Brown University has officially transferred a portion of its property in Rhode Island to the Pokanoket Indian Tribe, marking the culmination of years of negotiation. The university relinquished approximately 255 acres of land in Bristol, known for its historical and cultural significance to Native American communities, including the Pokanoket Tribe. The land transfer, announced on November 15, was part of an agreement dating back to 2017 after members of the tribe set up a month-long encampment on the property.
The 255-acre site, once the location of Brown’s Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, is recognized as “traditional cultural property.” It holds profound historical importance as the ancestral home of Metacom, also known as King Philip, the leader of the Pokanoket people, who was killed on the land during King Philip’s War in 1676. The property will now be preserved under a trust established by the Pokanoket Tribe, ensuring its ongoing accessibility to Native peoples of the region.
In a statement announcing the transfer, Brown University explained, “As the ancestral home of Metacom, and the site of his 1676 death during King Philip’s War, the land holds great historical and cultural significance to members of many Native and Indigenous communities.” The university also confirmed that the Haffenreffer Museum would have to relocate as part of the agreement.
In addition to the land transfer, Brown also sold 120 acres of adjacent land for $1.7 million to the Town of Bristol for preservation and conservation purposes. This sale was part of a broader effort to safeguard the area’s natural beauty and historical heritage, in line with the intentions expressed by the Haffenreffer family when they donated the property to Brown in 1955.
Russell Carey, Brown’s executive vice president for planning and policy, emphasized the university’s commitment to the preservation of the land. “The 1955 letter from the Haffenreffer Family noted that the family felt ‘sure that the Trustees of an institution like Brown will not be unmindful of the property’s great natural beauty, its historical background or the best interests of the Bristol community,'” Carey said. “Those words remain as true and relevant today as when they were written nearly 70 years ago, and the steps we are taking to preserve the land in perpetuity are, we believe, fully consistent with that vision.”
As part of the agreement, the Pokanoket Tribe is required to consult with other Native American tribes that may have had historical ties to the land. Brown University confirmed the details of the land transfer and sale but referred additional questions to the press release issued by the school.
