Native Plant Trust recognizes that the nine properties we hold in trust are part of the homelands of Indigenous communities that thrived prior to European arrival.

These Indigenous communities include the Agawan, Massachuset, Nanrantsouak, N’dakina (Abenaki/Abenaquis), Nipmuc, Pawtucket, Pocumtuc, and Wabanaki (Dawnland Confederacy). European colonization displaced and even eradicated many of those communities, severing them from their ancestral lands and causing significant and continuing cultural disruption.

For thousands of years, these communities lived in a “right relationship” with the land (an Indigenous concept rooted in sustainability and respect), which sustained the rich and diverse flora that inspires our work. As many of these tribes still live in the region, we want to collaborate with those Indigenous communities willing to work with us so we can learn more about their history on these properties, to restore their access to the land, and to honor their connection to place. By listening, learning, and sharing we hope to create a new, respectful relationship between our communities and among all people and the land.