The Pigsgusset* Initiative seeks to increase communication and promote collaboration among Watertown residents to undo the erasure of Indigenous Peoples from the place now called Watertown and to promote inclusive historical narratives.
To this end, we advocate that Watertown residents, elected officials, and other relevant parties work together to
examine critically the current Watertown seal and create a new seal that respects the Original People’s culture, accomplishments, and resistance to dispossession.
refocus local curricula to include more about the Original Peoples who have stewarded this land for thousands of years and how settler colonialism has impacted them;
acknowledge and respect local diversity by renaming the land in Watertown Square currently called “the Columbus Delta”;
take steps to acknowledge Original Peoples throughout Watertown by conducting a critical inventory of public spaces and the plaques, monuments, and street names that are displayed here;
provide educational opportunities for Watertown residents to learn about the Original Peoples, their achievements and struggles, and explore ways to repair and address past and present injustices.
* “Pigsgusset” represents the colonial settlers’ interpretation of the native name for the area that we now call Watertown. “Pigsgusset” means the meadows at the widening of the river and was the homeland of the Pequossette band of the Massachusetts Tribe for thousands of years before colonization.