Landkeeper's Blog

By Evan Johnson
TerraCorps Member with Berkshire Natural Resources Council

As a kid I spent a lot of time hiking the mountains and woods surrounding my home town of North Adams. While I got to see a lot of great sites on these treks, I also got to have a lot of great conversations with my father ranging in topic from the fantastical stories of web-slingers and rings of power, to the simple novelties and mysteries the mundane holds for a child, to the very serious changing climate and what it meant for me and these places. And with the appreciation for my natural environment and the fear of their loss these walks through the woods gave me, I grew up.

Many years later and a few months ago, I joined TerraCorps with a position at the Berkshire Natural Resources Council, a decision that’s likely rooted in those conversations long ago. With my service has come a multitude of experiences, but perhaps the most striking is getting to return to these old places in the woods that I haven’t been to since I was very young. With these revisits comes the memories I have playing with my younger sister, my childhood dog enjoying the woods right alongside me, and the conversations me and my father had when we were there. From my service with TerraCorps, I’ve gotten to reconnect with my appreciation for the natural environment in the places that I first learned it. I have also gained an appreciation for the feeling of having a history with the land, and the feeling of being rooted to it.

But with these recollections comes the memories of the fear I felt as a child. However, the fear has taken a different shape. Through my education I have tools and through BNRC and TerraCorps I have connections. With these I have some power to make a difference for the trees and hills of my childhood that made a difference to me.

Almost 40% of land in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, part of the homelands of the Mohican Nation, is currently conserved. This land is under private and public ownership and hosts numerous recreational trails that are open and widely used by the public. Along trails you’ll likely see stone walls or a stone foundation—evidence of European settlers clearing the land for agriculture during the 18th and 19th centuries. That landscape history is widely discussed and well known. Yet the history and current engagements of Indigenous Peoples to this land are more hidden and less known.

Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC) has been working to “protect and preserve that natural beauty and ecological integrity of the Berkshires for public benefit and enjoyment” for over 50 years and has protected over 22,000 acres of land throughout the county. With over 55 miles of trails open to the public, BNRC is interested in helping those of all ages establish a connection to the land. That connection can be deepened by storytelling. The past and present story of the Mohican Nation is one that BNRC is eager to share with all who engage with their homeland.

BNRC recognizes that we can play an active role in helping to expand the public’s awareness of the narrative of Indigenous Peoples. We are very thankful for the partnership, support, and volunteered time of the Stockbridge-Munsee Language & Culture Committee for developing language for two interpretive signs and to Stockbridge Munsee Tribal Council for approving these signs. The signs are now standing at BNRC’s Hoosac Range Reserve in North Adams and Thomas & Palmer Brook Reserve in Great Barrington.

An excerpt from one interpretive sign says “The lands in the Berkshires continue to be of great significance to the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican people… [who] continue to value its history and promote public educational opportunities such as historical trips, walking tours, and history events that promote the Tribe’s presence and celebrate its heritage.”

Including these narratives on the lands we now care for promotes an understanding and acknowledgement of what was and what is. It also encourages the awakening of a wider social and ecological consciousness. BNRC looks forward to future partnerships and welcomes feedback and conversations on additional ways to contribute.

frontdesk@bnrc.org

(413) 499-0596