Indigenous Resilience Honoured on 350th Anniversary of King Philip’s War

As New England marks the 350th anniversary of King Philip’s War, Indigenous leaders and academics are bringing the story of Indigenous resistance and cultural survival to the forefront of United States history. While much of the region has focused on the upcoming 250th anniversary of American independence, the milestone of the 1675–1678 conflict offers a critical moment to honour the legacy of the Pokanoket, Nipmuc, and Narragansett peoples. Metacom, the Pokanoket leader also known as King Philip, led an alliance of tribes in a struggle to protect Indigenous rights and lands from colonial encroachment. Speaking to The Guardian, Brad Lopes, education manager for the Aquinnah Cultural Center and a member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe, described the era as an existential crisis where ancestors fought to preserve their world against overwhelming odds. The conflict remains the bloodiest per capita in the history of the region. Despite the devastating toll of the war, the anniversary serves as a platform for Indigenous voices to challenge historical narratives. Mack Scott III, an assistant professor at Brown University and member of the Narragansett tribe, noted that traditional histories often frame Indigenous removal as an inevitable process. He suggests that remembering the violence of the 1670s helps modern communities understand the deliberate processes that shaped the nation, rather than viewing the decline of Indigenous influence as a natural occurrence. Christine De Lucia, an associate professor at Williams College, told The Guardian that the alignment of these anniversaries provides a vital opportunity to reflect on which histories receive public attention. This period of remembrance, coinciding with National Native American History Month, highlights the enduring presence and strength of the tribes whose ancestors defended their sovereignty three and a half centuries ago.