Jayden Jogwe - Intern Introduction

My name is Jayden Jogwe, and for the summer of 2023, I am the Abenaki Heritage Initiative intern for Strawbery Banke Museum. I am a rising senior at Williams College, where I major in American Studies and serve as a member of the Native American and Indigenous Working Group.

My interests lie in historic preservation, community building, and decolonial efforts. While conducting this manner of work, I have collaborated with various organizations (mainly in Western Massachusetts) such as the MA state historical commission, the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO), museums, public libraries, educational institutions, and tribal and city governments.

Since 2021, I have organized six panels on informed Indigenous activism and the histories of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community (SMC), most notably for Williams College's Claiming Williams keynote event and Bard College's Rethinking Place Conference. My historical research and Indigenous advocacy has also contributed to inclusive signage and land acknowledgements in the Berkshires, episodes of Grey Matter TV about colonization, three successful state register nominations of SMC historical sites, the repatriation of two SMC cultural items, programming at Williams College, history booklets at SMC THPO, and exhibits in the Williamstown Historical Museum, Norman Rockwell Museum, and Berkshire Museum.

Mohican Homelands sign at Williams College that I helped create and display along with SMC THPO, the Mohican Nation in Williamstown Independent Study, and the Williams Office of Communications.

At Strawbery Banke, I am helping expand the “People of the Dawnland” exhibit, organize the Piscataqua Powwow in August 2023, and update and maintain other aspects of the Abenaki Heritage Initiative. I look forward to continue supporting Indigenous and Native communities through my work with Strawbery Banke, and I express deep gratitude towards members of Abenaki descendant communities, as well as my colleagues, of whom I have the opportunity to learn from this summer.

I am excited to be part of Strawbery Banke's journey towards a more equitable, inclusive, and joyful approach towards history and preservation.