Responsibility and Repair: Legacies of Indigenous Enslavement, Indenture, and Colonization at Harvard and Beyond

In April 2022, Harvard President Lawrence Bacow released the Report of the Presidential Committee on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery, which included a series of recommendations, one of which called on the University to honor, engage, and support Native communities. As part of this effort, the Harvard University Native American Program, in collaboration with Harvard Radcliffe Institute, has organized a conference to, as the Report notes, “advance a national dialogue on the history and legacies of Indigenous slavery and colonialism in the United States, catalyze deep research, and establish new partnerships with Indigenous communities.”

The second day of the conference 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 feature a keynote by Tara Houska (Couchiching First Nation), environmental and Indigenous rights advocate and founder of the Giniw Collective.

Registration is required and will open in the fall. The full schedule for the program will be posted at that time.

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.

Speakers

Speakers will include (in alphabetical order):

Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, chairwoman, Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)

Ann D. Braude, senior lecturer on American religious history, Harvard Divinity School

Lisa Brooks (Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi), Henry S. Poler ’59 Presidential Teaching Professor of English and American Studies, Amherst College

Tomiko Brown-Nagin, dean, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study; Daniel P.S. Paul Professor of Constitutional Law, Harvard Law School; and professor of history, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Daniel Carpenter, Allie S. Freed Professor of Government and chair of the Department of Government, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Linda Coombs (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head [Aquinnah]), author and historian

Lydia Curliss, council member, Nipmuc Nation

Dallas Goldtooth (Mdewakanton Dakota and Dińe), activist, organizer, writer, actor, Dakota culture and language teacher, and founding member, the 1491s

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

Tara Houska (Couchiching First Nation), environmental and Indigenous rights advocate; founder, Giniw Collective

Shawon Kinew (Ojibways of Onigaming First Nation), assistant professor, Department of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Matthew Liebmann, Peabody Professor of American Archaeology and Ethnology and chair of the Department of Anthropology, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Tiya Miles, Michael Garvey Professor of History and director, Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences; Radcliffe Alumnae Professor, Harvard Radcliffe Institute

Margaret Ellen Newell, College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor, Department of History, The Ohio State University

Constance Owl (Eastern Band Cherokee), assistant director, Native American Cultural Center, Stanford University

Andrés Reséndez, professor of history, University of California, Davis

Angela R. Riley (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), professor of law and American Indian studies and special advisor to the chancellor on Native American and Indigenous Affairs, University of California, Los Angeles; director, Native Nations Law and Policy Center, UCLA School of Law

David J. Silverman, professor of history, George Washington University

Elizabeth Solomon, council member, Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag

Carrie Anne Vanderhoop-Bellis (Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head [Aquinnah]), director, Haida Gwaii Institute, University of British Columbia

Tobias J. Vanderhoop, former tribal chairman, Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)

Brian Weeden, chairman, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

David Weeden, deputy tribal historic preservation officer and tribal councilman, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

We will provide additional names as they are confirmed and the schedule closer to the date of the conference.