The city of Cambridge unveiled the first of its new street signs Friday, displaying the street names in both English and the language of the Native Massachusett people.
The project to add Indigenous language to road signs was proposed in 2021 by Sage Carbone, a resident of Native and Italian descent, as part of the the city’s participatory budgeting program. The proposal was merged with a plan to upgrade signage for the city’s African American Heritage Trail, a series of 20 locations around Cambridge where Black trailblazers lived and worked. Residents voted to approve the combined project in that year’s budget and designated $180,000 for the effort.
The street signs are going up on the numbered streets — First through Eighth — in East Cambridge.
The signs serve as a reminder that Massachusett Tribal Nation was on this land long before “Cambridge” existed, said Vice Mayor Marc McGovern at Friday’s celebration.
“By elevating their language and legacy in such a visible way, we ensure that their presence is not forgotten, but instead is celebrated and woven into the fabric of our city,” McGovern said.
And there are still Native American people living in Cambridge. With projects like the new signs, McGovern said, “we reaffirm our city’s commitment to amplifying Indigenous voices, educating residents and visitors about their rich traditions, and acknowledging the continuous presence of Native peoples both before and after white settlement.”
The city has set up a webpage to explain the street signs and offer more details, including audio of the names being pronounced in both the Massachusett language and English.
Elizabeth Solomon, a leader of the Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag, said the signs are a reminder that Cambridge was not “discovered” by white explorers.
“This project is called Native Spaces because we are all in Native space,” she said. “And in fact, wherever you are in the Americas, and in many parts — most parts — of the world, you are in Indigenous space.”
Carbone said an important part of the project is how it forged partnerships between Native residents, city leaders and a range of Cambridge departments. When people see the signs, she said, “I hope that they are encouraged to question, celebrate and become change-makers in their own communities.”
City officials say they are also having conversations about possibly extending the Native language signage beyond the street signs.
Melissa Liu, participatory budgeting and engagement coordinator with the Cambridge budget office, said the street signs are the starting point for that conversation.
“This is mile marker 1,” she said.
