in 1675 for resale into the Caribbean. By the early 18th century few Natives were left in town records. Hidden Brookline reports that about 42 families enslaved 90 people and in 1746 enslaving families owned over half of all land.

Research led me to the Footprints Walking Tour. In Brookline a significant location for what’s left of Indigenous people history comes down to a specific neighborhood, east of Brookline Reservoir near the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site. [Olmsted is the father of American landscape architecture.] First Parish Church in Brookline, as part of what it calls its ‘reparations mission’, honors the space and provides a historical walking tour. Walnut Street, now paved, was once a trail used by Algonquin-speaking Massachusett [sic] people, the tribe for whom the state is named.

Fortunately for me, from a photographer’s standpoint, the official site of the tour has few images of the tour itself, instead providing audio history and a map. That left it open for me to decide what on the tour to photograph. Also, I find it difficult to find historic places that have not been much photographed. Again, this proved a good subject.

The area has 9 designated points of interest. For planning purposes, I listened to the audio on the church website beforehand so when I arrived I could focus on the photography instead of doing that while learning the history. I present points of interest and other visuals that caught my attention, such as the fall foliage on a large oak tree, representative of the environment in the area.

Some information I got from historical markers placed in the area by Brookline Historical Society. Other information I learned from the walking tour audio. Here is a link to the walking website, which provides further context.

https://firstparishinbrookline.org/footprints/

I approached the narrative assignment not just as a photographer but also as an historian interested in Native American history and as a citizen of Brookline, MA. My research skills proved helpful in narrowing the subject of Native American history in Massachusetts to a particular space in Brookline. Some historians, like those affiliated with the church and local government, have already laid the groundwork for much of the story about the removal of Indigenous people from the area. Brookline Historical Society placed several historic markers in the nearby neighborhood, mostly near the cemetery. Through the project I learned about the town and its early inhabitants and how the area has changed over time.

The real challenge was the photography, not the history. The area designated as historic is not that large--there's not much to see and what there is to see requires some imagination to see the space as it was at an earlier time, before paved roads and a built reservoir. 1717 was over 300 years ago. My hope is that the images help illustrate what the research signifies: in the abstract, losing land. The photos bring that to life, as they remind us of times when the community was first established. 

I took the photographs on the same fall afternoon. It was in the 40's but I was prepared and stayed warm. I did the guided walk, referring to the map on my phone at times. Due to a school using the playground I did not photograph a point of interest called 'Three Sisters Gardening.' It's noted because 3 sisters in Native culture refers to corn, squash, and beans. The school has a garden tribute honoring Native American heritage. 

This assignment helps me realize some sites that may not be especially interesting on their own take on significance as part of a set and context really helps bring meaning to images. Two examples: the road and intersection. Without history making clear these are historic places, which I consider worth photographing, I would not have thought to photograph them. A road? An intersection? The meaning is with the narrative, their part in the story of Indigenous people in the area. As for first and last images, I decided to start the set with the church and conclude with the reservoir. Both are recognized as historic places in Brookline, MA; the church initiated the walking tour, so it makes sense to me to start there even though the tour itself does not; and the reservoir takes on a different light when thought about as marsh land where Native Americans once lived.

As I continue to photograph, in addition to art images which I like to create, I will keeping thinking more about projects as a whole, thinking in terms of sets instead of one offs, and spend more time researching. I liked the assignment and learned from it.