The land of the Beals Preserve sits on the traditional land of the Nipmuc people. The Nipmuc Nation is a state-recognized Indigenous group with approximately 500 enrolled members today based at the Hassanamisco Reservation (in Grafton, MA). During the colonization of North America, the Nipmuc people had organized government and agricultural development on this land that the settlers wanted to take over.

The map below shows the territories of the First Nations groups in Massachusetts.

https://native-land.ca/

Nipmuc refers to the people of the territory called “Nippienet” meaning “Land of the Fresh Water People.”