The People - The Re-Monument

Jasmine Goodspeed

Jasmine Goodspeed is a proud citizen of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Tribe of Grafton, MA.

The Nipmuc, or “People of the Fresh Water,” lived in the region that is now central and western Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island and Connecticut for over 10,000 years before European settlers entered the region.

Jasmine Goodspeed is wearing moccasins that came from her grandmother. Her round wampum necklace was earned through her participation in the Deer Island Memorial and Sacred Paddle, an event held in remembrance of Native American ancestors lost during their internment on the site. The pelt of a coyote drapes her shoulders. Her earrings are made of deer bone rounds, and a copper bracelet made by her husband adorns her wrist. The antlers atop her head are representative of a traditional Southern Algonquin children’s story entitled “Skeezucks and Paneema,” about the consequences of acting out of jealousy and anger without considering the long-term effects of such behavior.

Jasmine has been working within her Hassanamisco Nipmuc community since she was a child. She is one of the founding members of the Ohketeau Cultural Center in Ashfield, MA, where she serves currently as the Creative Director. Jasmine also works closely with surrounding Indigenous Nations and historical societies and hosts events throughout New England.

As an actor, singer, director, and playwright, she has extensive experience in productions focused on theatrical storytelling within the realm of historical truth-telling. In 2018, Jasmine wrote, produced, and acted in her musical 1675 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The work recounts the tragedy of Nipmuc, Wampanoag, and Massachusett Native peoples who were sent to Deer Island during King Philip’s War. For the Plymouth 400 celebration, Jasmine worked with the Wampanoag Nation and Theatre Royal Plymouth on a play concerning Indigenous History in Massachusetts. This production, titled We Are The Land, told the story of colonization from an Indigenous perspective, bringing forward important markers of Massachusetts state history that were previously untold. From 2022 to 2023, she worked with Historic Northampton and “Plays in Place” in a successful, sold-out series of place-based plays centered around Northampton history. She authored an original drama about one of the enslaved women – “Rose” – in Reverend Jonathan Edwards' household. She has also directed shows for the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School. Recently, Jasmine worked as an Indigenous History Consultant for the town of Sudbury, MA through the Goodnow Library’s “Indigenous History” initiative. Her presentation of research reflected her engagement with both historical documents, and movement through ancestral Nipmuc lands, to better understand the story of colonization.