Our Creation Story
Our Elders Ron and Mary Williams have been the caretakers of the Native American Burial ground in Pottstown, PA, Hosts for the PowWow on Manatawny Creek, and have coordinated numerous outreach efforts to come alongside and support underserved Indigenous communities.
Ron and Mary understood that the indigenous culture and heritage of the Pottstown area is in need of preservation. In a post COVID world, the PowWow on Manatawny Creek is one of the remaining Native American celebrations in this area, making its sustainability of even greater importance.
Through their encouragement and leadership, a community formed around Ron and Mary in 2018 to further these efforts and begin to engage in new efforts to introduce a semi-monthly educational series, and increase outreach efforts. After nearly 3 years operating under the umbrella of the Pottstown Parks and Recreation foundation, the foundation planned to close in 2021. In order for the Reflections of Turtle Island community to continue the good work started by Ron and Mary, we took steps to formally create a new and separate 501c3.
​
We chose our name from the one we used for our educational series, "Reflections of Turtle Island", or ROTI (Pronounced Row-Tea) for short.
​
On June 6th, 2022, we received our IRS decision letter stating that our tax-exempt status was effective the date that they received our application, on 12/7/2021.
​
What is the significance of our name?
Hear Taboo tell the Creation story of the world in the first 1.5 minutes
The Haudenosaunee (Briefly named "Iroquois" by colonizers) Have a creation story that can be found with varied details around the world. Watch the first 1.5 minutes of the video below, narrated by Taboo Nawasha, to learn the significance of the term, "Turtle Island".
(Make sure the video is unmuted).