Be the Voice of Kittacuck @ Slater Mill

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A black, white, and light blue striped image reading 'Be the Voice of Kittacuck @ Slater Mill'

Today, October 30, I went to “Be the Voice of the Kittacuck”, an intertribal gathering and collaboration with local river advocates. Kittacuck is the Nipmuc name for the Blackstone River. As shows on the official poster embedded below, the event lasted from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and took place at Old Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, which is part of the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park.

Poster titled 'Be the Voice of Kittacuck' with information about the event.

I was astonished by the number of organizations that collaborated to put on this event. Here is a list of participating groups and those who sent representatives, with apologies if I have forgotten some:

A ten-foot tall pop-up banner with the title 'Blackstone River Watershed Council'. The banner includes a map of the Blackstone River area, facts about the river, and photographs of the area. Posterboards with information about the cleanup of the Blackstone River and a map of the area created by the Blackstone River Coalition Plastic sign for Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park Visitor Information Station describing the Special Event, Be the Voice of Kittacuck

The program included an introduction of elders and representatives, the opportunity to shake their hands, speeches, traditional song and dance, a poetry reading, a giant interactive map showing the locations of dams along the Blackstone River, and the opportunity to color a fish picture.

A hand-colored paper fish in front of four-story stone Wilkinson Mill, with the fish covering the bottom two stories. A man wearing traditional Nipmuc dance clothing, cluding a feather headpiece, dances in front of a pair of white tents bearing the National Park Service logo. Under the tents, a group of men play a drum. Informational paper showing a map of the Blackstone River area, facts about the cleanup, a QR code pointing to the 'Kittacuck Speaks' video, and the illustration of a blue herring with the words 'Be the Voice' across its body. A tree covers the upper left of the image. Underneath the tree is a large map of the Blackstone River Valley. Beyond the map is a cluster of white tents with people nearby. In the background is Slater mill to the left and a stone church farther away.

The group plans to reconvene in the spring for a parade commemorating the migration of the fish, especially herring. Since the construction of dams, fish have not been able to swim upstream. Building more fish ladders, like one on the Ten Mile River at the Hunt’s Mill property maintained by East Providence Historical Society, would allow the fish to complete their journey.

A large map of the Blackstone River laid on the grass, with wooden blocks representing dams. A view of the four-story stone Wilkinson Mill on the left, and two-story, yellow clapboard Slater Mill on the right.

To learn more about the river and the mission of these organizations, watch “Kittacuck Speaks”, an elegantly shot video:

Location: 67 Roosevelt Ave, Pawtucket, RI 02860, USA