In US Northeast, Volunteers Work to Restore Native Lands

In US Northeast, Volunteers Work to Restore¹ Native Lands

Asa Peters walked into a forest near Kingston, Massachusetts this summer and started cutting down a plant called Japanese knotweed.

"It's hard. You got to keep pulling and pulling...but it's cool," he said.

It was difficult work in the hot August weather. Peters and other Native American volunteers were working to bring the land back to how it was before European settlers arrived in North America. That means taking away the kinds of trees and plants that were not believed to be there 500 years ago.

He said the idea is "to create a special place where we can do all kinds of great things."

The Wampanoag Common Lands project aims to turn the land back to how it was long ago when members of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe² used it for ceremonies.

The land is next to a body of water called Muddy Pond. It is less than 10 kilometers from where settlers known as Pilgrims³ started the English colony⁴ of Plymouth about 400 years ago.

Ramona Peters started a group called the Native Land Conservancy. She said the 13 hectare piece of land is "where the first impact⁵ of colonization⁶ of this country happened."

Beth Rose-Middleton is a professor who studies Native American environmental policy and conservation at the University of California, Davis. She said the Wampanoag Common Lands project is part of a movement to preserve and restore native culture.

She said the projects help fight climate change because many areas where Native Americans live have been "depleted," or used up. She said taking care of the land in the way the Native American groups plan to might help it become "resilient."

Native American groups are having trouble living in the places where they have been for many years. Extremely dry weather in the American Southwest is causing problems for tribes⁷ there. In the wetlands of Louisiana, native groups are worried about flooding from powerful storms.

The group in Massachusetts hopes to copy a similar project in Northern California. In October of 2019, the Associated Press reported that the Wiyot Tribe has worked for 20 years to restore an island in Humboldt Bay that was polluted.

Michelle Vassel is the administrator⁸ of the Wiyot Tribe. She called the work "healing⁹." She said that is because the island is where an attack on the Native people by white settlers took place in 1860. The attack killed many people and the tribe almost died out.

Vassel said the attack was "a scar¹⁰ on the community" and the work to bring the island back to health "was a way to change that history."

Like the Wiyot Tribe, the Wampanoag Common Lands project hopes to make the pond and forest a better home for animals.

Old buildings have been torn down. Sports areas have been cleared. Even large trees that are not native to Massachusetts have been taken out.

New trees and plants were put in this summer. They include white oak¹¹ trees, blueberry bushes and witch hazel plants.

Cameras have been set up to look for the return of animals like otters¹².

If new buildings are put on the land, they will be traditional Wampanoag shelters made for guests or other community events.

Asa Peters said he hopes to return one day to see how the plants he put in are doing. He also wants to find out how the people are using the land.

"My hope for it is to be a beautiful, comfortable space," Peters said. "A place where people can come and it helps fill them back up."

Words in This Story

cool–adj. (informal) appealing to young people

impact –n. the effect or influence of something

preserve –v. to keep something as it was in the past

restore –v. to return to an earlier condition

resilient –adj. able to become healthy or strong again after something bad has happened

scar –n. a mark that is left after a wound heals¹³

comfortable –adj. producing a good physical feeling; not unpleasant

1 restore   

vt.把…恢复原状；归还，交还

参考例句：

• A good rest will restore you to health.好好休息一下可使你恢复健康。
• His recent success has helped to restore his faith in his own ability.他最近取得的成功使他恢复了对自己能力的信任。

2 tribe   

n.部落，种族，一伙人

参考例句：

• This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

3 pilgrims   

香客，朝圣者( pilgrim的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Muslim pilgrims on their way to Mecca 前往麦加的穆斯林朝圣者
• Many pilgrims knelt piously at the shrine. 许多朝圣者心虔意诚地在神殿跪拜。

4 colony   

n.殖民地；(同类人的)聚居地

参考例句：

• There lived a colony of bees on the tree.树上生活着一群蜜蜂。
• They live in an artists'colony.他们住在艺术家聚居区。

5 impact   

n.冲击，碰撞；影响；vt.装紧，压紧

参考例句：

• The computer had made a great impact on modern life.计算机对现代生活产生了巨大的影响.
• How will the war impact on such a poet?战争对这样一个诗人会产生什么影响？

6 colonization   

殖民地的开拓，殖民，殖民地化； 移殖

参考例句：

• Colonization took place during the Habsburg dynasty. 开拓殖民地在哈布斯堡王朝就进行过。
• These countries took part in the colonization of Africa. 这些国家参与非洲殖民地的开发。

7 tribes   

n.部落( tribe的名词复数 )；（动、植物的）族；（一）帮；大群

参考例句：

• tribes living in remote areas of the Amazonian rainforest 居住在亚马孙河雨林偏远地区的部落
• In Africa the snake is still sacred with many tribes. 非洲许多部落仍认为蛇是不可冒犯的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

9 healing   

n.康复，复原adj.有治疗功用的v.（使）愈合( heal的现在分词 )；治愈；（使）结束；较容易忍受

参考例句：

• miraculous powers of healing 神奇的治病能力
• She seems to have a vocation for healing. 看来她具备治病救人的才能。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 scar   

n.伤疤，伤痕，创伤

参考例句：

• This scar is from the bite of a dog.这是狗咬后留下的伤疤。
• The tragedy left a scar on her mind.这个悲剧给她造成精神上的创伤。

11 oak   

n.栎树，橡树，栎木，橡木

参考例句：

• The chair is of solid oak.这把椅子是纯橡木的。
• The carpenter will floor this room with oak.木匠将用橡木铺设这个房间的地板。

12 otters   

n.（水）獭( otter的名词复数 )；獭皮

参考例句：

• An attempt is being made to entice otters back to the river. 人们正试图把水獭引诱回河里去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Otters are believed to have been on Earth for 90 million years. 水獭被认为存活在地球上已经9千多万年。 来自互联网

13 heals   

v.（使）愈合( heal的第三人称单数 )；治愈；（使）结束；较容易忍受

参考例句：

• A clean cut heals quickly. 未受感染的伤口瘉合得快。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Time heals all sorrows. 时间会治愈一切忧伤。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》