Category Archives: Current Events

July 14, 2020: The Brothertown Indian Nation Celebrates First Annual Samson Occom Day

13 Monday Jul 2020

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Today, July 14, 2020, is the first annual Samson Occom Day to be formally celebrated by the Brothertown Indians.  The Nation’s Council issued a decree establishing the holiday during their monthly meeting this past June.   The resolution, which passed unanimously, cites, in part, the Reverend Occom’s sizeable role in the organization and the propagation of the Brothertown tribe.  While festivities will certainly be muted with this year’s pandemic, the event will not go unnoticed.

To commemorate this special day, tribal citizens will be offering up prayers in gratitude to God for the gift of Samson Occom’s life; speaking with their family members “about [his] story and what he stood for”; reading portions of his journals, letters, and sermons; watching YouTube videos about him; and, in imitation of one of the ways in which Occom supported his family financially, one person is planning to carve a wooden spoon.

If you are interested in participating in Samson Occom discussions, you might like to join the Calumet and Cross book club for our Wednesday evening chapter chat. We are currently on chapter 12 of William DeLoss Love’s, “Samson Occom and the Christian Indians of New England” (available online at https://archive.org/details/samsonoccomchris00love). For book club login info please click “contact me” above. Everyone is welcome.

 

For more about Samson Occom, please visit these links:

**A Short Narrative of My Life, Occom’s autobiography, is available to read at Dartmouth https://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/Library_Bulletin/Nov1999/Hoefnagel_Close.html Occom originally wrote his autobiography in 1765.  He wrote this 2nd draft in 1768.

 

Samson Occom; a book by Harold Blodgett: https://archive.org/details/samsonoccom0000blod/page/n241

 

“SAMSON OCCOM”: A clipping from the Utica Morning Herald dated February 1894. Contains a lot of accurate (and some inaccurate) information on Samson Occom: Occom  

 

Samson Occom and the Christian Indians of New England by William DeLoss Love and published in 1899: Includes an index with all of the known Brothertown Indians. samsonoccomchris00love  

 

The Collected Writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan by Joanna Brooks is available to preview on Google: https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Collected_Writings_of_Samson_Occom_M.html?id=R9ELRhEdupMC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Occom’s 1774 hymn book, A Choice Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs: Intended for the Edification of Sincere Christians, of All Denominations, (published as words only; no musical notation) contains many reprinted songs and a few of Occom’s own: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/evans/N10659.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext).

 

Occom’s 1st publication, A Sermon Preached at the Execution of Moses Paul in 1772.  https://archive.org/details/sermonatexecutio01occo

 

Dartmouth College hosts the Occom Circle site which contains both scans and transcripts of a significant number of Samson Occom letters and journals: https://www.dartmouth.edu/~occom/

 

Other original Occom documents are available through the Connecticut Historical Society at http://connecticuthistoryillustrated.org/islandora/search/occom?type=dismax

 

4 sermons recovered from Occom’s trip to England and not included in the Joanna Brooks book, The Collected Writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan:  https://brothertowncitizen.wordpress.com/2017/06/13/recently-discovered-samson-occom-sermons/

 

“A Brief Narrative of the Indian Charity School in Lebanon in Connecticut, New England”briefnarrativeof00whit_bw  This is an interesting collection of letters, endorsements, and accounts from the early to mid-1760’s which, seemingly, were to be used by Reverends Occom and Whitaker on their mission trip to England.  Some highlights are a detailed account of Occom’s 1761 meeting with the Oneida and the wampum belt received, Wheelock’s very clear statement of intent as to what he planned to do with the money raised by the Rev.’s overseas, and an appendix added in this second edition which provides updates from 1766-‘67.

 

Occom programs:

 

Radio program on Occom with NPR’s Alex Nunes and Brothertown’s Kathleen Brown-Perez: https://thepublicsradio.org/episode/ep-4-the-betrayal-of-samson-occom

Joanna Brooks gave a Zoom video presentation to our citizens in 2017 which is available to watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxDDcpbiSYw&t=2s.

Tim Eriksen sings a Samson Occom carol called “O Sight of Anguish”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhO34_w1yW4

Brad Dubos, Rutgers graduate student, who is, in part, researching Samson Occom and the importance of place for the Brothertown Indians talks with Brothertown Forward: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SOeEt28rby0

CNAIR Symposium at Rutgers 2019 (Brad Dubos is the 2nd speaker in this episode – episode 2): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4B7Ka5V5zxE&list=PLJl9Zsw3ptuJ9eCjyLr9XcUPufzyhxk9_&time_continue=727

 

 

Occom

Samson Occom

2020 Brothertown Calendar of Events

06 Thursday Feb 2020

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Tonight, February 7th at 8pm CT, the Peacemakers will be hosting their monthly meeting on Zoom. Everyone, enrolled or not, is invited to attend. https://zoom.us/j/272190735

Sunday February 16th at 10am CT will be the next Council/General Membership meeting. This event will also be attend-able via Zoom but only for enrolled citizens. If you have not already signed up for online Council meetings, please fill out this short form to do so: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSffhwOkN5PAj8_mwyNk7v6ZFIidZZ48GCZY0oS6gAH46WDzgw/viewform

Calumet and Cross Heritage Society will be hosting an all day singing event at Union Cemetery in Brothertown, Wisconsin on June 27th with dinner coordinated at a nearby home.  Everyone is invited to attend and to sing (shape note style) to our ancestors and honor headman Thomas Commuck on this year’s 175th anniversary of the release of his Indian Melodies.

Here is a list of additional 2020 Brothertown events:

Peacemaker’s Procedural Guidelines

18 Saturday Jan 2020

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The Brothertown Indian Nation Peacemakers are working on updating their Procedural Guidelines and are looking for input from citizens.  Please see their note and click on the document link at the bottom:
Aquy fellow Citizens and relatives!
  Your Peacemakers are moving to update the GRIEVANCE PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES.  We want you to look over the procedures and offer comments. You have until March 31, 2020 to offer suggestions and comments. You can make your comments through this website or you may contact the Peacemakers directly by emailing us atpeacemakers@brothertownindians.org  We want to be sure that YOUR voice is heard!
Kôkicash!
Brothertown Indian Nation Peacemakers

 

A Reflection On National Days of Celebration

17 Friday May 2019

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All nations have their own unique anniversaries, holidays, and nationally-revered “heroes”. Annual dates of remembrance not only honor a nation and its ancestors but are an effective way of ensuring that these events and people remain perpetually in the individual and collective memory of a nation. Celebrating its people and anniversaries also helps to instill national pride and fosters a sense of community amongst citizens.

The Brothertown Council is currently considering resolutions to memorialize two important dates as annual Brothertown days of remembrance: July 14th, the anniversary of the death of Samson Occom (1792) and celebrated as his feast day in the Episcopal Church; and November 7th, the date in 1785 that Occom recorded in his journal as being the date “we proceeded to form into a Body Politick we Named our Town by the Name of Brotherton, in Indian Eeyawquittoowauconnuck (https://collections.dartmouth.edu/occom/html/diplomatic/785554-diplomatic.html).”

Brothertown Elections: A 233-Year-Old Tradition

07 Monday May 2018

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Brothertown held its first annual election on the 7th of November 1785.  On that day, as can be read in Occom’s journal, the names of the elected were as follows:  Jacob Fowler was chosen Town Clerk, Roger Waupieh, David Fowler, Elijah Wympy, John Tuhy, and Abraham Simon were chosen to be Trustees; and Andrew Acorrocomb and Thomas Putchauker were chosen as Fence Viewers.  This board of Trustees would have handled Tribal business and responsibilities very much like our current Council is tasked with.  The Fence Viewers, while not quite Peacemakers (a position which did not exist in Brothertown until 1796), did help to maintain the peace as far as livestock was concerned.  For example, it would’ve been their job to make sure that any fences were secure.  Even where there were no fences, it would have been their duty to ensure that one family’s horse was not eating another family’s corn.  If such a thing did happen, they would find a solution to keep it from happening again.

On May 19th, the Tribe will hold its next annual election.  I encourage all of you to participate in this 233-year-old Brothertown tradition and exercise your right to vote.  As of this writing (Monday May 7, 2018), there are still 11 more mailing days before absentee ballots have to be in Fond du Lac in order to be counted.  If you have not mailed your ballot and verification form back yet, please do so today.  If you haven’t decided who to vote for, you may find it helpful to watch Brothertown Forward’s recorded Meet-the-Candidates presentation (link available for the asking).

Carry on our 233-year-old Brothertown tradition and vote!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2018 Upcoming Brothertown Events

23 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by in Brothertown Founding Fathers, Brothertown History, Current Events, Joseph Johnson, Samson Occom

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Sunday, February 25th at 6:30pm CT/7:30 ET, Brothertown Forward will be hosting an online community discussion on the Thomas Commuck shape note singing event held at Yale on February 3rd.   This event is open to everyone; whether you attended and would like to discuss your experience there or would simply like to hear how it went.  To log in, please go to https://zoom.us/j/2529226987 or dial +1 646 876 9923 and enter the Meeting ID: 252 922 6987.

For a sneak peek of the day itself, please see https://youtu.be/h42vaBNZLUo.

Sunday March 4th at 6:00pm CT/7:00 ET, Ms. Laura Murray, author of To Do Good to My Indian Brethren, will be speaking to us about her research and book on Joseph Johnson, the youngest of our Brothertown founders.  The log in information for this discussion is the same as the one above.

Saturday June 2nd, we will be meeting in “Old Brothertown” New York to perform annual cleaning and maintenance at our Brothertown cemeteries.  In addition to overgrowth and the accumulation of trash, normal yearly rainfall causes dirt to run over onto the slabs where grass and weeds quickly begin to grow. Without yearly maintenance, the graves of our ancestors not only fall into ruin and decay but run the risk of being lost to us forever.  Please consider donating one weekend every year, or even every few years, to go to New York and fulfill your duties to those who have walked ahead.  We are working on putting carpools together as well as trying to obtain sponsorship to defray the cost of lodging, eating, and other travel-related expenses.  If you would like to donate your time but travel costs are prohibitive; if you are willing to drive or looking to carpool; if you can’t attend but would like to make a donation; or if you’d simply like to be put on a contact list for future trips, please contact me at brothertown citizen at aol.com.

For a calendar listing additional Brothertown-related dates, please see the Tribe’s website at BrothertownIndians.org.

“What’s In a Name?” Final Installment: There’s a “Brother” in Brothertown

16 Friday Feb 2018

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When “Brotherton” was founded in New York in the 1700’s and Brothertown, Wisconsin in the 1800’s, the Brothertown Indians weren’t just forming a town but a familial community. The difference between a “town” and a Tribal “family” is clearly visible not only in their community gatherings (as discussed in the previous post) but also in Brothertown’s migration patterns and current-day interactions with one another. When you ask a Brotherton today, “what does Brothertown mean to you?” , most will tell you that “Brothertown means family”.

When they were squeezed out of their lands in upstate New York, the Brothertown Indians moved to Wisconsin Territory–together. Over the course of 10 years, virtually the entire community picked up and relocated to Wisconsin. While it is true that problems with the whites made it difficult for them to remain in New York, the government did not force them out; they each had a choice. Nor did anyone force them to move to Wisconsin Territory with the rest of the group. Indeed, there were a few who moved back to the parent communities, or to other states, but the majority of the Tribe moved to the east side of Lake Winnebago. Why? Because, they didn’t just see themselves as a people who happened to populate the same town, they saw each other as family. This familial-based connection of the Brothertown Indians is not only evident in their historical communal-relocation practices, but it is also visible in their interactions and practices today.

In a family, people share their time and talents with each other; they do things for the common good of the family without recompense. This includes paying bills and taking care of paperwork, answering phones, making appointments and repairs, cleaning, doing dishes, and so on. These are the same things that the Brothertown people do for their Nation. Every one of the Peacemakers; Council people; Enrollment, Election and all other Committee members; museum, office, and Tribal store workers is a volunteer who has given freely of their time and talents, often for years on end. Most of them hold down more than one position at a time. Among other duties, Tribal Council members answer phones, make ID cards, run the museum and stock our Tribal store. Peacemakers do double duty by helping to keep track of donations and sending thank you letters. Other volunteers write grants, mail ballots, count ballots, run bingo, cook and/or clean at the BINCC. In one case, a man moved his family out of state to Wisconsin for 2 years solely to help work on enrollment files in the Tribal office. Many other volunteers have spent tedious years and uncountable hours researching, documenting & writing our recognition petition to OFA. Every single one of them is a volunteer; they’re not paid, they do it because this is their family.

Recently, a short informal survey was posted on Facebook. The question posed to everyone was, “What is Brothertown? Stated differently, what does Brothertown mean to you?” Here were the answers:

Raven De: Brothertown, to me, is extended family, of sorts. It’s a connection and closeness that’s unspoken, but you can feel it at tribal gatherings.

Katrina Joyner: cousins

Raymond Brooks:… to me Brothertown is my Circle of life….NATIVE PEOPLE OF TURTLE ISLAND BONDING TOGETHER AS ONE IN THE SPIRIT OF LOVE as a FAMILY, under the Blessings of the Creator The head of our Family

Greg Wilson: I view the tribe as our touchstone – connecting us to each other through the past, present and future.

Lani Bartelt: I view the Tribe As A Window For My Grandchildren To See Their Ancestors, their customs and beliefs!

Tom Schuh: I view it as knowledge and remembrance.

Not only did the majority of respondents seem to clearly view the Tribe as a “family”, but they see this family as a continuum; comprised of the people alive today as well as those who have walked ahead and those who will come after.

“Brothertown”, today, means the same thing that it did to our founders in the 1700’s and the same thing that it meant to those who moved to Wisconsin Territory in the 1800’s; Brothertown means family.

2018 Brothertown Indian Nation Elections

19 Tuesday Dec 2017

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We are now five months away from the 2018 Brothertown Indian Nation elections. If you plan to run, now is the time to begin formulating your campaign and announce your candidacy.  You should contact the office or a member of the Elections Committee to announce. The deadline to get your name in is the March, 2018 Council meeting (meetings are typically held the 3rd Saturday of the month). Announcements can be made from the floor that day. The positions up for election are Vice-Chair (currently held by Robert Fowler), two Council seats (currently held by Roger Straw and Linda Shady) and one Peacemaker position (held by Renee Gralewicz who stepped in to fill the recent vacancy left by Caroline Andler).
Today, the first candidate has publicly announced his candidacy. Seth Elsen, grandson of Ranona Elsen who was very active with the Tribe in the 1980’s and instrumental in getting our original petition together, is a descendant of the Mohegan Brueshels. Despite college and graduate school, and being newly married (2016), Seth has been actively involved with the Tribe over the past decade. He has served on the Envision and 2013 grant committees and has been instrumental in helping to organize the well-attended annual Pacific Northwest gatherings.  More recently, Seth has taken over the responsibility of the Brothertown Indian Nation Quarterly Report.

By all indications, Seth seems to be taking his candidacy very seriously. He has a blog site and Facebook presence wherein he identifies several key issues that he says are important to him and that he plans to work with Council to accomplish. One of these issues is the transparency of the workings of our Tribal government. As a resident of the state of Washington and through his contact with hundreds of other displaced Brothertown, he is well aware of the importance of communication for our people.  Transparency, he believes, will help to unite the Tribe, encourage more active participation, and strengthen our community. He also plans to assist in expanding volunteer opportunities so that out-of state members can be more actively involved no matter where they live. To learn more about Seth and his campaign, please check out his website at https://sethelsen.wordpress.com/ and/or follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BrothertownSeth/.

If you are planning to run for a position in the 2018 elections and would like to have your candidacy information posted to this blog, please send an email to BrothertownCitizen at aol.com.

Upcoming Zoom Presentations + YouTube Recordings

06 Wednesday Dec 2017

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This Sunday, December 10, 2017, Brothertown Forward will be hosting a presentation by Craig Cipolla, author of Becoming Brothertown. Cipolla will be speaking to us about the research he did on our Brothertown cemeteries in New York and Wisconsin in 2008.

This event is open to the public and begins on Zoom this Sunday evening at 7CT/8ET. You can join via telephone, smart phone, tablet or computer using either this link: https://zoom.us/j/774361835 or by dialing +1 408 638 0968 and entering Meeting ID: 774 361 835.

Coming up the following Sunday, December 17th, also at 7CT/8pm ET, we will be hosting Lani Bartelt and Mark Baldwin and will be discussing/remembering the Tribe and its activities during the 1980’s.  Connection details will be posted on Facebook or can be obtained by contacting me or BrothertowForward at gmail.com.

Finally, thank you to Renee Gralewicz for sharing the following link and recording of the recent presentation on Native American Activisim at the BINCC given by Heather Bruegl, Oneida:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clT2-x9sI-8&t=8s

Renee also shared another link concerning sulfide mining which was given at UW Fox Valley by Guy Reiter, Menominee:  https://www.youtube.com/watch:v=hqX2OyhF4PQ&t=20s

Additional Brothertown related YouTube videos can be found on Brothertown Forward’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVyIbYm-3pJ-sJ-XsXm6rog/videos?view_as=subscriber

Updates

07 Thursday Sep 2017

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Photo credit: Thank you to Gabriel Kastelle for taking this picture in August at the Mohegan museum.

 

~Peacemaker Renee Gralewicz gave a Zoom presentation on The Brothertown Collection on the 27th of August.  Among other things, the talk included background information on how the Collection was obtained, an index of some of the contents, and several scans of letters written by Brothertons who served during the Civil War.  A recording of this presentation should be available soon.  Please contact BrothertownForward@gmail.com for further information.

~Also via Zoom AND in person at the BINCC, Craig Cottrell will be doing a talk on our Brothertown Constitution September 16th immediately following the Council meeting that day (approximately 1:30pm CT).  All Brothertons are welcome to attend.  Please contact Brothertown Forward (BrothertownForward@gmail.com) for login information.

~The deadline for submitting articles or member news for the next quarterly report is October 10th.  Please have everything in to Seth Elsen (SethElsen@gmail.com) by that date.  If you did not receive the summer edition this past July, please contact the office to update your email address.  If you normally receive your newsletter via the US Post Office, you did not receive the summer issue.  The editor very recently learned that there was a problem in the relay to the printer and the last edition was never printed.   He hopes to avoid similar problems and delays by working more directly with the printer in the future.

~Mark your calendars for Brothertown Homecoming October 21st.

~The next trip to “old Brothertown” in New York for cemetery clean up is scheduled for the first weekend in November (Nov. 3-5).  Current plans are to arrive at the local hotel Friday evening, go out to the cemeteries Saturday morning and then spend some portion of the afternoon with local historical society members and do some sightseeing.  A trip to nearby Hamilton College may also be in the works.  If you’d like to participate, please contact me at BrothertownCitizen@aol.com.

~Finally, I am pleased to report that a number of the Samson Occom doll display sets have found homes.  If you’d like to visit one, they can be found at the Mohegan Tribal museum in CT, Amherst College in Massachusetts, Marshall Historical Society in New York, and soon, in Wisconsin at the Brothertown Museum and at the Wisconsin Historical Society.   Additionally, an Occom travel set will be auctioned off at the Tribal Homecoming on October 21st.   I still have a few doll sets available for sale.  If you are interested in one of them, please let me know.