Youngsters Learn World of Town History

The One World, Many Stories program for youngsters at the Grafton Library is focused on learning about the cultures, customs and countries within each of the seven continents this summer.

Their first module, North America, ended with a Native American program by Nipmuc Cheryl Holley of the Hassanamisco tribe.

Dressed in native Indian garb, she explained that the Nipmuc reservation on Brigham Hill Road in Grafton is "the smallest Indian reservation in the country" at about 4 acres. The Nipmucs gather the last Sunday in July to welcome the community and beyond to their “Powwow” but she also mentioned that they used to live in both long houses and wetus, both of which can be seen on the property.

The longhouse was built in 1801 with additions built in 1820 and 1840. It has renovations planned after which the longhouse will become a museum to showcase Indian artifacts and the history of Nipmucs in this region. The wetu, a domelike hut, was built about five years ago.

The Nipmucs gather each June to hold a Strawberry Festival, named after a Nipmuc brother and sister of long ago who were very close but one day got into a major argument. They went their separate ways, but soon after, turned around to find each other. The sister could not find her brother, so she started sobbing from which tears turned into a strawberry patch with plump, ripe strawberries. Soon, her brother found her and hence, the annual Strawberry Festival each June where one cannot come into the circle unless everyone is forgiven from any past year’s animosities.

Holley also passed around several Nipmuc decorations, including a talking stick which allows only the person holding it to talk, a club beautifully carved and decorated from a tree root and a musical shaker, made from a deer antler and turtle shell.

After explaining the history of America’s bloodiest war per capita in 1675, King Philip’s War, where thousands of Indians and hundreds of English were killed throughout Massachusetts, including the first Massachusetts attack in Mendon, she continued to speak of the starvation and death of even Hassanamisco’s Christian Indians who were exiled to Deer Isle.

Hundreds of years later, the Nipmucs now gather to celebrate their heritage and try to regain and relearn some of their traditional language skills, such as basketweaving which the Nipmucs were highly regarded for.Holley then gathered the children around to craft beaded necklaces and bracelets similar to traditional Indian jewelry.

For more information on other summer programs, call the library at 508-839-4649 or go to www.graftonlibrary.org