The Santuit Pond in Mashpee was used for thousands of years by members of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe to play, teach, bathe, hunt and conduct ceremonies. It's now unsafe to eat fish and use the pond in other ways, as warming temperatures and excess nutrient runoff lead to more blue-green algae blooms.
This summer, Santuit Pond has been unswimmable for five weeks, according to town officials. But the problem has persisted for decades. Pocknett said, to him, the pond is dead.
What’s happening at Santuit Pond is an example of a much larger problem. All over, more intense storms, rising sea levels, toxic algae blooms and other environmental crises are making it harder for tribes to practice their culture and to pass it on. And climate change is disproportionately impacting Indigenous people.Buddy Pocknett, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Elder
Mashpee Wampanoag tribe member Isaiah Peters said as a teen he started learning about his culture and recognized the importance of protecting plant and animal life. “When I was younger, I was really disconnected. And I never left the house,” he said. “And then I went outside, started learning about my culture, started using the medicinal [plants], like sassafras and everything. And then I'm starting to realize, like, we need this.”
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