2023 Mass History Conference

Historic diaries, journals, and scrapbooks can be great sources for publications, displays, and programming but they often lack context. This session explores how volunteer researchers from the Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands worked with author Stephanie Schorow to transcribe, research, and annotate a journal kept by four women who stayed on a remote Boston Harbor island in 1891. The methodology for A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure: The Great Brewster Journal of 1891 (History Press) could be a model for similar endeavors. Hartman Deetz (Mashpee Wampanoag) and former Wayside Inn Education Coordinator Katina Fontes will share stories of the trust-building and partnership involved in the six-day process of burning a dugout canoe for The Mishoon Project at The Wayside Inn in 2022. Although the site has traditionally focused on colonial history presented through a white lens, the speakers overcame challenges to foster collaboration with Indigenous groups.