Discover the deep history and living legacy of the Indigenous nations of “The Dawnlands”—the region we now know as Boston and greater New England. This engaging talk reveals how Native peoples shaped the area’s culture and landscape for millennia, how their worlds changed with the arrival of the Puritans in 1620, and how their vibrant communities continue to influence New England today.

Kristofer Ray is a Visiting Associate Professor of Premodern Indigenous American History at the College of the Holy Cross. Among other things, he is the author of Cherokee Power: Imperial and Indigenous Geopolitics in the Trans-Appalachian West, 1670-1774 (2023) and Middle Tennessee, 1775-1825: Progress and Popular Democracy on the Southwestern Frontier (2007). He also is co-editor with Brady DeSanti (Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe) of Understanding and Teaching Native American History (2022). Since 2024 he has been a core participant in the “Pakachoag Project,” a partnership between the Quinsigamond Band of Nipmuc People and Holy Cross to restore the Tribe’s place in regional narratives, both historical and ongoing.

Non-Members $18 (includes one drink ticket)

Members $14 (includes one drink ticket)

Tickets available on Eventbrite.