Salem City Hall Portrait Honors Naumkeag Village Tribal Leaders

SALEM, MA — A portrait displaying two Naumkeag Village tribal leaders will hang on public display in the Salem City Council chambers as a way for the city to honor its original residents.

The portrait, which the Salem Public Arts Commission commissioned in 2021, was created by Indigenous artist Chris Pappan in collaboration with the Massachusett Tribal Council and portrays Squaw Sachem and Nanepashemet from the Naumkeag village and Pawtucket band of the Massachusett Tribe.

"It is with great reverence and honor that the City of Salem dedicates this portrait to the People of the Naumkeag village and the Pawtucket band of the Massachusett Tribe, as a reminder to us all, an acknowledgment of past atrocities, and a promise to listen, learn, and always endeavor together towards a better future," the city said in a dedication statement.

"The wampum belts signify the responsibility and descendancy of leadership," Pappan said in an artist statement. "Squaw Sachem holds an English coat, a token requested from the English by her each year per the details of the land title — small recompense for the rights to the land."

Pappan said the figures are surrounded by the land the Europeans and their descendants, who are here today, are shown on the beach learning and listening.

"This was an extraordinary opportunity to work with the Naumkeag community," Pappan said. "I am incredibly honored and humbled by the fact that they have placed their trust in me, and always strived to honor their living legacy and tenacity with my work.

"This project has challenged me in ways I never imagined. It is my hope that I have been able to imagine the ancestors in a way that the descendants can be proud of. Creating a vision of the past has its challenges, particularly for Indigenous people because of the legacy of misrepresentation. I chose not to give this painting a title to honor Squaw Sachem, whose name is unknown to history.

"The title Squaw Sachem was her choice of name so the English could not take or know her true name. I want the People to have this for themselves; the power and strength lie within the image and memory. Their names are their own and stay with them."

Pappan is a Chicago-based Kanza artist whose artwork is based on the Plains Native art tradition known as Ledger Art. A graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Sante Fe and a nationally recognized painter, his work is in the National Museum of the American Indian.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)