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The Institute's primary exhibit, As We Tell Our Stories, was developed in 1989 working closely with and receiving input from indigenous peoples from all over New England. The purpose of the exhibit is described by some of them in this way:
We are Algonkian Indian peoples and we have always been here. We are Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Micmac, Maliseet, Abenaki, Wampanoag, Narragansett, Pequot, Niantic, Mohegan, Montauk, Shinnecock, Lenape, Paugussett, Pootatuck, Schagticoke, Mahican. Many thousands of our ancestors were living throughout what is now called New England when Europeans first arrived. Our cultures and language are similar, yet all of us have our own histories.
As we tell our stories, we express important concerns about caring for the earth and living in cooperative societies. Knowledge of clay and corn, enduring connections to land, and the spirits of our ancestors are passed from one generation to the next. These ideas we share with one another and with Indian peoples beyond New England.
Our histories are, in some ways, those of dispossessed peoples everywhere - continuing struggles to live on our homelands, adapting to change while keeping our Indian identities, and fighting persistent prejudice. We do these things today in order to ensure our children and living traditions a place in the societies of the 21st century.
We are still here.
As We Tell Our Stories is divided into seven individual sections, each one detailing an important aspect of indigenous culture: Land; Exchange; Clay; Corn; Living Spaces; Deer; and Manitou.
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