| In Honor of Indigenous People’s Day
HCA meets our mission by providing affordable homes and helping people connect to resources, to each other, and to their own leadership abilities. Our work helps so many people stay in a decent home, and in Arlington, which makes our community all the richer.
Of course, HCA carries out our work in Arlington, where we own land. But we know that hundreds of years ago, the Massachusett, Pawtucket, and Naumkeag people carried out their lives in this region, and very well on the land that HCA owns today. They built their own community, rich with its own relationships and culture. And they did that until Europeans came to make their claim to this land. They forcibly or deceivingly pushed the people they found off the land, or killed them to get them out of the way.
The stories of how those who used to live on the land we occupy today were treated, displaced, and killed are gruesome and horrific. Just the fact of their displacement from their homeland and the effort made to erase their culture goes against every part of HCA’s mission to provide stable, affordable housing and empower residents to build a supportive and equitable community. Some people from these native communities did survive, of course, and live today in our state, preserving the heritage they came from and its many traditions and beliefs.
We cannot change the past, but each of us can always do better for the future. In Massachusetts (now you know how our state got its name, if you weren’t aware before!), we celebrate Indigenous People’s Day on the 2nd Monday in October, while that date remains the federal Columbus Day holiday in many other states.
It’s useful to remember why we no longer celebrate Columbus Day in our state and to recall the history of genocide, enslavement, and other horrific violence against Native Americans from that time and from Columbus’ actions. And it’s just as important to take that knowledge and apply it to how we live our lives today. We all have the capacity to learn, change, and do better for ourselves, for our community, and for the world.
HCA wishes you a thoughtful and joyful Indigenous People’s Day. Let’s all learn and remain aware of Native American communities in our region today, and keep contributing the best parts of ourselves to our larger community. Maybe in a very small way, we can honor the people who were so violently pushed out by helping to ensure that today, at least, no one else has to leave.
Learn more about the current life of Massachusetts Tribe today.
Learn more from the MA Center for Native American Awareness |
Annual Meeting! Tenant Council Steering Committee members Sherika Williamson and Michael Mango both spoke about the value of the Tenants Council in bringing tenant voice and agency to the management of HCA’s affordable homes and to the leadership development and community building that they are able to experience and advance as leaders in the Council.
ousing, social services and civic engagement. HCA also holds a seat on their Community Benefits Advisory Council.