We are thrilled to announce that, thanks to our community, we met our goal of raising $500 to send to the Nipmuc Indian Development Corporation in the 2023 fiscal year!
As many of you know, the Center for the Arts established an Indigenous Land Acknowledgement and Commitment in 2022, and have invited renters, artists, students, and other building users to support that commitment throughout the year. A number of you took us up on it, and we really appreciate your support. We invite you to contribute to the effort again in the coming year. Please read on for more information.
33 Hawley sits on unceded Nipmuc, Pocumtuc, and Nonotuck land. The building, owned by the Northampton Community Arts Trust, is intended to provide affordable and accessible space for the arts to the local community in perpetuity.
As tenants of 33 Hawley, the Northampton Center for the Arts (NCFA) acknowledges that we operate on unceded Indigenous land, and we know a land acknowledgment is not enough. We believe a land acknowledgement must be matched by monetary compensation as one step in a process of repair. As such, we are committed to sending $500/year to the Nipmuc Indian Development Corporation (NIDC), the 501(c)3 organization that supports cultural preservation for the Nipmuc People. We invite our renters, artists, students, and community members to support our efforts by making a $5 voluntary contribution to this commitment with each class, rental, performance, or event they access through NCFA.
To contribute to the Northampton Center for the Arts’ Indigenous Land Tax commitment, please send any amount via Paypal here, or by Venmo @Northampton-CenterForTheArts, with NIDC in the memo line.*
For more information about the Nipmuc People, please watch this video of Cheryll Toney Holley, sachem of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band, or visit the NIDC website.
*We are inviting this voluntary Indigenous land tax payment from people who use the spaces here at 33 Hawley, however we understand that some people may want to send money directly to the NIDC. There is not currently any way to do so online. Instead, checks may be mailed to the Nipmuc Indian Development Corporation, Hassanamesit Reservation, 80 Brigham Hill Road, Grafton, MA 01519.