BROTHERTOWN FORWARD STANDS WITH STANDING ROCK

As a self-formed group of Brothertown Indian citizens and as inhabitants of planet Earth, Brothertown Forward is concerned about protecting our natural water resources and sacred spaces for our future generations.

Because these issues are at risk and are being peacefully defended at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, Brothertown Forward would like to publicly show our support for our Native brethren and our natural resources. We are asking all of our readers to follow the link below where you can sign the petition to stop the pipeline, call the White House, and/or donate to the Standing Rock Tribe or camps.

http://standwithstandingrock.net/

Thank you!

Brothertown Forward

 

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November 7, 1785: In Commemoration

231 years ago, on Monday November 7, 1785, in New York, “Brotherton” was officially named and held its first political meeting.

Samson Occom commemorated in his journal, “But now we proceeded to form into a Body Politick,— We Named our Town by the Name of Brotherton, in Indian Eeyawquittoowauconnuck*— J: Fowler was chosen clerk for this town Roger waupieh, David Fowler, Elijah Wympy, John Tuhy, and Abraham Simon were Chosen a Committee or trustees for the Town, for a Year and for the future, the Committee is to be Chosen Annually, — and Andrew Acorrocomb, and Thomas Putchauker were chosen to be Fence Viewers to Continue a Year.”

The following day Occom participated in a day of prayer and fasting with our neighboring brothers the Stockbridge.

I invite you all to join me in a commemorative day of prayer and fasting for the Brothertown Tribe this Monday, November 7th, 2016.  For those so inclined, let us offer this day 1) in reparation for any offenses we may have committed, 2) for our current leaders; that they be given the knowledge and wisdom to know how and where to lead us, the strength to lead us where we need to be, and the courage to do so uprightly and 3) as they did all those years ago, let us pray for ‘God’s blessing to be upon us; as a Tribe and upon each and every individual.  Let us especially remember Josh, a Brothertown citizen who will be undergoing surgery that day.

*Interestingly, while the 5th letter of the Indian word for Brotherton is most commonly seen as an “m”, it appears that Occom actually wrote it as a “w”.   On the front page of this journal, someone rewrote the word and divided it into syllables.  Here, that letter is also “w” however, an additional “e” was put at the beginning of the word in this instance.  It reads “Eee Yaw quittoo wauconnock”. You can find the original page here: https://collections.dartmouth.edu/occom/html/diplomatic/785554-diplomatic.html

Brothertown Engages Citizens Through Internet Technology

Because the Brothertown Indians are so widely dispersed and no longer share a common living area, participation has been somewhat limited for those who live at a distance from the Tribal headquarters in Wisconsin. However, recently, the Tribe has begun taking some very important steps in the quest towards greater unity and participation amongst all citizens.

In October, we witnessed the very first Tribal Council meeting broadcast in real time online. In fact, online attendees just barely outnumbered those attending the meeting in person in Fond du Lac. For many, this was the first Council meeting they had ever seen. For others, it had been a while. Although those online had minimal interactions with Council, they interacted liberally with one another via an onscreen chat option. Thus, the success of this endeavor was two-fold; citizens were able to witness a Council meeting and hear their leaders in real time, plus they were able to interact with other Brothertown citizens across the country.

Another online option for connecting with Brothertown relatives is via the “Let’s Talk Together” video chat session which is held the first Friday of every month beginning at 7:30 CT. If you are a Brothertown descendant and would like to join in, you can find details on the BIN Facebook page or contact me through this site.

Next, a set of community meeting sessions has been added to the Brothertown calendar. These sessions will be broadcast live from Fond du Lac and input will be sought from all attendees whether in person or online. Please check the members only section of the BIN website for updates and links or feel free to contact me for more information. Click here for more info on the planning meetings and here for the 2016-2017 Brothertown calendar.

Finally, an account has been set up to help pay for the items in the Brothertown Collection. This collection includes hundreds of photos, letters, records and other items. It was purchased and is being cared for on our behalf by the Oneida Nation. Please go to https://www.gofundme.com/the-brothertown-collection-2urrjx6k to donate to the repayment of this debt. All funds go to Brothertown Nation, Inc.