Nepesoneag

Doolittle Brook at Nepesoneag

It is extremely rare that land is donated with no encumbrances. So, on a bright December afternoon, when Dvora Eisenstein inked her signature on a pile of documents passing the ownership of 53.7 acres in Leverett, MA, to the Native Land Conservancy with no restrictions, it was something truly special. 

The decision to donate the vast woodland ascending Bushy Mountain and bisected by Doolittle Brook was one Dvora shared with her former partner, Lorelie Bond. The couple had raised their two children in a small farmhouse at the base of the mountain for decades but always knew the mountainscape was not theirs to keep.

“Legally, we were the landowners, but we both believed it didn’t belong to us.” Dvora said, “We both felt very strongly that it needed to be protected.”

By chance, several years ago Dvora got a random email with information about NLC. She didn’t act on it immediately but knew it was significant and flagged it. As the idea of donating the land nagged at her, she circled back to that email and took action. There was no hesitation in gifting the property that abuts the territory of the Nipmuc people to an organization led by a tribally diverse board and staff with a mission to protect and preserve land for all living beings.  

Lorelie Bond, NLC Board Member Pam Ellis, NLC Founder and Board President Ramona Peters, Dvora Eienstein, and NLC Board Member Andre Strongbearheart Gaines.

In August of 2023 the women invited NLC to tour the land. After the tour they gathered in a grassy field for refreshments and to consider the options.   It was then that Lorelie asked what it would mean to accept a $75,000 tax credit from the state for making the donation. When she learned that receiving that money would trigger the need for a conservation restriction, the idea was flatly rejected. The couple’s principled values could not be bought with tax credits. 

“The land needs to go back, wants to go back, just as it is to the people of the land with no restriction and no designation that me, as an outsider, have a right to determine what is done with it,” Dvora said when interviewed about the planned donation last summer. “If I said you need to do something with this land, I am right back into that same system of white people telling Natives what to do with their land.” 

NLC founder and board president Ramona Peters called the act extraordinary and despite that lack of restriction on the title, she said, “Our plan is to protect it as it is.” 

The world-renowned ceramic artisan then reciprocated Dvora’s donation with the gift of a hand-coiled clay pot sculpted with a floral design inspired by medicinal plants Ramona had seen when she visited the Leverett land. 

Deeply moved, Dvora embraced Ramona as her new “neighbor.” 

Lorelie was traveling and unable to attend the signing but had put a great effort into facilitating the donation, including managing the paperwork necessary for the transaction to go smoothly. A personal gift was also created for Lorelie to commemorate her generosity. 

In the care of NLC, the land will now be honored with the name Nepesoneag, which has significant meaning to the Nipmuc people.  

The Brushy Mountain habitat to animals and plant life.

“This land is sacred, and I have a deep connection with it. Over the years, especially when the children were young, we spent a lot of time exploring, camping, foraging, and homeschooling there,” Dvora recalled. In addition to Doolittle Brook, there are several smaller spring-fed streams, some stone mounds that she is sure are significant in some way, rare plants, and many animals. “There are woodchucks, beaver, and deer there, and I once had a bear at my bird feeder, so I imagine they must enjoy their time in the forest. There are porcupines and turkeys. And Lots of birds of all kinds, including woodpeckers, that are easily heard. In the river, there are lots of fish, and crayfish, and freshwater clams.” 

While such a donation is very unique, Ramona was not especially surprised, “the universe has been smiling on us,” she said. NLC has been blessed with generous financial donations and gifts of land as the organization has grown to have national implications.  

“We are now able to help Native nations across the country,” she said. “I am encouraged by the support we get without asking.” 

Dvora makes the gift official on behalf of herself and Lorelie.