Paula Peters will explore the deep relationship between environmental health, Indigenous knowledge, and cultural practice. Focusing on native materials such as bulrush and wampum, the talk will show how plants and shells are not simply resources, but living connections to land, water, craft, and identity. Peters will discuss how invasive species, development, and ecological imbalance threaten these traditions—and how restoration efforts to bring native plants back can help renew both the landscape and the cultural practices rooted within it.

Paula Peters is the founder of the Native American creative agency SmokeSygnals, an independent scholar and a politically, socially, and culturally active member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. As an independent scholar and writer of Native, and particularly Wampanoag history, she is a producer of the traveling exhibit “Our” Story: 400 Years of Wampanoag History and is currently engaged in the Wampum Belt Project in search of the lost treasures of Metacom, including an effort to restore the art and tradition of wampum making among her people. She is the executive producer of the 2016 documentary film Mashpee Nine and author of the companion book. She lives with her extended family in Mashpee and travels internationally to speak and educate on the true Wampanoag story. A graduate of Bridgewater State College, she was formerly a writer at the Cape Cod Times where she won numerous national awards for her journalism.

This lecture is presented as a part of our 2026 Lowell Lecture Series, “Engrave, Paint, Sew, Weave: Craft and Craftspeople in Massachusetts.” Craft transcends boundaries of place, time, and culture by communicating across literal and figurative distances. Many craft traditions are also deeply rooted in the places they are practiced in, influenced by local climates, geographies, and resources. Inspired by Paul Revere’s legacy as an artisan, this series delves into four local and regional histories of craft and craftspeople.

Lectures take place on Mondays, September 14 and 28 and October 05 and 26, from 6:30 to 7:45 pm. Lectures are free to the public and can be watched online (link coming soon!) or in person at Smith Commons (5th floor), Sargent Hall, Suffolk University, 120 Tremont Street. The lectures will be recorded and available after the fact.

The in-person location is wheelchair accessible and has accessible restrooms. Seating is in free-standing chairs which may be moved. The live-stream and recording will have auto-generated closed captions only. Please contact the Paul Revere House with any questions about accessibility.

Presented in partnership with GBH Forum Network, the Suffolk University History Department, and the Museum of Fine Arts, with funding from the Lowell Institute.