(1/4) On this day, 200 years ago, the Northern Star and Warren and Bristol Gazette printed a story of a shocking murder of an Indigenous servant that took place in Illinois.

(1/4) On this day 68 years ago, the American Indian Movement was founded in Minneapolis, MN, as a grassroots movement towards a revitalization of Native identity and an improvement in quality of life for the local community, through the creation of social services, schools, healthcare, and housing.

(1/4) Yesterday, 248 years ago, a newspaper article was published describing the self-emancipation of a 30-year old Indigenous cook named André from his enslaver, Maitre Grimperel, a notary in Le Cap, Saint-Domingue. The escape had occurred on July 10, 1778.

(1/6) July is Disability Pride Month. In this month, we recognize the way that Indigenous individuals’ experiences in unfreedom were shaped by disability and how this identity was weaponized against them and their communities.

(1/5) Today, many Americans celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which heralded basic human equality and liberty. However, the Declaration and the Revolution were complicated for Native peoples, past and present.

(1/5) Today marks the 159th commemoration of Canada Day, a Canadian celebration of national pride stemming from the original binding of the three colonies of the United Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a combined dominion under the British Empire.

(1/5) Today, we observe Mother’s Day. Stolen Relations honors the hundreds of mothers whose stories are housed in our archive and their unique experiences in unfreedom. #mothersday #mothersday2026 #indigenoushistory #mohawk #womenshistory

(1/5) Today marks the 251th anniversary of the organization of the 1st RI Regiment in 1775, a regiment in the Revolutionary War-era Continental Army that is remarkable for its 1778 recruitment of enslaved Black and Indigenous individuals in exchange for their freedom.

(1/4) Stolen Relations recognizes that histories of Indigenous unfreedom are connected with global histories of dispossession and assimilation. In honor of AANHPI Heritage Month, we stand in community with all peoples who continue to experience colonialism and denials of sovereignty.

(1/3) Today, PI Linford Fisher @linford.bsky.social is launching his new book, Stealing America: The Hidden Story of Indigenous Slavery in U.S. History with Liveright Books @liveright.bsky.social.

SAVE THE DATE!! The John Carter Brown Library and Brown University's Department of History will host a launch for Linford D. Fisher's book Stealing America: The Hidden Story of Indigenous Slavery in US History. Join us at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 24 (in person or via Zoom). A reception will follow.

Grateful to @brownhist.bsky.social for producing this book promo video! Turns out it is not easy to summarize a long book in a few short minutes. I was also to sneak in a shoutout to the @stolenrelations.bsky.social project. Out 4.28.26! @liveright.bsky.social @wwnorton.com vimeo.com/1173391102/b...

Linford Fisher, author, Stealing America: The Hidden Story of Indigenous Slavery in U.S. History

Linford Fisher is Associate Professor of History and Faculty Director for the Center for Digital Scholarship at Brown University. A historian of colonial America…

vimeo.com

Really nice to have an early review, and to connect the dots to contemporary events. thehistoricpresent.com/2026/03/09/s...

Stealing America, then and now

We at the HP got early access to a new book by the great historian Linford Fisher called Stealing America: The Hidden Story of Indigenous Slavery in U.S. History. It’s available next month (A…

thehistoricpresent.com

(1/4) As we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, it is important to remember the historical figures who played important roles. This includes the Boston Massacre, 256 years ago today, which is understood as one of the first acts of resistance in the Revolution.

(1/4) In February, 254 years have passed since William Stewart of CT wrote his intention to sell his indentured Indigenous servant in a letter. This unnamed man had been in servitude under him for over two years. During this time, he had been employed in the active maritime business in the city.

Our team at the Center for Digital Scholarship is thrilled to have won an Excellence Award for Diversity and Inclusion at Brown University! go.brown.edu/excellence 🎉

Please join Linford Fisher, Stolen Relations PI, for a discussion of his forthcoming book, Stealing America, on February 23 at the Tomaquag Museum #book #booklaunch #tomaquagmuseum

(1/6) Yesterday marks 179 years since the capture of two Indigenous men from California was mentioned in Edwin Bryant’s narrative of his voyage through California. These two unnamed men were treated entirely differently due to the relative amount that they were perceived to be helping their captors.

(1/5) Yesterday marks 288 years since the New England Weekly Journal published a story relating to a Pequot servant woman named Katherine Garret in Saybrook, Connecticut. Her legal master was a Reverend named William Worthington, but her unfreedom is not the focus of the news story.

(1/4) Today, in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving. Conceptualized broadly as a day of gratitude, it holds different meanings for Indigenous communities across the country. For many Native people, it represents a Day of Mourning and recognition of past harms.

The hidden history of Indigenous slavery in New England and beyond — @linford.bsky.social appeared on this segment from @ctpublic.bsky.social to discuss the history of slavery in New England and his collaboration with tribal communities in the Northeast on @stolenrelations.bsky.social.

The hidden history of Indigenous slavery in New England and beyond

It's a surprising and overlooked story, a blind spot in the narrative of early America: the hidden history of Indigenous slavery. As colonial powers took over Native land, white settlers were enslavin...

ctpublic.org

(1/4) Three days ago, 388 years ago today, Roger Williams wrote a letter to John Winthrop describing an ongoing search for a man named Reprive who was enslaved by Winthrop. Williams had written a month previously stating that Reprive had stayed with nearby friends for two nights.

(1/5) Today we observe Red Shawl Day. This is a day of recognition for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Today, in the United States, Indigenous women face violence at more than ten times the national average, and these instances of violence are often unprosecuted.

Grateful for the good work of @ctpublic.bsky.social in airing this segment, which features the voices of regional tribal members and also mentions the @stolenrelations.bsky.social project. www.ctpublic.org/2025-11-14/i...

The hidden history of Indigenous slavery in New England and beyond

It's a surprising and overlooked story, a blind spot in the narrative of early America: the hidden history of Indigenous slavery. As colonial powers took over Native land, white settlers were enslavin...

ctpublic.org

(1/4) Tomorrow, 272 years ago, an ad was published in the Pennsylvania Gazette bringing attention to the capture and imprisonment of two free people in jail. The first, an Indigenous man named Thomas, had previously been indentured to Samuel Lippincut in the Jerseys.

(1/5) Today begins Native American Heritage Month. This is a month to celebrate contemporary Native people and their ancestors in the United States, and the rich cultures, languages, and traditions that have existed and continue to exist on this land.

(1/4) Two days ago marks 339 years since the presence of an Indigenous servant named Jasper was noted in the will of Henry Jacques of Newburyport, MA. Referred to conflictingly by both “he” and “she,” very little identity-based information is provided about them.

(1/4) Today marks 317 years since a highly anonymous advertisement for an Indigenous child was printed in the Boston News-Letter. Identified only as an Indigenous boy of 10 years of age, this child was reduced to only his age, which would influence his value to a potential slaveholder.

(1/4)350 years have passed since an unnamed Indigenous woman was forced to make known her community’s battle plans to the MA militia during King Philip’s War. Earlier in the month, she had been captured in Springfield, likely on Nipmuc land, perhaps indicating the tribal nation to which she belonged

Happy Indigenous Peoples Day!