Take Action
Now to Save a 10,000-Year-Old Ancient Village Site
The Massachusetts Department of
Transportation is planning to destroy an “extraordinarily rare” undisturbed
ancient village site that was recently discovered in Northampton, Massachusetts
for a traffic roundabout.
The state’s archeological site report which
details findings from two years of work there has been unlawfully withheld from
the public – but we have obtained a copy from the MA Attorney General which you
can download below.
FOR THE MOST RECENT INFO:
scroll down to the UPDATES section
Photo: Discovery of an undisturbed village in
Northampton from approximately 5,000 years before the Egyptians built the
pyramids.
Noted archeologist Dr. Richard Gramly (PhD
Archeology, Harvard) reviewed the state’s report, which has still not been made
available to the public by the Massachusetts Historical Commission:
“Lands along New England’s Connecticut River
harbor important vestiges of early settlements dating from the Glacial epoch. This
earliest cultural phase is characterized by hunters who hunted caribou as well
as gathered plants, fish, and small game. Their lifestyle came to an end
10,000-11,000 calendar years ago when essentially modern environmental
conditions prevailed.
Archaeological sites documenting a transition
to modern flora and fauna are rare in northeastern North America. Intact
village sites of this early era that escaped later re-occupation are extraordinarily
rare.
Stone artifacts, hearths, dietary remains,
and ritual features, which by good fortune survived 10,000 years of burial, are
precious to scholars and all students of the human past. This evidence links
New England inhabitants with distant North American peoples of the same period.
Therefore, it is shocking to learn that a partially-explored village site of this ancient era
in Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, currently known as the Skibiski Site by MassDOT, is threatened
with total destruction by non-essential highway construction.
Expanded study of such a remarkable site, as
well as its continuing preservation for future generations of New Englanders,
command our attention and must be allowed to proceed without any interference.”
The state’s unreleased 164-page archeological
report called the site an "incredibly rare archeological discovery"
that is "eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic
Places". The formal recommendation was to preserve
the site.
Two federally recognized Native American
tribes, the Narragansett and the Wampanoag Aquinnah,
have requested full preservation of the site.
According to Dr. Gramly who reviewed the
report, approximately 20-25% of the known site was excavated. 75-80% remains to
be uncovered. Significantly, the state’s report says it is “highly likely”
there are at least two hearths underground waiting to be revealed and
radiocarbon tested.
It is also nearly certain that there are further features which have not yet
been discovered as the testing interval for the site was too wide to reveal all
prehistoric habitation loci.
What can I do to prevent the destruction of
this ancient village site?
1. Click
here to sign the petition
2. Write
Governor Baker, his office is aware and soliciting public comment: https://www.mass.gov/forms/email-the-governors-office
3. Forward
that letter to Jose Delgado, Governor Baker’s Director of Western Mass Jose.delgado@mass.gov
4. Share
this with interested parties, especially the petition on Facebook
For more information contact: John Skibiski
413-586-1827 john@skibiski.com
UPDATES:
November 18, 2021: We have formed a new organization
to fight the only-for-show Massachusetts Historical Commission and make sure
this never happens again: www.nayyag.org
June 16: Detailed summary of recent events
from River Valley Co-Op’s newsletter.
June 2: Long article in The
Reminder about what has happened so far, from beginning to end, containing
many important quotes from the various parties involved. Also, new info from
Wayne Feiden, City of Northampton.
May 27th: We have confirmed with
the Federal Highway Administration that the project is still on. They are also waiting
to hear from MassDOT what “re-evaluate the project” means. Nobody we know has
received any further information beyond the MassDOT press release.
May 26th: Northampton Historical
Commission votes unanimously that the site should be preserved. The
Republican. This is great, but, only the City Council and Mayor have the
power to make that vote mean something and they are still
pro-roundabout-as-planned.
May 21st: Front page stories about
MassDOT’s decision to “re-evaluate the project
design” in The
Republican and the Daily
Hampshire Gazette. CommonWealth Magazine. TV news segments on WGGB
TV 40 and WWLP
TV 22.
May 19th: Senator Jo Comerford wrote
to constituents, “MassDOT will be terminating the proposed
roundabout project”. To be clear, this is not our understanding. MassDOT only
terminated the active construction contract as the contractors have been
sitting idle - for “re-evaluation of the design”. The project has not been
terminated.
May 18th: MassDOT issued
a press release stating that they will “undertake a re-evaluation of
the project design, taking public opposition into account”. The Skibiskis, the Aquinnah Wampanoag, and the Narragansett
have not received any direct communication from MassDOT yet, which would have
much more legal significance than a press release. Nowhere was it stated that
the project has been cancelled, though it appears that all the public attention
has saved it from imminent, unlawful, reckless destruction without due process.
February 17th: MassDOT held a
public meeting. There was plenty of opposition, including from Mark Andrews of
the Aquinnah Wampanoag. MassDOT stated they are continuing with the roundabout
project as originally planned. Unbelievably, after discovery of the Native site
they did not seek or do analysis of alternatives which may preserve the site. Full 3
hours video, Top
10 Takeaways document, and transcript
of key points. Daily Hampshire Gazette article. Next we await the updated MEPA filing from MassDOT for
public comment – round II.
February 1st: MassDOT released 578
letters of opposition to destruction of the Native site, which were
received by the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office (MEPA) prior to
MassDOT withdrawing their application.
January 18th: Detailed
update letter sent to petition signers. We are demanding major changes at
the Massachusetts Historical Commission. This 17-person Commission does not
have a single Native American representative on it. Also, a very
thorough FAQ document by River Valley Co-op.
January 5-7, 2021: Springfield Republican
front page print edition: State
backs off Northampton roundabout project at 10,000-year-old native site,
WWLP TV22: Northampton
rotary construction put on hold after petition gets 55,000 signatures,
Daily Hampshire Gazette: State
Halts Comment on Controversial Roundabout
December 31st: Letter
sent to Governor Baker et al, specifically highlighting unlawful activities
by the Massachusetts Historical Commission and MassDOT.
October 10th: Front page article,
Daily Hampshire Gazette: Narragansett
Indian Tribe Calls to Preserve Indigenous Site as Holiday Looms
October 7th: The Oct 5th
press release with the addition of artifact photos, graphics, and maps: Why
is Northampton Permitting Destruction of a 10,000-Year-Old Native American Site
on Indigenous Peoples Day?
October 5th: The following press
release was issued today, in consultation with John Brown, Historic
Preservation Officer of the Narragansett Indian Tribe, and Mark Andrews, tribal
cultural resource monitor for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head: Northampton
Celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day Permitting Destruction of
10,000-Year-Old Native American Site Eligible for National Register of Historic
Places.
September 27th: In advance of
Indigenous Peoples Day on October 12th, John Skibiski’s Letter to the
Editor in The Daily Hampshire Gazette: Why Does the City
Remain Silent About Discovery of Artifacts? And Northampton’s
2016 City Council Resolution establishing Indigenous Peoples Day.
July 13th:
The Skibiski injunction hearing originally scheduled for today has been
postponed, pending release of Section 106 documents which include formal site
assessments by Native American tribes. Also, Daily Hampshire Gazette letters:
Diane L. Kleber:
Why has roundabout project been ‘secretly managed’ and Rodney K. Kunath: Ditch the roundabout. MassLive
article: Native
artifacts delay Northampton roundabout construction until at least August.
July 7th: MassLive
article: Wampanoag
official favors applying brakes to Northampton rotary project for additional
archaeological examination.
July 6th: Native American history
of the site, written by Nohham Cachat-Schilling, a published researcher on regional Native
culture and archaeology, and Chair, Massachusetts Ethical Archaeology Society.
July 3rd: Update
email sent to petition signers regarding recent progress and attempts to
speak with the Nipmuc Nation. Also, another detailed
update post written by River Valley Co-Op. And, an
old
photo taken near the site.
July 2nd: WGBY’s segment on
Connecting Point which has aired twice this week, interviewing Joe Graveline, former President of the Nolumbeka
Project & Dr. Richard Gramly.
July 1st: Article in CommonWealth. This article quotes Hartman Deetz, of the
Mashpee Wampanoag. The Daily Hampshire Gazette quoted Mark Andrews from the
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, on June 26th. These are the only two
federally recognized Native American tribes in Massachusetts. This enables them
to participate in the Section 106 process, which will determine the fate of the
archeological site.
June 30th: For clarification: The
Skibiski family’s #1 desired outcome would be that the site be left
undisturbed.
June 30th: 22 News WWLP video
segment. MassLive article.
MassLive profile
of John Skibiski (2/2019). UK Daily
Mail article.
June 30th: Letter
of apology to the Nipmuc Nation of Massachusetts. The Skibiski family
regrets implying on the petition that we represent them or speak on their
behalf in any way. We have been working directly with other Native Americans on
this matter and are in contact with federally recognized tribes. We have tried a number of times to contact the Nipmuc with no success.
June 28th: The “Skibiski Site” as
named by MassDOT should have an appropriate Native American name.
June 28th: If the Skibiski family
wins an injunction on July 13th in Hampshire County Superior Court
permitting re-examination the site, thanks to a very generous pro-bono offer
from Dr. Mike Prentice, PhD of Geoscy LLC, the greater site area will be scanned with
non-invasive Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to potentially reveal additional
features. All new site information will be shared with the public.
June 26th: **IMPORTANT** The
Skibiski family received permission from the Attorney General to share the
state’s archeological site report with the public. The State Archeologist has
still not released it. Download
here. Note the summaries on pages 38 & 42. Yellow highlighting
ours.
June 26th: Daily Hampshire
Gazette: Digging
for the truth: Roundabout project stirs archaeological hunt, lawsuit
and public outcry (major article)
June 26th: MassLive:
10,000-year-old
‘once in a lifetime’ archaeological site in Northampton sparks fight over
artifacts, access in roundabout project
June 26th: The Attorney General’s
office informed the Skibiski’s attorney that there will be “no boots on ground”
at the Skibiski site before July 20th. Also, here is the link to the city’s
website which states “Project awarded to Ludlow Construction”. And, River Valley Co-Op wrote another detailed
post.
June 24th, 2020: River Valley
Co-Op wrote a detailed
blog post about the recent events and how we got here.
Note
on article: The state’s unreleased archeological site report contradicts the
public statement above (and others) that “the site is no longer there”.
This website was constructed by
Greg Skibiski in an effort to preserve North American
history and return the artifacts to Native Americans. The Skibiski family,
former owners of the site before it was taken by eminent domain, have been
working closely with the Aquinnah Wampanoag and Narragansett tribes in these
efforts.