Some Native American activists are criticizing Springfield College after the school decided to rename only some parts of its campus that carried Indigenous names.
The school’s decision was a “bitter pill to swallow” for Native Americans like Rhonda Anderson who were involved in listening sessions the college held on the issue. Anderson, who is Iñupiaq - Athabascan from Alaska, is the Western Massachusetts Commissioner on Indian Affairs and the co-founder and co-director of the Ohketeau Cultural Center in Ashfield. She said Springfield College prioritized white alumni voices in its decision.
“For thousands of our alumni, Massasoit Hall is iconic: It is where they first encountered life at Springfield and for so many, it is the place they first met the people who became their lifelong friends,” President Mary-Beth Cooper said in a statement announcing the decision. “Sixty-three years of Springfield students have lived in that building. They aren’t going to call it something else, and personally, I don’t think they need to.
That decision upset Rhonda LeValdo, an Acoma Pueblo activist based in Kansas who participated in listening sessions the college held.