2022 Fall Programs
The Friends of Pine Hawk 2022 Fall Program is presented with support from the Acton Memorial Library and Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area, in collaboration with the Sargent Memorial Library of Boxborough and the Littleton Historical Society.
All programs are free but require registration at https://tinyurl.com/pinehawk-2022
GREAT FALLS, A DOCUMENTARY
Filmmaker Ted Timreck will screen a retrospective of his film “Great Falls.” Turners Falls, Massachusetts planned to expand its airport runway, calling for removal of a low hill containing a ceremonial stone landscape that Native Americans identified as a ritual site. This becomes a dramatic story of environmental and cultural preservation. Mr. Timreck is a researcher in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History Arctic Studies Center. Sponsored by the Sargent Memorial Library in Boxborough.
In-person and streamed
Monday, October 3, 7 PM
NASHOBAH PRAYING INDIANS: A LIVING PEOPLE, A LIVING LANDSCAPE
Meet Strong Bear Medicine of the Nashobah Praying Indians and local historian Daniel V. Boudillion as they discuss the 1654 Nashobah Praying Indian Village. Topics include the Nashobah People – a vibrant, living community – as well as the living landscape of Native ceremonial structures, in Littleton, Acton, and neighboring towns. Co-sponsored with Littleton Historical Society and at Littleton’s Reuben Hoar Library.
In-person only
Friday, October 7, 7 PM
MAGUNKAQUOG PRAYING TOWN
Archaeologist Holly Herbster discusses her research on one of seven original “Praying Towns” established in 1669 by missionary John Eliot. Colonial records tie specific Native people to the archaeological remains of the original meeting house and the importance of this place within Nipmuc homelands. Ongoing collaborative research with Nipmuc descendants is carrying this story forward.
Acton Memorial Library. In person and streamed
Thursday, October 13, 7 PM
CUTTING EDGE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES DOCUMENTATION
Thomas Elmore, of the GeoNAV Group, and Eva Gibavic, of Ceremonial Landscapes Research, share their experience using 3D LiDAR scanning, photogrammetry, and mapping utilizing ArcGIS’s capabilities to bring extremely accurate digital documentation to research of archaeological and ceremonial sites.
Zoom only
Tuesday, October 18, 7 PM
ADULT ARCHAEOLOGY WALK
Bettina Abe of Acton’s Natural Resources Division will lead a brisk hike along the Nashoba Brook trail, with stops at the stone chamber and Native American ceremonial sites. Trail conditions can be rocky, uneven, and often wet, and thus participation is limited. Registrants will receive a detailed email several days before the walk.
Limited to 20, ages 17 and up
Saturday, October 22, 10 AM–Noon
PALEOINDIAN LIFE 12,000 YEARS AGO AT THE TENANT SWAMP SITE
Archaeologist Robert Goodby discusses his field work at a site, undisturbed since the end of the Ice Age, in Keene, New Hampshire, that revealed information about the economy, gender roles, and household organization of the region’s first inhabitants, and evidence of social networks that extended for hundreds of miles across northern New England.
In-person and streamed
Monday, October 24, 7 PM
CEREMONIAL STONE LANDSCAPE MOVEMENT –A LOCAL PERSPECTIVE
Many of the “mysterious” stone structures of New England, once thought to be by-products of colonial farming, are now understood as originating in pre-colonial ceremonial practices of Native Americans. Peter Waksman’s talk focuses on contributions to the new understanding made by people and locations in Acton and nearby towns.
In-person and streamed
Thursday, November 3, 7 PM