Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice

Date August 4, 2025

Reclaiming the Past: Black & Indigenous Histories Summer Institute Returns

By Reina Thomas, Simmons Center Manager of Public Education Initiatives and Community Outreach

In July 2025, we welcomed 15 High School students for a week of learning, reflection, and community-building focused on the often-untold histories of Black and Indigenous peoples in New England. Brown’s Simmons Center, NAISI, and the Tomaquag Museum led courses on the 13th Amendment and The War for the Dawnland, with guest speakers and space to reflect on these important stories.

Altar with personal and significant items from all participants — Abigail Jefferson led the students in an altar ceremony to help ground the group at the start of the institute. The altar held personal and significant items that students and instructors brought in to share. Photo by Kiku Langford McDonald.

The Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery & Justice and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative (NAISI) at Brown University, along with our partners at the Tomaquag Museum, returned to hosting our free 5-day program, the Black & Indigenous Histories Summer Institute (BIHSI). The program is for rising 9th-grade to graduating 12th-graders of Rhode Island who are interested in learning more about local histories, specifically those of Black and Indigenous peoples.

We were able to welcome 15 students from across the state who took three courses during the morning half of their days and heard from guest speakers in the afternoons. Their first course of the day was “Black History in the Dawnland,” which this year focused on the 13th Amendment to commemorate the 160th anniversary of its passage. It was taught by the Simmons Center’s Manager of Public Education Initiatives and Community Outreach, Reina Thomas. In this course, students connected with scholars and artists such as Dr. Alaina E. Roberts, Loki Karuna, and Justice Melissa Long.

The second course, "The War for the Dawnland," focused on King Philip’s War and was taught by Assistant Director of NAISI, Wunneanatsu Lamb-Cason. Despite King Philip’s War being the most significant war to take place in the region we now call New England, it is often forgotten by non-Indigenous peoples. With the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution taking center stage in upcoming national events, we decided to shine a light on a war that happened 100 years earlier. While taking this course, students learned from scholars and culture bearers such as Linda Coombs, Chrystal Mars Baker, Kim Toney, Stone Thomas, Stephen Pevar, and Lisa Brooks.

Following each of these classes, students took a meditation course where they reflected on the material they had just engaged with and also checked in with how their bodies were responding to these often traumatic histories, releasing what they needed to within that space. This course was led by Abigail Jefferson, one of the educators from our Teach-In series. Jefferson also opened and closed the summer program with our community altar. For the community altar, each participant, including faculty, were asked to bring something meaningful that ties them to their ancestors, roots, histories and family.

I chose to add my grandfather’s moccasinash [moccasins] because it connects me with my ancestors through the tradition and literally, since they’ve been passed on from him to my Dad to me. Not only this, but it represents what my Grandfather went through, because he was alive at the time of boarding schools and hatred towards Native Americans, and they represent the shoes he had to walk in. So when I put them on to dance or to honor my culture (Nuchu; Ute), I think of what my people had to go through to get to where we are today.

Ouray LaRose BISHI Participant

Two people face the camera smiling as a young person accepts a certificate and looks at the community altar

Learn more about the Guests of our Program

The War for the Dawnland (King Philip's War) Course

Monday, July 14, 2025 | Simmons Center Seminar Room

Panel with Linda Coombs, Chrystal Mars Baker, and Kim Toney

Cover of "Colonization and the Wampanoag Story" book by Linda Coombs — Cover of “Colonization and the Wampanoag Story” by Linda Coombs

Linda Coombs of the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah, Chrystal Mars Baker of the Narragansett Indian Tribe, and Kim Toney of the Hassanamisco Band of Nipmuc opened our summer institute’s guest speaker series with intention and insight. Elder Coombs laid the historical groundwork for understanding King Philip’s War, setting the stage for a powerful conversation. Together, Coombs, Baker, and Toney engaged students in a rich discussion, sharing how the war continues to shape and impact their nations to this day.

Linda Coombs is a respected historian, writer, and educator from the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe, with decades of experience telling Native history from a Native perspective. She’s worked in museums and cultural centers across the region, including the Wampanoag Indigenous Program at Plimoth Plantation and the Aquinnah Cultural Center. Her work brings Indigenous voices to the forefront, challenging colonial narratives and providing students and the public with a more honest and grounded understanding of Wampanoag life and history.

Chrystal Mars Baker is an educator and culture bearer who brings care, clarity, and honesty to her work with students and the community. A citizen of the Narragansett Indian Tribe, Chrystal helps people understand the ongoing presence and power of her Nation—not just through history, but through contemporary experience. Her work reminds us that teaching Indigenous history is not just about the past, but also accountability, sovereignty, and survival in the present day.

Kim Toney is a historian, curator, and community leader from the Hassanamisco Band of Nipmuc. She currently serves as the Coordinating Curator for Native American and Indigenous Collections at Brown University and the John Carter Brown Library. Kim brings a deep commitment to centering Indigenous voices in archives, research, and storytelling. Whether she’s curating digital exhibits, highlighting 17th-century Native signatures, or speaking on language reclamation, her work invites us to think critically about how history is told—and who gets to tell it.

Linda Coombs sits at the front of a classroom and speaks to a classroom of high school students seated around a table — Linda Coombs speaks with the students, along with fellow panelists Crystal Mars Baker and Kim Toney, seated to her right. Photo by Kiku Langford McDonald.

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 | The Walk, outside the Simmons Center

Wampum talk and demonstration with Stone Thomas

Stone Thomas is a 17-year-old Wampum Artist and enrolled citizen of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. Thoms brought not only his remarkable artistry but also a deep knowledge of Indigenous history, sharing with students the cultural and spiritual significance of wampum among Native nations in New England, especially within the Pequot traditions.

During his visit, Thomas spoke about the Wampanoag's role in the Fur Trade, the Pequot War, and how the legacy of that conflict complicates our understanding of the Pequot perspective during King Philip's War. As he spoke, Thomas demonstrated how to craft wampum using modern tools, bridging tradition with innovation, and guided students through the process of making their own, allowing them to engage in a practice that is not just artistic or material, but deeply rooted in Indigenous memory, meaning, and identity.

Stone Thomas demonstrates the process of drilling a hole through a wampum bead, allowing students to observe the slow and delicate process. — Stone Thomas demonstrated the process of drilling a hole through a wampum bead, allowing students to observe the slow and delicate process. Photos by Kiku Langford McDonald.

A student holds an examines a small piece of wampum — Students were able to see and touch pieces of wampum as they were cut, shaped, and formed throughout the live demonstration.

Stone Thomas demonstrated cutting wampum on the wet saw — Stone Thomas demonstrated the process of cutting wampum with a wet saw and explained the different steps involved.

A student holds a piece of wampum while using the wet saw — After the demonstrations, students were able to try cutting and shaping their own wampum pieces to gain a better understanding of the skills required and the difficulty of this work, both in the past and today.

Thursday, July 17, 2025 | Simmons Center Seminar Room

Session with Stephen Pevar

Cover of “The Rights of Indians and Tribes” by Stephen L. Pevar

Stephen Pevar is a longtime civil liberties attorney and one of the most respected experts on federal Indian law. He spent over 45 years with the ACLU, litigating key cases on Native rights, free speech, and religious freedom.

Stephen Pevar provided students with a legal framework and timeline for understanding King Philip’s War, beginning with the treaty between Massasoit and Plymouth (1621) and continuing into the Johnson v. McIntosh (1823) case, which established the Doctrine of Discovery. Pevar was also kind enough to provide signed copies with each student’s name in his book The Rights of Indians and Tribes, a go-to resource for anyone working in or studying Native law and policy.

A man sits below a presentation screen and addresses students seated around a table — Stephen Pevar speaks with BIHSI students in the classroom. Photos by Kiku Langford McDonald.

A man speaks while gesturing with both hands

Friday, July 18, 2025 | Simmons Center Seminar Room

Session with Lisa Brooks

To conclude our program, we welcomed Lisa Brooks, a historian, writer, and professor of English and American Studies at Amherst College. Her work focuses on the history of interactions between Native Americans and Europeans from the colonial era to the present. Brooks is the author of The Common Pot: The Recovery of Native Space in the Northeast and Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philip’s War. The latter served as the foundation for one of our core classes, and during her visit, Brooks engaged students in a thoughtful discussion of the book. At the same time, she reflected on how personal passions and lived experiences can evolve into research questions and, ultimately, the scholarship we contribute to the world.

Cover of “The Common Pot: The Recovery of Native Space in the Northeast” by Lisa Brooks

Cover of “Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philip's War” by Lisa Brooks

A student talks with the presenter while other students around the table listen — Lisa Brooks engaged the students in conversation by asking them what questions they still had at the end of the institute. She then facilitated dialogue about possible answers to those questions. Photos by Kiku Langford McDonald.

The presenter gestures toward a person out of the frame while talking

The 13th Amendment Course

Wednesday, July 16, 2025 | Simmons Center Seminar Room

Session with Alaina E. Roberts

Cover of "I've Been Here All the While: Black Freedom on Native Land" by Alaina E. Roberts

Alaina E. Roberts is an award-winning historian and Associate Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh, whose work explores the intertwined histories of Black and Native American peoples from the Civil War era to the present. Her work in progress will expand the scope of her research to cover the period before the Civil War.

Alaina E. Roberts shared insights from her book I’ve Been Here All the While: Black Freedom on Native Land with students, explaining key concepts such as jurisdiction to help them understand why the 13th Amendment didn’t apply to Indian Territories in the West, since they were sovereign nations. She also highlighted how the U.S. government violated that sovereignty by forcing tribes, through treaties, to abolish slavery. More importantly, Dr. Roberts shared with students that it was her family's stories that ultimately led her to the archives and asked students to share aspects of their identities that they would like to explore.

Wednesday, July 16, 2025 | Grant Recital Hall

"The Sound of the 13th Amendment" with Loki Karuna

Loki Karuna

Loki Karuna shared his multimedia project, The Sound of 13, which explores classical music through the lens of the Black experience and the 13th Amendment. During the first hour, he walked the audience through the project’s development, providing deep context and insight. In the second half, Karuna presented his radio series live, sharing powerful samples of classical performances that connect to the 13th Amendment, creating an engaging and immersive experience for everyone present. The session concluded with a Q&A between Loki and Reina Thomas of the Simmons Center, providing students with an opportunity to engage directly and connect with other young people passionate about this vital topic.

Check out the Trilloquy podcast, hosted by Loki Karuna, where he decolonizes traditional definitions and conversations surrounding classical music.

Loki Karuna sits on the stage holding a mic and gesturing intently — Loki Karuna addressed an auditorium filled with students and members of the public who joined to learn about music, history, artivism, decolonization, and law. Photo by Kiku Langford McDonald.

The audience of students applauds at the end of the presentation

Loki stands at the podium and speaks with slides on the projection screen behind him

Thursday, July 17, 2025 | Simmons Center Seminar Room

Session with Justice Melissa Long

Justice Melissa A. Long made history in 2021 as the first Black justice on the Rhode Island Supreme Court, bringing decades of public service and deep legal expertise to the bench. She previously served on the Superior Court and held roles such as the Deputy Secretary of State and senior counsel at RIDOT before her appointment to the Supreme Court. During her appointment to the Supreme Court, Justice Long led the court’s Racial & Ethnic Fairness Committee.

Justice Long was one of two speakers during Thursday’s afternoon session with students in the program. Justice Long guided students through the concept of federalism, exploring how the relationship and power dynamics between state and federal governments shifted with the passage of the 13th Amendment. She also helped students understand the distinctions between the Rhode Island State Constitution and the U.S. Constitution, highlighting how each shapes law and governance in different ways.