Ancestral Bridges

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A living archive and museum celebrating the Black & Afro-Indigenous roots of Amherst, MA and the broader CT River Valley, through arts, culture, and education.

A descendant-led cultural anchor on Nonotuck land.

10/21/2026

Ancestral Bridges launched the Revolutionary Responses exhibit in Amherst to honor Black and Afro-Indigenous histories during the U.S. 250th.

07/07/2026

On this episode of Behind The Business, we sit down with Ancestral Bridges founder and director Anika Lopes and learn the story behind this incredible organization. Ancestral Bridges is an archive, a classroom, and a museum all in one, where visitors can learn about Amherst’s vibrant Black and Afro-Indigenous history.

Be sure to stop by 29 Cottage Street to learn more!

Access the full interview with Anika on our YouTube channel 🎥

Special thanks to Amherst Media and Mickey Maroulis for contributing to this video.

07/07/2026

What does it mean to be revolutionary?

Explore this question through art, style, and sound: follow the drumbeat through Ancestral Bridges, experiencing sculptures evoking traditional African metal smiths, watercolors capturing vibrant pine trees and waterways, and the determination of ancestors to make something out of nothing.

REVOLUTIONARY RESPONSES
July 2026 - MAY 2027

Ancestral Bridges
29A Cottage Street
Amherst, Massachusetts
ancestral-bridges.org

06/13/2026

Thank you. Monty & Kaliis!

Join us tomorrow, June 14, 12 - 3 PM

📍12 PM - West Cemetery, Triangle Street
📍 1 PM - Ancestral Bridges, 29A Cottage Street, Amherst, MA

For 413 Gives, we talk to the Elizabeth Freeman Center. Plus, we find out about Amherst Black history with Ancestral Bridges ahead of their Juneteenth celebration.

06/11/2026

✨WHERE WE WALK | A Short Film

The Ancestral Bridges living archive & museum serves as a mirror to the dominant local narrative that frames the establishment of Amherst’s Black community as primarily a 1970s development, with a few others brought to town long ago by Amherst College and UMass Amherst as first students, faculty, and custodians. These narratives, rooted in settler archives, lack connection to the community and erase Amherst's Black and Afro-Indigenous roots that predate both our town’s and nation's foundations. Yet, our stories are alive and carry forward against all odds, reflecting the truth found in towns, cities, and states across the nation and beyond.

Ancestral Bridges is not named for our Bridges family line; it represents connection, bridges, to people and places often unseen, even those unjustly deemed extinct.

➡️ Join us on Sunday, June 14, for the 6th Annual Juneteenth legacy celebration. This year's event includes a spiced-up presentation by the Brace 54th reenactors and a special proclamation at West Cemetery from Reedy Chapel ÂME in Galveston, TX, where members of the 5th Cavalry, including our Amherst soldiers, stood to read General Order No. 3 during the time we now celebrate as Juneteenth.

Visit https://www.ancestral-bridges.org/events for more.

🎬 Directed by Ginelle Bamfo
🎞️ Cinematography and editing by Sheeya Jayabharathi
🔊 On-site sound by Callie Chen Schultz
✍🏾 Produced, written, and narrated by Christina Miles

"WHERE WE WALK" | A Short Film by Ancestral BridgesA short film ...

06/10/2026

06/09/2026

Address

29A Cottage Street
Amherst Center, MA
01002

Website

http://ancestral-bridges.org/

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