READ ABOUT US!
Learn about the history of Tomaquag Museum and what our institution hopes to accomplish as the only Indigenous-led museum in Rhode Island.
TOMAQUAG MUSEUM’S MISSION:
To educate all of our relations (everyone) on Indigenous cultures of the Dawnland (focus Southern New England) through engagement and shared dialogue to reconcile the past and empower present and future generations.
Vision:
All our relations will understand the history and culture of the Indigenous People of the Dawnland, recognize and understand the impact of conquest and colonization on Indigenous People today, and take action to create equity.
Values -
Tomaquag Museum's Core Values are rooted in our traditional ethics, morals, and philosophy. They inspire our actions and guide our decisions as we evolve our organization.
Resilience -
We are devoted to the belief that Indigenous history and culture are relevant today. We live for the next 7 generations, and we know the practices of our ancestors as they have been passed down to us will benefit not only our communities but our collective world community tomorrow.
Empowerment -
We acknowledge that marginalized people exist. We strive to empower the lives of our Indigenous people by making their voices heard and lived experiences valued by bringing the necessary resources to achieve equity through direct service programming and connecting to resources. Thereby empowering all of our relations as we strive for a more just and equitable world.
Authenticity -
We value and care for the resources through which our history and culture are manifested, including tangible cultural belongings, documents, artworks, expertise, or lived experience as they have a unique power to connect to that which cannot be replicated.
Perseverance -
We, as an Indigenous-led organization, tell first-person histories to highlight the perseverance of our ancestors. This knowledge combats historical and intergenerational trauma caused by conquest and colonization, leading to reconciliation and healing.
HISTORY OF THE TOMAQUAG MUSEUM
Regular visits by Native professionals, artists, and storytellers add many perspectives to each visitor’s discovery of the world at the Museum. Our special programs share Native perspectives on traditional health and wellbeing, education, history, technologies, culture, and the Indigenous arts. The Museum hosts classes on beadwork, pottery, weaving, and painting, among others.
Presentations through our off-site programs, lectures, and cultural presentations bring our culture, traditional arts, and history to the public at large. The Museum’s unique educational programs include specialized tours, Native games, Indigenous foods, ecology of Mother Earth, Eastern Woodland slide presentations, educators’ workshops, conferences, and books and curricula on contemporary issues and events.
The Museum was established in 1958 by Eva Butler, an anthropologist, with the guidance of the late Princess Red Wing (Narragansett/Wampanoag). It is Rhode Island’s only museum entirely dedicated to telling the story of the Indigenous peoples of this land. As of this Employee Handbook version date, the Museum, located in historic Arcadia Village in Exeter since the early 1970s, is also the only Rhode Island museum operated by Indigenous people. It originated in Tomaquag Valley, a hamlet inside the village of Ashaway in the town of Hopkinton, Rhode Island.
An Institute of Museum and Library Services 2016 National Medal winner, the Museum has a unique collection of thousands of cultural objects, along with hundreds of thousands of pieces of archival materials focusing on the Indigenous peoples of southern New England, highlighting the federally recognized Narragansett Tribe. The Museum is well respected and is visited each year by researchers, students, and travelers from across the United States and throughout the world.
