NESPA Winner: Localizing Contest, 2023
The Cypress, Brookline High School, Brookline, MA
This article was reviewed by newspaper staff and represents a paper-wide point of view.
In 2013, the newspaper staff published a statement on the meaning of the word “Sagamore.” To the 2013-14 staff, “the story of how the first staff chose to name it ‘The Sagamore’ remain[ed] a mystery.” More recently, we uncovered clues as to how the name was selected. This sparked an investigation into the impact using the name has today.
We have decided to change the name of the newspaper out of respect for Indigenous peoples. Continuing to use the name actively disregards the meaning of the word and the history that surrounds it, thereby harming Indigenous communities.
The word “Sagamore” denotes an important leader of some New England Indigenous tribes. The current Sagamore of the Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag, Faries Gray, said the traditional role of a Sagamore was to protect their people in conflict. Gray said the role of a Sagamore looks different in modern times.
“What that means for us today is protection of our territory from being developed. It’s like a protector. It’s a responsibility,” Gray said. “It’s my duty to protect our people, our territory and our culture. For me, that name means a tremendous amount of responsibility.”
Leanne Tobias • Jan 13, 2025 at 8:44 am
I’m a former features editor of the Brookline High School newspaper, now the Cypress and, in my time, the Sagamore. My mother, my sister and my aunt also attended Brookline High, so our family has strong ties to the school.
I can safely say that BHS students of my generation and my mother’s generation did not view the name Sagamore as a slur — we regarded the name as a way to recognize and honor Massachusetts’ Native American heritage. But we were ignorant of the abuses committed against Native Americans in the early days of Massachusetts Bay Colony. That tragic history renders BHS’s use of the Sagamore name unacceptable.
Kudos to the students and faculty of Brookline High School for renaming the newspaper, changing BHS’s athletic logo and educating the public about why these changes were necessary. These are positive developments and should be a source of pride.
Should Brookline High School or the Town of Brookline initiate the development of a local or state program to study and honor Massachusetts’ Native American origins, perhaps the name Sagamore can be revived. A Sagamore teaching initiative that brings Faries Gray and other leaders of the Massachusett Tribe to Brookline and other communities might be an appropriate way to honor the Tribe, its heritage and its many contributions.
Leanne Aronson Tobias
Brookline High School, 1972