Latest News

Bounty reveals the hidden story of the Phips Proclamation, one of many scalp-bounty proclamations used to exterminate Native people in order to take their land in what is now New England. In the film, Penobscot parents and children resist erasure and commemorate survival by reading and reacting to the government-issued Phips Proclamation’s call for colonial settlers to hunt, scalp, and murder Penobscot people. The proclamation was issued in 1755 by Lieutenant Governor Spencer Phips, Commander-in-Chief of the Province of the Massachusetts-Bay, and member of First Church in Cambridge whose family lived for many years on nearby Brattle Street.

In early October 2021, First Church hosted a special preview of the 9-minute documentary Bounty, released soon after by the award winning Upstander Project. We engaged in a difficult and meaningful conversation about this history; we hope to continue this discussion later this spring.

On Tuesday, April 12, at 7:00 p.m., you are invited to watch Bounty and then join Penobscot Nation Tribal Ambassador and Bounty filmmaker Maulian Dana, Bounty filmmaker Dawn Neptune Adams (Penobscot), Upstander Project learning director Mishy Lesser, and Upstander Project director and filmmaker Adam Mazo, along with special guests from Revolutionary Spaces for a conversation after the film.

Register here to attend, either in person or online.