Senate honors members of Pokanoket Tribe
Sen. Linda L. Ujifusa, at far right, with members of the Pokanoket Tribe in the Senate chamber Wednesday. From left, they are Council Member Elsie Morrison, Sachem Toni Marie Walmsley, Council Member Kelly Harden, Council Member Don Brown Jr., Sagamore William Guy, Chief Sachem Tracey Dancing Star, Sachem Harry Edmonds and, front, Deanna Guy.
STATE HOUSE – The Senate honored members of the Pokanoket Tribe at the State House Wednesday, approving a resolution sponsored by Sen. Linda L. Ujifusa (Dist. 11, Portsmouth and Bristol) that honors the tribe’s ancestors and living descendants. The resolution commits to promoting and protecting their cultural heritage, sacred lands and rightful place in Rhode Island history.
The Pokanoket Tribe’s ancestral homeland is in parts of what are now known as Bristol, Warren, Barrington, East Providence and Providence, including Mount Hope (Montaup), the historic seat of Pokanoket government led by Chief Sachem Massasoit Ousamequin.
The resolution honors the tribe’s efforts to preserve their sacred sites and revitalize Indigenous languages across Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. It recognizes their ancestors’ “sophisticated systems of governance, diplomacy, and environmental stewardship long before European contact, values they continue to uphold through formal tribal structures and spiritual practice.” It also notes that it was the Pokanoket people who sheltered and nursed Roger Williams back to health the winter he was banished from Massachusetts, thereby enabling the founding of Rhode Island.
The resolution also recognizes the work of modern-day Pokanoket leaders like Princess Red Wing (Mary E. Glasko Congdon), Frederick Weeden and Sagamore William “Wings of Thunder” Guy, who “have advanced Indigenous rights, cultural preservation, and sovereignty, including helping to secure the return of sacred lands from Brown University in 2017.” It also highlights the tribe’s ongoing commitment to land stewardship, educational initiatives, and cultural celebrations.
Twenty-four members of the Pokanoket Tribe were on hand to witness the passage of the resolution. They included Tribal council members Pokanoket Tribe Sagamore Dr. William Wings of Thunder Guy and his wife Deanna Guy; Chief Sachem Tracey Dancing Star; Sachem Toni Marie Warrior Princess Walmsley; Sachem Harry Hawk Edmonds; Tribal Council member Don Brown Jr., who is also tribal historian, his wife Rosa and their children Tracey and Lucas; Tribal Council members Darlene Bruce Spencer, Elsie Morrison, Carter Thomas Jr. and Kelly Harden, his wife Beverly and granddaughter Angelea; Tribal Elders Lee Edmonds and Carol Thomas; Fire Keeper Roger Derosior and his wife Donna; and Pokanoket Tribal Members Ryan Brown, Richer Gosselin, Kristine Thomas Jones, Toni Weeden-Wright and Jeffrey Wright.