Organization
Nolumbeka Project (allied)
The Nolumbeka Project, a non-tribal Massachusetts nonprofit, owns 41 acres at Wissatinnewag, bought by a predecessor group in 2001 to stop a Walmart.
- Kind
- 501(c)(3) non-tribal allied nonprofit
- Native-led
- no
- Works with
- Northeastern tribal peoples; Pocumtuck homelands (Wissatinnewag, Greenfield MA)
- Region
- Northeast; MA
- Focus
- Protecting the Wissatinnewag multi-tribal village site; Indigenous-presenter gatherings and education; works with tribal and non-tribal input
- Registry
- EIN 26-4509867 (ProPublica: The Nolumbeka Project Inc, Greenfield MA; site prints FEIN 26-4509867)
What happened
The Nolumbeka Project is a 501(c)(3) in Massachusetts. It describes itself as a welcoming, inclusive, non-tribal organization, and says its volunteer board includes several members of mixed Native American heritage. Its stated work is educational events with Indigenous presenters, an archive for tribes and educators, and protecting land, especially the ancient multi-tribal villages of which Wissatinnewag is a part.
Its land record is the Wissatinnewag property in the Connecticut River Valley. Its history page says that on March 30, 2001, the Friends of Wissatinnewag, Inc., which later blended into the Nolumbeka Project in 2013, bought the property after years of negotiation. The page says it had been targeted for a Walmart and was the last undeveloped piece of an ancient Indian village.
The group paid $780,000 for 61 acres, well under the original asking price of $2 million. Twenty acres were sold to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and ownership of the other 41 acres went to the Nolumbeka Project. These figures come from the organization's own history.
ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer lists The Nolumbeka Project Inc as a 501(c)(3), tax exemption issued April 2011. Donors should know that the organization says it does not determine who is Native and seeks tribal and non-tribal input, so tribal consent for specific claims should be checked.
Good to know. A non-tribal organization that owns the land itself; this is not a return of land to a tribe.
Summarized with AI assistance from 5 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error
What the sources say, and how this was checked
Well supported by the sources below.
The Nolumbeka Project is a welcoming, inclusive, non-tribal organization.
Nolumbeka ProjectOn March 30, 2001, after years of negotiations and controversy, the Friends of Wissatinnewag, Inc.
Wissatinnewag - Nolumbeka ProjectThe FOW paid $780,000 for the 61-acre parcel, considerably less than the original asking price of 2 million dollars.
Wissatinnewag - Nolumbeka Projectownership of the remaining 41 acres was transferred to the Nolumbeka Project
Wissatinnewag - Nolumbeka ProjectTax exemption issued: April 2011 EIN: 26-4509867
ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer: The Nolumbeka Project Inc
Research notes. The purchase history is the organization's own account; no outside source was read. This is an allied, non-tribal organization holding land, not a return of land to a tribe; the pages read do not describe a transfer to a tribal nation. Burial and sacred-site details on its pages are not reproduced here.
Visit the organization’s website or give directly on its own page. This site takes no money.
Connections
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Works in 1
Sources
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The record’s fields
- Vetting notes
- 2026-10-17: EIN printed on donate page matches ProPublica record; org describes itself as non-tribal, so labeled allied; PayPal hosted button on org domain, checks payable to Nolumbeka Project; check tribal consent for specific site claims. Source: https://nolumbekaproject.org/ ("We work to protect and preserve the land, especially the ancient multi-tribal villages of which Wissatinnewag is an integral part.")
- Kind
- Organization
- Confidence
- Medium