Event Highlight - Treaty Day 250

Did you know that the United States' first international treaty was signed right here in Watertown?

For this episode, I sat down with a group of people involved with putting together the big Treaty Day 250 commemoration happening on Saturday, July 18th at the Mosesian Center for the Arts starting at 2pm. We chat about the history of the Treaty of Watertown and what to expect at this year's special Treaty Day.

Visit TreatyDay250.com for more details. 

Guests:

Erin Rathe, Senior Planner for Economic Development, City of Watertown

Joyce Kelly, Board Member, Historical Society of Watertown

Marilynne Roach, President, Historical Society of Watertown

Matt Jatkola, Associate Executive Director, Mosesian Center for the Arts

Tyler Cote, Director of Communications and Community Engagement, City of Watertown

Transcript

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Matt 0:02

Hi there, welcome to the Little Local Conversations Podcast. I'm your host, Matt Hanna. Every episode, I sit down for a conversation to discover the people, places, stories, and ideas of Watertown. This episode is an event highlight episode for the upcoming Treaty Day 250, which will be happening on Saturday, July 18th. And I sat down with a group of people involved with the planning of the event. The Commander's Mansion was nice enough to give us a room for all of us to gather and have this conversation. And just so you know, throughout this episode, you may hear references to the state of Maine as a region where some of the native partners involved with Treaty Day are from. That is in reference to present-day Maine. At the time of the signing of the treaty, that region was Massachusetts. All right, so let's get into the conversation. 

Matt 0:47

I'm sitting here today in the Commander's Mansion, and I have a nice group of people here today that are going to talk about Treaty Day 250 coming up this month. And I'm just going to let them introduce themselves. So go ahead, we'll go around the table.

Matt Jatkola 0:59

Yeah, Matt Jatkola. I'm here from the Mosesian Center for the Arts, Associate Executive Director. A lot of the events are happening in our space, and we are very excited about it.

Erin 1:08

Erin Rathe, the Senior Planner for Economic Development with the City of Watertown. I am involved on the city side with making this an event that everyone can enjoy, that it does tie to our business community because we have several of our nonprofits and businesses involved. But additionally, we want this to be a day that people not only come to the Mosesian and enjoy the event, but will be around the area and activating Arsenal Yards as well.

Tyler 1:33

Tyler Cote, I'm the Director of Communications and Community Engagement for the City of Watertown. I am very much taking the lead on some of the communications, especially forward-facing, community-facing communications around this project and supporting Erin, however, I can, in terms of communicating with community partners, stakeholders, and supporting in the delivery of what I think is going to be a great event.

Marilynne 1:59

Marilynne Roach, President of the Historical Society of Watertown. We're responsible for the house where the treaty was signed in the first place, and we are very aware of its importance to Watertown's history and the history of the other people who signed it, the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet. So we're very grateful this year to have the city and other arts organizations involved with this to properly commemorate the 250th anniversary of the treaty.

Joyce 2:24

Joyce Kelly, the Historical Society of Watertown, I'm on the board. And I was on the board when the first Treaty Day celebration happened. So I'm here to talk a little bit about that.

Matt 2:36

Great. Well, thank you all for taking time to come together and talk about this. So yeah, let's talk about Treaty Day. Briefly, I just want to give the overview of what is Treaty Day 250, and then we'll get into all the details.

Erin 2:48

So for the 250th anniversary of the treaty, we saw from the city side the Historical Society, as they said, have been commemorating this for years with celebrations at the Fowle House and sometimes at the senior center. And when we realized that this year would be the 250th, the city didn't want to jump on to more Independence Day celebrations. There are plenty of those going on around the state. What Watertown has that's unique about the 250th anniversary is this treaty. And so from the city side, we thought it would be a good opportunity to capitalize on that and make this year a really big celebration of this treaty. So we put together a steering committee that is comprised of the Historical Society, city staff, the Mosesian, the Public Arts and Culture Committee, and several of our Native partners, the Massachusetts, the Mi'kmaq, and the Maliseet. So we have been meeting for about nine months on a regular basis to put together exactly what this commemoration should be. And very much with our Indigenous partners being a part of this to tell their side of this, in addition to the Watertown history, that the Historical Society has done such a good job of recovering for us.

Matt 4:06

Yeah. Historical Society, folks, do you have any perspective to add on that before we get into the history of it, about this, you know, how this year is coming about?

Marilynne 4:14

Well, we're a small organization with all volunteers. And we are very much grateful for all the other help that people just stood up and volunteered to do. Because it's an important enough event, much overlooked, and it deserved something bigger this year than what we, the Historical Society, are able to provide. So thank you. 

Tyler 4:37

I'll just say that Treaty Day 250 is really about commemorating something that is incredibly impactful, not only for the history of our nation, but also the history of the tribes and their experience and their relationship with the United States going back to 1776, which I know we're going to dive into the history. But it's been just in a planning perspective, it's been so enlightening and fascinating to have these conversations with them and what the treaty means to them, even to this day, which I'll allow our resident historians at the table to dive into that a little bit more. But Treaty Day 250 is really about commemorating that relationship. And I hope that our residents that are able to join on July 18th are able to really experience that, capture that, see what that really means to not only the people that are within our four square miles, but also the people that are in modern day Maine and Canada.

Matt 5:34

All right, so let's go back in time now. Historians here, what is the Treaty of Watertown? Tell us the history.

Marilynne 5:41

At the beginning of the Revolution, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the legislature, and General Washington, when he was headquartered in Cambridge, reached out to the Indigenous people to the north on the border of Canada and Maine. There were negotiations and discussions, but in well, July of 1776, contingent from the Mi'kmaq and the Maliseet peoples came down to Watertown to discuss, not with Washington, because he's in New York at this point, but with the legislature, which was sitting here, convened here in Watertown in Edmund Fowle’s House. The Massachusetts civil government continued even after the war started. It didn't descend into chaos or military rule, it was civil government. But the legislature convened out of cannon range of the British fleet in Watertown, and the upper house of the legislature, the governor’s council, which equivalent to the Senate, convened in Edmund Fowle’s nearby house, they requisitioned it. It wasn't finished yet. So they made as big a meeting space as they could on the second floor. 

Marilynne 6:52

And they met there for a year and a half, really, because even though the British left after evacuation day in March of ‘76, there was still smallpox in Boston, and not everybody was immune to that. So the negotiations with the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet representatives took place in Watertown, in the council chamber, in the Fowle House. So in that room, the delegates from the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet were first welcomed by the Massachusetts legislature, who certainly wanted them to join in fighting alongside the Americans rather than with the British. And after the negotiations, it was in that room that the treaty itself was signed on the 19th of July, 1776. And because the Indigenous Nations territories were and are on the border of Canada and Maine, it becomes the first international treaty made by the United States, represented on that occasion by Massachusetts. It's only days after they found out that they were a new nation because the Declaration of Independence had just arrived in town. 

Marilynne 8:00

So that's how we got to be the site of the first. A little factoid of history which is still important, but it generally got forgotten. I went to school across the street from the Fowle House and they never mentioned it. And I had no idea, and nobody did really, I can't say nobody, but the importance of it wasn't realized in Massachusetts, at least as far as I know, until Mi'kmaqs reminded us in the 1980s.

Matt 8:30

So what was the importance of that at that time, other than being the international, first international treaty? What was the importance of that? Like did that have.

Marilynne 8:8:37

At the time.

Matt 8:38

Yeah, ramifications. 

Marilynne 8:39

We, the Americans, needed people on our side. It would be allies who were associated with the border, which could have the British Army coming through, which they didn't. But there were occasions when the British Navy tried to come into Maine and take over parts and were repelled. Like the Battle of Machias, which the local militias and Mi'kmaq and Maliseat helped repel. So Britain didn't get a foothold then on that occasion and in others. General Washington expected hundreds of soldiers to come from the native nations, which was not the case. I mean, had to protect their own homelands for one thing. But there were people who served in the Continental Army, as well as fighting alongside the local militias in Maine. But I hope we can continue in friendship, as the treaty specifies, and that it will be of advantage to both sides.

Matt 9:39

So Marilynne hinted at it, this treaty kind of fell to the wayside for a bit in terms of being recognized, at least here. So how did the celebration of Treaty Day start beginning here in Watertown?

Joyce 9:50

So we didn't start celebrating it until 1996. However, in 1987, a group of Mi'kmaq came down from Nova Scotia and met at the State House and actually reenacted the signing of the treaty. And so when they were coming down, someone from the State House contacted the town of Watertown and wanted to know some details about the Treaty of Watertown. And the town didn't know. And so the town contacted the Historical Society. And they got Paul Brennan, who was the president at the time, who had only been the president for two months at the time, and he was twenty-seven years old, and he had never heard of the treaty. And so he started asking people on the board about the Treaty of Watertown, and nobody knew what it was. And he even asked Charles Burke, who was the town historian and has written lots of stuff about Watertown. Charles Burke had never heard of it. 

Joyce 10:50

And so the Mi'kmaq had come down because they were trying to negotiate some things with the Canadian government and were looking to have treaty rights recognized up there. And not like taking land or anything like that, but like fishing rights and crossing the border and hunting. And the Canadian government wasn't really cooperating and so they decided to get some more recognition. And they contacted the Massachusetts legislature, and they came down and there was a big deal down at the State House, and it was led by Alex Denny, who was the grand chief at the time. And so Paul Brennan went in and learned all this. 

Joyce 11:28

So I wasn't around then and I didn't know any of this stuff. And so I talked to him a couple of weeks ago and I asked him, Why did it take nine years from the 1987 to 1996 for Treaty Day to start? Part of it is that he wanted to learn more. But the other part was he was president two months. The Edmund Fowle House was in tough shape. He was focused on that. So he had his mind on a lot of other things, taking care of the house, trying to raise money to get these things done, which he did, and he got grants and he took care of the house, and time has gone on and it's totally restored at this point. But anyways, so then he started planning a Treaty Day event. And so it started out in 1996 where some Native Americans were in a canoe down at the dock in the square, and they came up and greeted the Americans. There were dignitaries there, town dignitaries there. And then we had a parade up to the Edmund Fowle House where there was drumming in the backyard and a cookout. And as the parade went up the street, it picked up lots of people who had no idea what was going on and spread the word about what the treaty was. 

Joyce 12:35

So that happened for a few years. And through every president, which there's probably been six presidents since then, Treaty Day has been celebrated. However, in different ways. So I think it was in 1999, we celebrated at Saltonstall Park along with Faire in the Square. Even the Native Americans and the colonials were able to camp out there. Everybody loved that. I mean, people were just mesmerized to hear all the stories from the colonials and the natives. Then shortly after that, we decided let's try to do a whole weekend thing. We were able to have a colonial encampment and a pow-wow on O'Connell Field in front of Brigham House. It drew crowds. It was a fabulous thing. 

Joyce 13:21

So then the house got restored and we found out that the Declaration of Independence was read out our front window at the Edmund Fowle House to the town of Watertown on July 18th of 1776. And so we started reading the declaration out the window and having the treaty read on the front stairs. Marilynne also wrote a script where it told the whole story, where it put it all together from the declaration being signed down in Philadelphia to it going to the printer, and people on horses rode up to the colonies and gave them all out, and all the towns read them to the people in their towns. So now global warming is happening. It's getting hotter and hotter in July. Everybody's getting older and not liking the heat. And we have no air conditioning in the Edmund Fowle House. So the senior center was nice enough to let us have it over there. And so Marilynne developed PowerPoint with some great photos, and it told the whole story with photographs right in front of you. 

Joyce 14:23

And that is how we have been celebrating it for several years. And still, still all the tribes, different tribes came. Every year that's happened. And then this year comes the 250th, and we were wondering, what the heck are we gonna do? We were part of the cultural council meeting, and we're talking about that, and suddenly people started popping up and say, oh, we can do this. Oh, I can help this way. And that's how we got to where we are today.

Matt 14:50

Yeah. Well, thank you for that little journey there. Maybe one thing to pop in since we just mentioned a bunch of times. What is the Edmund Fowle House? And briefly, who is Edmund Fowle, just to give that little context.

Joyce 15:01

So Edmund Fowle is the man who built the house. The upstairs, for some reason, wasn't finished by 1775. Don't know why. But rest of the house, I mean, it's beautiful, so obviously Edmund had some money. But his house was right across from the meeting house on the cemetery, the Common Street Cemetery. So when the executive council was looking for a place to meet, he had this big empty space upstairs. And so they appropriated money and people to outfit that room upstairs, and the council, the executive council moved in. And it's beautiful. I mean, these were all rich lawyers who were on the executive council, and so it's got wainscoting and it's got crown molding and it's got, you know, verdigree glaze on the fireplaces. It's beautiful. 

Joyce 15:45

Edmund also was paid for serving during April 19th. He went to Menotomy and chased the British out along with a bunch of other people. He was also at Dorchester Heights when the British left Boston. He also is in the records. We went into the archives, Marilynne and I and another council member who since has passed away, Pam Pinsky, and we looked up a bunch of invoices, all kinds of invoices, paying people to put the council together. There was a chest and three tables. It shows Edmund going to Waltham to get chairs for the council to sit in. He gets paid for bringing a note to General Washington in Cambridge. So Edmund was involved through the whole thing, the whole time they were there. Now, was he living there? I'm not sure about that. I wish we had his diary. But he certainly was involved through the whole thing. And he's buried in Carmen Street Cemetery in a tomb.

Matt 16:42

Awesome. So tell us about what is this year's Treaty Day and the activities surrounding it?

Matt Jatkola 16:49

Yeah, I can, I'll do a high level, and then if you guys want to fill in with some more detail. But yeah, we're excited to host at the Mosesian Center for the Arts this year. We're really excited that we're engaging the entire space. We are going to be out on the front lawn. There's going to be drumming out on the front lawn. There's going to be many presentations on the main stage theater. There's going to be in the smaller black box theater a video presentation that's running. Classroom spaces are going to be engaged with workshops. So it's an all-encompassing event for us. And the entire event, there's a period put on it by a musket salute at the end on the front lawn. And the other thing that we're also excited about, being an art space, is we have curated an exhibition that showcases the work of Indigenous artists. So the event is going to run two to five. And then we're going to actually do an open reception for the artists from five o'clock to about seven o'clock. But yeah, within the onstage program, it is robust. So maybe Erin can speak to some of the details around that.

Matt 17:50

So, one question. So the artists in the exhibition, are these Mi'kmaq and Maliseet or are these local Indigenous?

Matt Jatkola 17:56

It's a mix. So we originally put the call out for Mi'kmaq and Maliseet, and we do have some representation there, but we also opened up to Indigenous artists who call the Charles River Basin home.

Matt 18:07

Yeah. Cool. All right, Erin. Go ahead.

Erin 18:10

No, Matt did a great overview of what the whole event is. I will just zero in on a couple of details that I think get lost sometimes. Tyler and I have talked about this quite a bit. It's a little hard to describe what people can expect when they come, but I think knowing some of who has been involved helps to sort of color that in. So Henry Bear is a Maliseet member. He lives in Maine. He has represented the Maliseet tribe in the state house in Maine in the past. He is descended from two of the signers of the treaty, Ambrose Bear, who was one of the chief negotiators, and Newell Wallace. So he has a direct line back to the treaty, and he has been involved with Treaty Day commemorations for a number of years. So Henry will be part of this. We're very honored that he is. 

Erin 19:01

The Grand Council of the Mi'kmaq, including their grand chief, Silly Boy, will be here. And they have an organization, they call them captains, that represent different areas and pockets of their people within Canada. So they are bringing many members of that grand council. They'll be, as Matt said, there is a women's drumming circle that's coming. They are young Mi'kmaq drummers who are learning how to do this. They will be performing the drum circle on the lawn. Marilynne mentioned that many of the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet men over the years, they didn't just serve during the battle in the Revolutionary War. They have, because of this treaty, felt compelled to serve in the United States Armed Forces all the way through. And so we are honoring those who have served as a part of this as well. 

Erin 19:53

Rose Basque will be there. She is the widow of Sergeant Will Basque, who served. And he also wrote a poem in the Mi'kmaq language of what his service means to him, what the treaty means to him, called Sma'knis. And Rose will be reading that poem for us alongside the commemoration of the people who have served. We'll have a roster of those names. The VFW post in Watertown is helping us with a presentation of color guard to present the flags not only of the United States, but also the Maliseet and Mi'kmaq are bringing their flags. The Massachusetts tribe is going to have one of theirs as well. 

Erin 20:34

And the Massachusetts tribe has been equally helpful in helping us prepare this. Elizabeth Solomon, who is an elder within that tribe, has been part of our steering committee the whole way through. She has connected us as well with the Sagamore of the tribe, Faries Gray. The Sagamore of the Massachusetts is the person who is their culture keeper. So he will be part of our event as well, representing the Massachusetts. They are the people who lived on this land before any settlers arrived from Europe. 

Erin 21:06

So I think the core of the event is not the spectacle, you know, the displays that you will see, all of that's going to be beautiful and wonderful. But there's so much emotional heart to this about the values of the treaty, the renewal of friendship and alliance between all of these different groups of people, the history of it, the way that it continues on into the future, what it has meant for the youth of all of the people involved, and so forth. So it is very much a family friendly event. We hope everyone will come out. There are workshops that Matt mentioned, for example, are in corn husk doll making and wampum making. So very kid friendly to, you know, get your hands on and make something that you can take with you. And so it will be a wonderful event. 

Erin 21:57

The film, I should mention, the film that Matt mentioned, will be running in the black box theater all day, is last year when our tribal partners came from Canada, both the Mi'kmaq and the Maliseet. We were able to get them to sit down with Watertown Cable Access and record some interviews about what the treaty has meant to them over the years. Watertown Cable Access has put that together for us as a short film that will be continuously running in the black box theater as well. So just lots and lots of pieces of this, including, yes, the musket salute at the end will be a nice exclamation point at the end of this day.

Tyler 22:35

So yeah, I just encourage everybody to come down to the Mosesian Center for the Arts, which is at 321 Arsenal Street, starting around two o'clock and staying through the program, which we expect to go through around like five or so, and then continuing to hang at the Mosesian afterwards as well. There's going to be so much to experience. If you're a history nut, that itch is definitely going to be scratched. There's the culture and arts angle of the storytelling around this significant event, will certainly be a part of what is being commemorated there as well. So we at the city are incredibly grateful for everything that the Mosesian has brought to the table, everything that our native partners have advised and communicated with us over the past handful of months. And then of course the Historical Society. And I'm not going to run through everybody to thank, but it the success of this event is very much in thanks to everybody that has gone in to celebrate it and create it. And we want to share that with the community. So we really encourage everybody to come out on the 18th.

Matt 23:34

Yeah. And so when people come, that's you're going around different times, but certain times you're supposed to be in the theater for performance, or is it, you know, people like, I'm gonna have to get my kid to sit for three hours, or is it you can walk around any time throughout the whole day, you know, give that expectation.

Erin 23:48

Fair enough. Yes. So from two o'clock to three o'clock is just sort of open mingling. That's when the drumming will be happening outside. Actually, the bookmobile will be on site as well from the library. The film will be running in the black box theater. We have Steve Steadman and some members of the Watertown Provincial Guard will be in their colonial dress. They're the ones who will be doing the musket salute at the end, but they will be mingling with the crowd beforehand, as well as a reenactor who portrays Mercy Otis Warren. So they will be walking through, the workshops will be open in the classrooms so that two o'clock to three o'clock time is very free time. You know, go and explore everything that's going on. The formal program will begin at three o'clock in the main stage theater. And that's when we'll have all these various presentations, prayers, songs, the historical presentation of what is the treaty and what has it meant over the years. And we will be concluding right about five o'clock by going back outside for the musket salute and a little bit more drumming.

Matt 24:45

Gotcha. Great. Do you guys have any things to add on to that?

Matt Jatkola 24:49

I would just add, I mean, certainly come down for the 18th. That's the main event. I just want to add that the exhibition is going to be open through the summer. So it's our summer exhibition. There are going to be some objects from the Historical Society included in that exhibition. We do have regular gallery hours Tuesday to Friday, 12 to 6, so people can come down. We might adjust them with the youth programming that we have coming up. So just look at our website first before you come down. But it will be open through the summer. So you can extend this experience for a while.

Matt 25:21

So yeah. Anything else in terms of how you want people to experience this or what you want them to take away from Treaty Day when they go into experience. What should they be leaving with, or what do you hope they leave with?

Marilynne 25:32

Well, for a lot of us, it's a new part of history. In the 1980s, nobody around here understood it, including people who liked Watertown history. So it's also important that it was peaceful cooperation and that it continues because the treaty still stands.

Tyler 25:39

Yeah, absolutely. And I would say we encourage everybody to come and commemorate with us on the 18th, but I also encourage them not to stop there, get involved with the Historical Society whenever they can. They're an unbelievable resource in terms of looking not only at the treaty, but all Watertown history and history of the region. Connect with our library. We have a local historian librarian there. Also, this is just one example of not only community coming together, thinking about, you know, Watertown, these four square miles, but communities and what that means to so many people, whether that be our native partners up in Canada and Maine, whether that be the Massachusetts tribe here more locally, and bringing together culture, ideas, and commemoration for what this has meant for centuries at this point is great. But I encourage everybody to come and experience this, whether it's for the first time or for the 30th time, to be a part of everything that we have planned. And if it's your first time, hopefully it's not your last. And that you are engaging not only with the city, but with a lot of our community partners, like the Mosesian and like the Historical Society and all of the amazing things that they're providing for our community.

Matt 27:07

Yeah, and a jumping off point to get involved with local history with Watertown 400 coming up in a few years. 

Tyler 27:11

Absolutely.

Matt 27:12

2030, right. So it's a great time to get involved. 

Tyler 27:14

2030. Yes, absolutely. 

Matt 27:16

Doesn't sound like a real date still, but yeah, 2030. 

Tyler 27:18

Feels far away, but let me tell you, it's gonna come up quick.

Matt 27:22

Awesome. Any other thoughts I didn't hit on before we wrap this thing up?

Tyler 27:26

Visit treatyday250.com where you can find all relevant information with regards to the plans that are coming up on the 18th. And also I'll give a shout out to the panel that is being held at the Watertown Free Public Library on July 15th, an Upstander panel. Erin, maybe if you can give a little more context to that.

Erin 27:46

Sure. So the Upstander Project is a reconciliation project that works not just on Indigenous history, but with all kinds of people to reclaim what has been lost and to bring it back into our view of culture so that we have a fuller picture of everyone who lived in this area throughout time. So they have organized a panel around Indigenous perspectives of the American Revolution that will be hosted by Mishy Lesser, who is a Watertown resident and one of the co-founders of the Upstander Project, as well as some Native speakers, people who are involved in reconciliation projects, people who have been involved in Treaty Day in the past, and so forth, to talk about this other side of the equation.

Tyler 28:30

That event will begin at 7 p.m. in Watertown Free Public Library, which is 123 Main Street. That will start promptly at 7 with drumming and singing. And you can RSVP at treatyday250.com.

Matt 28:43

Gotcha. And someone just want to give like the last rundown. Treaty Day 250 is on.

Tyler 28:48

Treaty Day this year is commemorating on July 18th, starting at 2 p.m. at the Mosesian Center for the Arts at 321 Arsenal Street. We look forward to seeing you there.

Matt 29:00

All right. Well, thank you all for coming out and chatting with me today. See you all on Treaty Day. 

Matt 29:07

So that's it for the conversation about Treaty Day coming up. Again, that is on Saturday, July 18th from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Mosesian Center for the Arts. And if you listen to this the day this comes out, the Upstander Project panel is on Wednesday, July 15th at the Watertown Free Public Library at 7 p.m. You can find out information on both those events at TreatyDay250.com. And if you want to hear more episodes of this podcast, you can head on over to LittleLocalConversations.com. There is all the episodes, you can sign up for my weekly newsletter, and also, if you like the podcast, you can support it there by clicking on the support local conversation button and becoming a little local friend. So that's all over at LittleLocalConversations.com. 

Matt 29:52

All right, and I want to give a few shout outs here to wrap things up. I want to give a thank you to the Watertown Cultural Council who have given me a grant this year to help support the podcast. So I want to give them the appropriate credit, which is, this program is supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. You can find out more about them at WatertownCulturalCouncil.org and MassCulturalCouncil.org. And a couple more shout outs to promotional partners. First, the Watertown Business Coalition. Their motto is Community Is Our Business. Find out more about them and their events at WatertownBusinessCoalition.com. And lastly, Watertown News, which is a Watertown focused online newspaper. It's a great place to keep up to date with everything going on in the city. Check that out at WatertownMANews.com. So that's it. Until next time, take care.