Bike Newton led a bike ride across Newton to the Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration.
Seven riders pedaled with Doug Cornelius of Bike Newton from Newton South High School.
We rode down the Upper Falls Greenway in a tunnel of fall colors to Echo Bridge. The two young riders had not experienced the magic of the bridge. (Nor had a few of the adults.)
From there, we stopped on Quinobequin Road. The road uses the indigenous name for the Charles River. The river allows us to remind riders that Indigenous relationships with these lands and waters continue today. There is Quinobequin Intertribal Paddle each year, bringing Native people and community members back onto the water and strengthening relationships with the river.
On to the Newton Centre plaza. Newton muralist Gregg Bernstein was creating a temporary mural inspired by the wildlife of the Charles River watershed. We chatted with him about the inspiration from his time spent along the river and about public art in this great shared space.
Our final stop was at the Eliot Church in Newton Corner. This church was named after John Eliot, an early settler of the area, who translated the Bible into the Indigenous Massachusett language in 1633. This text, originally created for Christian conversion, ultimately became one of the historical written resources that helped Wampanoag people reclaim and revitalize Wôpanâak language generations later.
Our ride ended at Newton North High School where the celebration had moved because of the early forecast for rain.
As New England weather can be fickle, it was warm and sunny as we ended the ride and joined the celebration inside.
