Community Read 2021

This Land is Their Land
by David J. Silverman

Join us in engaging with and learning about the history of the First thanksgiving

This year, in recognition of Indigenous People’s Day and the 400th Anniversary of the First Thanksgiving, we are partnering with The First Religious Society Unitarian Universalist, The Museum of Olde Newbury and The Newburyport Public Library in a Community Read of This Land is Their Land by David J. Silverman.

As storytellers, artists, and community members, we are deeply connected to the history of our park and our city; however, all history is biased and the history of Newburyport and Eastern Massachusetts, more often than not, leaves out the history of the Indigenous People who inhabited this land before Europeans arrived. This Land is Their Land is a Native centered history of the years leading up to 1621, and the painful and bloody dissolution of ties between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag. By reading this book, we hope to better understand our history and how the marginalized community of the Wampanoag were affected, and continue to be affected, by the colonization of Massachusetts.

how to participate

The four partnering organizations have come together to provide copies of This Land is Their Land in Little Free Libraries around Greater Newburyport. Starting on October 11th, which is now officially Indigenous People’s Day in the City of Newburyport, pick up a copy from a Free Little Library, from the Newburyport Public Library, or to purchase your own copy visit Jabberwocky. You can also explore the additional resources that we’ve compiled by clicking here.

Community Read for Young Readers

History Smashers: The Mayflower
by Kate Messner, illustrated by Dylan Meconis

Everyone in our community can participate

While the Community Read for this year is geared toward a more adult audience, we want everyone in our community to be able to participate in these conversations in a meaningful way. History Smashers: The Mayflower will be our Youth Community Read—for young readers to begin to learn the real history of the Mayflower, the Pilgrims, and the First Thanksgiving. Ideal for readers aged 7 to 12.