09/15/2026
Today, 255 acres of Potumtuk are home.
What began in 2017 with a Pokanoket encampment on their ancestral lands led by co-founder Two Hawks Says at Mount Hope led to an agreement with Brown University committing to a process for the land’s return and preservation. That process stalled for years. When we founded the Center for Indigenous Peoples Rights, we had the privilege of stepping in as counsel for the Pokanoket Tribe and helping move that commitment toward reality.
In November 2024, we closed the first phase of the transfer. One final piece remained, the parcel housing Brown’s Haffenreffer Museum collections, which could not be conveyed until those collections were relocated to Providence.
Yesterday, we closed Phase II.
The full 255 acres are now back in the hands of the original stewards of this land.
"It has been one of the great honors of my career to represent the Pokanoket Tribe through this process. But this moment is larger than any one Tribe, institution, lawyer, or transaction. It demonstrates what is possible when institutions move beyond land acknowledgments and toward action." says co-founder Dr. Taino Palermo.
Across this country, institutions occupy and control lands with deep and enduring significance to Indigenous peoples. Brown University has demonstrated that returning land is possible. Others can do the same. Feel free to reach out to us for guidance on how to do so 😉.
Rematriation
