The Nipmuck Indian Reservation
Our tribal council is working with tribal citizens to transfer formal ownership of the land to the CBNI and we are working on identifying our land stewardship objectives and improvements. We have reached out to other Native land steward organizations, sister tribes and allied agencies such as Norcross Wildlife and Mount Grace land conservancy for guidance and some work has been completed in preparation for the ownership transfer.
- Ongoing clean-ups and revitalizations have taken place and will continue.
- Cultural Inventories of the land have been completed.
- Invasive species and Native plants have been identified.
- Funding has been secured for removal and cleanup maintenance of invasives and supporting native species on the land.
- Water and Electrical needs have been identified and funding has been secured to address the identified needs.
- We have seen an increase in the use of our reservation for ceremonial events.
Land Transfer, Oxford Massachusetts
We are working to transfer ownership of a 4.5-acre parcel of land back to the Nipmuck community. This beautiful piece of land is located within our historical Nipmuck home land on one of the highest points in the area and has historical significance to the Nipmuck community. Stewardship plans are underway for the parcel once ownership is settled.
Cultural Easements
Cultural Easements are meant to give indigenous Nipmuc/k citizens special permissions to access and utilize lands for harvesting, hunting and for ceremonial purposes. We are actively working with Land trusts and allied agencies throughout the state of Massachusetts to support several indigenous land stewardship initiatives. Through relationship building and networking, we have been able to construct cultural easements for the many thousands of acres held by the following land trust organizations:
- Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
- Mount Grace Land Trust
- The Nolumbeka Project
- Harvard Forest
- Massachusetts Audubon
- DCR and Mass Fish and Game
Through these cultural easements we have been able to tap into land trust knowledge and revive, utilize and provide indigenous knowledge of the lands.
More information about these easements will be available in a future update on our website.