Pocumtuck Valley Voices: A History Museum Sharing Its Community’s Under-Represented Stories of America’s Diverse History

FAIN: ZPP-283972-22

Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association (Deerfield, MA 01342-5004)
Timothy C. Neumann (Project Director: May 2021 to present)

The creation of exhibits on African-American and Afro-Indian culture in the Pocumtuck Valley of western Massachusetts; retention of seven jobs and creation of five consultant positions.

Pocumtuck Valley Voices is a suite of four activities that increases the public’s understanding of American history, particularly lesser-known Native American and African American histories, tying closely with the A More Perfect Union Initiative: 1) a cross-cultural exhibit of gifts given by a Mohawk husband of a colonist to her family, which provides a window into lasting and complex relationships among Natives and colonists; 2) an exhibit on one of the US’s first Native American registered nurses who became an activist; her life is a window into Native American 20th c. experiences; 3) new research on African American and Afro-Indian Veterans of the Colonial Wars, to be shared online and in an exhibit that explores their role in the gaining of independence; and, 4) video versions of in-person education programs on Native American, African American, and immigrant experiences will be created to support teaching diverse histories. The project will save 7 staff and support 5 consultants.