Hyde Park’s land, waters and trees are the unceded lands of the Massachusett Tribe traditional territory. The Massachusett took their name from the Algonquian term describing the area visible from the Great Hill, now referred to as the Blue Hills, which looks out over the 9.1 acres of Hyde Park. Hyde Park’s southern border along the Neponset River watershed is part of the traditional territory of the Neponset band of the Massachusett. The river and surrounding marshes provided vital sustenance and transportation for centuries. I join the Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag in this gratitude they include on their website: “There are ways of perceiving and doing things in our community that trace back thousands of years. There are Medicine Ways thousands of years old that we still practice today. We thank our ancestors for keeping the traditions, for their foresight and the gifts they left to us.”