Native groups seek to repair lands damaged by colonization

By PHILIP MARCELO
Associated Press

KINGSTON, Mass. (AP) — The Wampanoag Common Lands project is among efforts by tribes and other Native groups from the Great Plains to the Pacific Northwest seeking to repair lands altered by European colonization. A Native American conservation group in Massachusetts has received a former Catholic summer camp and is working to restore it to its natural state. Old camp buildings have been torn down and volunteers this summer have been rooting out invasive plant species, replanting indigenous ones and studying the area’s wildlife. The Native Land Conservancy envisions a restored natural environment where Wampanoags can practice cultural ceremonies.