Land Acknowledgment Statement

Kingston Congregational Church stands on the ancestral homelands of the Narragansett and Niantic people, who stewarded these lands with great care and who continue as a sovereign nation today. We acknowledge that this land is unceded and remains sacred to the Narragansett/Niantic people. We acknowledge that beginning with colonization, and continuing for centuries, the Narragansett nation has been dispossessed of most of its homelands in Rhode Island by the actions of individuals and institutions. We acknowledge that Christian men were among the militia responsible for the nearby Great Swamp Massacre in 1675 and that our church members and leaders prospered from the dispossession of Narragansett land.

As contemporary Rhode Islanders, we commit to learning and understanding this history, to acknowledge the past, and to build our future with truth, acting in ways that honor the Narragansett, Niantic and all Indigenous people and the land. As a church community, we commit to seeking ways to use our resources to support the thriving of the Narragansett community.

(Approved June 1st, 2025)

  • 2023

    Witness Stones

    In an effort to tell a more accurate story of the role of race in our history and society, Kingston Congregational Church embarked on a partnership with the Witness Stones Project, Inc. to research and install the first Witness Stones in Rhode Island. We see this as a way to account for our church’s intimate connection with the history of slavery in our location and a way to advance the conversation of racial justice in our time. A task force was formed to research and create a land acknowledgement statement in 2024. To learn more, please visit our Witness Stones project page.

  • Milestone Inter-Generational Christian Education programs

    A group of 25-30 members read and discussed Linda Coombs’ book: “Colonization and the Wampanoag Story (Race to the Truth)” Amazon Link Our Lenten book study was “The Land Is Not Empty”, where we reframed the colonization of North America and ways that the 1452 Doctrine of Discovery continues to devastate indigenous cultures today.

    Winter 2024

  • Spring 2024

    Annual Emig Lecture

    This year, we invited Linda Coombs, an author and historian from the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah and resident of the Wampanoag community of Mashpee on Cape Cod. “Colonization and the Wampanoag Story (Race to the Truth)”, her latest book for young readers, tells the true history of America from different communities. Coombs worked for thirty years in the Wampanoag Indigenous Program (WIP) of Plimoth Plantation, including fifteen years serving as WIP’s associate director, and nine years at the Aquinnah Cultural Center. She answered many questions about the book and the negative impacts of colonization on indigenous people.

  • Experiential Learning

    Members of the church visited the Annual Summer Pow-Wow on Narragansett Tribal land in August as well as attending an educational experience at Smith’s Castle, the site of the gathering of militia during the King Philips War, and former Narragansett summer encampment.

    Summer 2024

  • Fall 2024

    Land Acknowledgment Workshop

    We partnered with Tomaquag Museum to host a workshop and luncheon with the intent to learn how to create a “land acknowledgement statement”. This workshop guided us to write our own Land Acknowledgement statement, use policy, and outline support opportunities. Associate Director Silvermoon LaRose led a day-long session to expand our understanding of how the church came to own our property, which was once the ancestral homeland of the Narragansett people. We learned from the issues facing the Narragansett people today, as they reclaim their culture, foodways, etc. The luncheon catered by a local indigenous chef with both church members and the public invited to attend.

  • Partnership

    KCC has partnered with the Tomaquag Museum by offering use of meeting space at the church and working to support development goals for their new building at URI.

    Spring 2025

  • June 1, 2025

    Land Acknowledgment Statement

    KCC membership approves the drafted Land Acknowledgement statement and use policy.

  • Witness Stones Program

    Partnering with Compass School and the Unitarian Universalist Church in Wakefield, we once again researched and installed a 3rd Witness Stone, in tribute to the remarkable life of Sarah Chaqum, whose mother was Narragansett. Sarah fought for freedom and reparations (and won!) in a courthouse located where KCC stands today. This Witness Stone was installed with a dedication on Sunday, June 29th. 

    Summer 2025