Cheryll Toney Holley facts for kids

Cheryll Toney Holley is an important leader and historian for Native Americans in the United States. She is a genealogist, which means she studies family histories. She also directs a museum. Cheryll Toney Holley is the Sonksq, or female chief, of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band. This is a Native American tribe recognized by the state of Massachusetts.

Cheryll Toney Holley's Work

Leading the Nipmuc Tribe

Cheryll Toney Holley became the Sonksq of her tribe in July 2013. She took over after Chief Walter Vickers stepped down. As Sonksq, she helps her tribe in many ways. This includes giving spiritual advice and helping people find jobs. She is the third female chief for the Nipmuc tribe in the last fifty years.

Helping with Health and Community

Holley is one of five women who started the Nipmuc Women’s Health Coalition. This group of Native American women works to make sure Nipmuc people get health care that respects their culture. She also helped create the Nipmuc Indian Development Corporation. This group helps the Native American community grow and develop. She is also the director of the Hassanamisco Indian Museum. This museum is located in Grafton, Massachusetts.

Her Past Experience

Before becoming chief in 2013, Holley worked as a supervisor at a medical center. From 1998 to 2008, she was part of the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs. This group advises the state on issues important to Native Americans. She also owns a business called PastTense Genealogy. Through this business, she helps connect people in New England to their family histories, especially those from communities of color.

Sharing History and Knowledge

Speaking About Native American History

Cheryll Toney Holley is a historian. She specializes in the family histories of Native Americans and African Americans. She often speaks about important topics.

In June 2014, she joined other tribal leaders in Boston. They talked about how Massachusetts laws caused Native American tribes to lose their land. Holley explained that by the end of the 1600s, most of the Hassanamesit Nipmuc reservation land was sold to European settlers. Today, only three acres of the original land remain in Grafton, Massachusetts.

Discussing Important Issues

In March 2015, Holley spoke at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She discussed the challenges of "repatriation work." This is the effort to properly rebury the remains of tribal members that have been kept in museums or other places. In April 2015, Holley spoke at a genealogy conference. She talked about how New England's rivers and waterways were like highways. They helped different tribes connect with each other, and these connections still exist today.

Her Writings

Cheryll Toney Holley has also written about Native American history and experiences:

• What It Means to Be Native American Indian in New England Today: A Personal View (published by Old Sturbridge Village, 2002)
• For All My Relations: Dedicated to New England's Communities of Color (her blog, 2010–11)
• Letter supporting federal recognition for her tribe (September 2014)
• A Brief Look at Nipmuc History. This was also included in a book called Dawnland Voices: An Anthology of Writing from Indigenous New England (2014).