"Boston Globe" page B1 "City and Region"
ANTI-INDIAN LAW TARGETED, WITH EYE ON DEMOCRATS
Published on July 9, 2004
Author(s): Elise Castelli Globe Correspondent
With delegates to the Democratic National Convention set to descend on the
multicultural "new Boston" later this month, a regional group of Native
American tribes is calling on the state to remove one of the remaining
vestiges of the really old Boston.
The Muhheconnew National Confederacy says that now is the time to repeal the
329-year-old Indian Imprisonment Act, which was passed in 1675 during King
Philip's War. It authorized the arrest of American Indians entering Boston.
While the act hasn't been enforced for centuries, the issue "should be
addressed as Boston is portraying itself as a new Boston by removing the
legacy of past discrimination," said Garry McCann, policy advisor for the
group. "it should address the legacy from 300 years ago as well."
The coalition of tribes hopes to have the act repealed before the end of the
legislative session on July 22, so it can organize a celebration with city
and state leaders and a number of Native American delegates arriving for the
four-day convention, which begins on July 28.
"We're not looking for a middle-of-the-night amendment slapped onto some
piece of legislation," McCann said. "We're looking for a state, city and
public event with the Indian tribes and dele-
page B8 "Anti-Indian law targeted for repeal"
gates to address the legacy."
The group has sent a request to Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly seeking
proof that the law is still on the books. According to McCann, there is a
chance that it may have been repealed by a clause in the state constitution
providing continuity of Colonial laws. The clause exempts laws that are
"repugnant to the rights and liberties contained within this constitution"
from being carried on under the new government.
McCann said the historical mistreatment of Native Americans after the
founding of the United States shows that at least the notion of the law was
not "repugnant" to the legislators at the time. He cited other
postrevolution legislation, such as a ban on inter-racial marriage, as proof
that the Legislature did not exempt discriminatory laws as the state
constitution demanded.
Sarah Nathan, a spokesperson for Reilly, said the office is reviewing the
request, which it received on June 29.
Last year, the Boston City Council unanimously passed a resolution calling
for the statute to be repealed. However, the Legislature, as a successor to
the Colonial government, has the final say on the matter.
McCann said that he has contacted the offices of Governor Mitt Romney and
House Speaker Thomas P. Finneran and that both were receptive to having the
law repealed on the proposed timetable. A spokesman for Finneran said he had
been contacted by the group, but he had no comment on a plan of action.
Shawn Fedderman, spokeswoman for the governor, said, "A member of the
legislative affairs office listened to their concerns...and we are happy to
continue to look into the situation."
A Spokeswoman for Senate President Robert E. Travaglini said the office was
unaware of the group and its proposal.
The Muhheconnew Confederacy, which represents coastal tribes from Delaware
to Maine, is waiting for the support on Beacon Hill before filing the bill
to repeal the act, McCann said.
"It would send a symbolic message," said Bert "Rainmaker" Heath, tribal
council chairman for the Webster-based Chaubunagunganaug band of Nipmuc
Indians. "That law is a reminder of what really transpired to King Philip's
War."
Throughout the two-year convention planning process, organizers have
continuously emphasized their inclusion of minority-owned businesses and the
multicultural nature of a city whose minority citizens now make up more than
half of the population.
The confederacy first requested repeal of the law in 1996 when Congress
wanted to designate the Boston Harbor Islands, the site of Indian internment
camps during King Philip's War, as part of the national park system.
King Philip's War was a series of conflicts between British colonists and
native tribes in southern New England. King Philip, the English name for
Metacom, was chief sachem of the Wamponoag tribe.
After a hearing on the islands designation, according to the confederacy,
federal, state and city officials committed to work with the tribes to
address tribal concerns, one of which was the state's failure to repeal the
1675 law.
Material form the Associated Press was used in this report.
Interestingly "Metacom" is usually referred to as "Metacomet". His son was
sent as a slave to Bermuda's Governor, and according to legend, escaped and
lived on St. David's Island there, escaping across the coral despite not
having shoes. His mother and sister were said to have been sent as slaves to
Curacao, Netherland Antilles, where Governor Peter Stuyvesant of New
Amsterdam (NYC) was from. The head of "King Philip" was placed on a pike by
Pilgrims and remained there for 25 years according to another story.
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