AMHERST — A 500-acre section of forested land connected to Mount Toby in Sunderland, west of Route 63, is being returned to the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band as a gift from W.D. Cowls Inc.

In what is being called a historic moment of reconciliation and stewardship by the state-recognized Indigenous tribe, the donation of the Sunderland land is seen as a gesture of respect for the tribe’s enduring connection to its ancestral homelands.

Cheryll Toney Holley, the sonskq or female leader for the tribe, said in a statement that the land gift represents a step toward addressing historical injustices, while fostering Indigenous-led stewardship that will be grounded in the tribe’s cultural values.

“We are profoundly grateful to Cinda Jones and W.D. Cowls for this transformative gift. For us, this is not just about reclaiming land, but restoring an important relationship with an integral part of the Nonotuck homelands,” Holley said. Jones is president of W.D. Cowls.

“As we embrace this land, we reaffirm our commitment to care for it as our ancestors have for generations — with respect and reciprocity.”

The Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band is a part of the Nipmuc, or “freshwater people,” with homelands in present-day central Massachusetts, the Merrimack and Connecticut River Valley, northeast Connecticut, and northwest Rhode Island, and has long been at the forefront of revitalizing what is called traditional ecological knowledge, or TEK, and Indigenous land management practices.

The return of the land provides an opportunity to continue these efforts on a broader scale, ensuring that the forested property is not only preserved, but thrives as part of an interconnected ecosystem.

For Jones, the gift reflects a growing movement among private landowners to support Indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice.

“This land belongs in the care of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band, whose stewardship practices are rooted in respect for the Earth,” Jones said. “I am honored to play a small role in this historic moment.”

The gift comes as Jones recently sold more than 2,400 acres of land, much it in the Quabbin watershed in seven towns in Hampshire and Franklin counties, to a New Hampshire timber company so those properties can be preserved as forestland in perpetuity. That supplements more than 5,500 acres of W.D. Cowls land, largely in Leverett, Shutesbury and Pelham, that have been permanently protected since 2011. Most of that land remains open to the public for hiking, fishing and hunting.

The tribe, governed by the sonksq, a tribal council and elders council, plans to integrate the land into their ongoing cultural and environmental initiatives, including TEK-based land stewardship, educational programs for their community, and efforts to protect biodiversity and sacred sites. The return also amplifies the broader narrative of what are known as “land back movements,” which aim to restore Indigenous peoples’ rightful access and stewardship of their homelands.

The Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band is the caretaker of the Hassanamesit Reservation in present-day Grafton in Worcester County. That reservation had been the last 3.5 acres still in Nipmuc possession, and the location of the Printer Homestead.

A formal celebration and land blessing ceremony by the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band will be announced in the coming weeks, with community members, allies and supporters to be invited to the historic occasion.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.