Critical thinking about history is often challenging to the mainstream, long-comfortable narrative. It takes the misunderstood, previously marginalized, demonized, and overlooked and requires preconceived notions -often centuries in the making, to be unraveled, untangled, and seen through an unobstructed filter that favors no agenda. It is a common understanding among a growing number of historians that, often times, if history makes you comfortable it isn’t accurate or complete.
In short-changing our inherited, passed on rhetoric with ideological absolutes, we are making it continually and ever-easy for those who have done much of the telling and “preserving” of history, but usually doing a great injustice to those who are given a backseat in the story. “Comfortable history” assures the defenders of the status quo that they came by their standing and privilege in society honorably, heroically, righteously -but the insistence to guard complexly inherited privilege does the peace, humanity, and happiness of a society no long-term favors.
The remedy? Growing up enough as a nation to understand that a better, raw understanding of the past is critical to healthfully reforming the present. Learning without an agenda can, of course, leave us with more villains and tragedy in the human story, but also more heroic figures and triumphs than we could have imagined. Two such heroic figures in modern times are Danielle Alonso-Wynne and Malissa Costa of Juniper + Pine Indigenous Collective. Alonso and Costa are two local, Indigenous women who have dedicated their lives to honoring, preserving, and teaching about their cultures.
Alonso-Wynne is a third-generation Mexican American and descendant of the indigenous P’urhépecha diaspora in the northwestern region of Michoacán, Mexico. Raised in Chicago, Alonso-Wynne grew up with a passion for her culture and heritage. She visited her P’urhépecha grandparents in Mexico once a year and these visits fostered an already inherent love for her Indigenous heritage. Drawn to the majesty and sacred nature of the forests her family came from, Alonso-Wynne often felt a bit out of place when she returned home to Chicago and she sought out ways to feel more connected to her family and ancestors.
One such endeavor took her to the American Indian Center. There, she found camaraderie with the Indigenous people working in the museum. “They greeted me as ‘cuz’ -which is a term of endearment short for ‘cousin’ among Indigenous people. I learned that they didn’t see borders. Borders are man-made. Knowledge systems and spirituality are passed throughout Turtle Island by all Native people sharing the first seeds,” Alonso-Wynne explains. Turtle Island refers to the continent of North America in various Indigenous oral histories. The story tells of a great turtle that holds the world on its back. For some Indigenous peoples, the turtle is considered an icon of life, longevity, and perseverance. It also provides the belief that we are all connected inextricably to the land and one another. This was a comforting message to Alonso-Wynne and she was further moved to pursue higher education and a career immersed in Indigenous studies.
Alonso-Wynne went on to obtain a degree in Associate of Arts in Anthropology from City Colleges of Chicago-Herold Washington College, and later a Bachelor of Arts with a Concentration in Native American Studies from the University of Chicago in 2015. She followed her education as an anthropology collections intern with The Field Museum and as a student researcher with Plymouth Colony Archeological Field School. Alonso-Wynne can now be found sharing her expertise and wisdom in the role as Curator of Indigenous Material Culture and Research at Plimoth Patuxet Museums. Working alongside Alonso-Wynne is Malissa Costa.
Costa is Afro-Indigenous and from the Mashpee Wampanoag and Cape Verdean communities here in Massachusetts. Raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota as well as Cape Cod, Costa grew up surrounded by the vibrant traditions, arts, and beliefs of her cultures. Costa’s upbringing in one of the largest Mashpee Wampanoag families instilled a deeply rooted and personally connected knowledge of Indigenous arts, crafts, herbalism, history, and language. After attending Cape Cod Community College and becoming a mother, Costa became a certified herbalist and Doula. She has a passion for horticulture and served as the horticultural specialist at Plimoth Patuxet where she specialized in the cultivation of the Wampanoag homesite gardens and Indigenous growing methods. She is now the Associate Director of Indigenous Outreach and Guest Experience where she develops programs that elevate Native perspectives.
A true knowledge keeper of Indigenous arts and crafts, Costa is always making, doing, and creating. “I always have a project I am working on,” Costa says as she holds up the beautiful beadwork she is currently adding to, “I am constantly multi-tasking and doing research and making sure to pass it on. I love making sure that the kids are included in the things I am doing.” Some of Costa’s many Indigenous artisanal skills include quillwork, beadwork, weaving, and harvesting and preparing Indigenous food. Costa and Alonso-Wynne began working together at Plimoth Patuxet Museums, and Alonso-Wynne also married Costa’s cousin, Phillip Wynn, a Mashpee Wampanoag.
Both women, being passionate about their Indigenous heritage and committed to advancing Indigenous sovereignty in their communities, found it a natural fit to form an initiative-driven collective where they could use their expertise, knowledge, wisdom, perspectives, and passion to elevate and share the beautiful voices, culture, and businesses of Indigenous people in the community. Costa and Alonso-Wynne decided name their collective after two sacred trees -the Juniper and the White Pine. “The Juniper tree is a sacred medicinal herb for many reasons to Indigenous communities in addition to being used for protection. It is also used to manage labor pains,” says Alonso-Wynne -which is something both women understand and respect as mothers. Costa further explains, “The White Pine is particularly sacred as Wampanoag stories say the Creator made the Wampanoag people from White Pine.” As a P’urhépecha, Alonso-Wynne is an ancestral guardian of the Pine-rich forests of Michoacán, Mexico. Combining the two trees and their shared passions and heritage, Juniper + Pine Indigenous Collective was born.
The mission statement of Juniper + Pine Indigenous Collective is to honor the land, culture, and traditions of Native people with meaningful action. Alonso-Wynne and Costa’s work center on cultural advocacy, creativity, and storytelling as essential ways to preserve and celebrate Native ways of life. Their storefront for Juniper + Pine is an extension of these values: A Space to uplift Indigenous voices and share authentic designs inspired by the land and the natural world. Each design is a reflection of deep connection to place, tradition, and community. Their shop says, “These are not just shirts -they are wearable stories, symbols of resilience, and pathways to deeper understanding.”
Juniper + Pine Indigenous Collective offers a wide variety of services and goods. Expert consultations, education, public speaking, collaboration, education in the art, music, and dance of Indigenous people, trades and crafts, merchandise, and advocacy are all under the proverbial umbrella of what the collective covers and reaches into. “We want to make sure that the culture of our communities is not reduced to mere research. It needs to be kept alive and passed on. Our goal is to make sure it passes on to the next seven generations. Colonization tried to hide our traditions, but we are resilient and we want to solidify these arts and crafts and traditions as permanent parts of our community,” says Alonso-Wynne.
Even in its first year, Juniper + Pine is making cultural waves throughout Massachusetts. They were asked to be guests at the New Britain Museum of American Art and recently spoke at the NEARA Fall 2025 Conference about Ancient Places, Living Histories, Stones, Stories, and Settlement. Costa and Alonso-Wynne delivered a brilliant educational presentation on The Wampanoag’s Relationship with the Natural World. “They came up to us after and said it was the best lecture they had ever had at this conference. We really connected with them,” says Costa. Local museums, historical societies, schools, libraires, and any group or organization can connect with Juniper + Pine for educational experiences and opportunities to learn about and cultivate Indigenous culture.
With a recent article featured in Edible Southeastern Massachusetts, collaborations with House of the Seven Gables about Native knowledge systems, an invitation to the Mohegan Wigwam Festival at the Tantaquidgeon Museum, participating in the Herring Run Festival, and many more appearances and collaborations, Juniper + Pine is well on its way to becoming a powerful force in the community. “It is our priority that we stand in solidarity with all different people who have been shaped by genocide and survival,” says Alonso-Wynne, “We have been shape by our blood memory and have found a way to pass on sacred lessons and knowledge in modern times. We made survival an art.”
When asked what challenges their collective faces in establishment and progress, Costa and Alonso-Wynne say that it is a struggle to be able to meet the many demands coming in for connection and collaboration that require travel. “We have lots of people and places that reach out and want us to come speak or do a consultation, but we are like, ‘Okay, but how will we get to you?’,” Costa explains. In addition to the cost of travel, both women are busy young mothers with careers and are learning to manage their time with family, work, and the collective. As opportunities continue to come about for Juniper + Pine, financial burdens and obligations will be able to match the immeasurable potential they offer, but it will take steady community engagement and support.
With their growing collective, Costa and Alonso-Wynne have a long-term goal of being able to purchase land and use it as a homestead to promote, teach, and preserve Indigenous land practices, growing methods, cultivate heirloom and heritage crops, and foster a strong arts and crafts center. “We need to reclaim our place in the land in terms of ownership and stewardship,” Alonso-Wynne explains, “These lands are ancestral hunting grounds, waterways, and homesites where we know how to honor and coexist with the environments and the living things there. We hunt and gather with symbiotic respect and understand that we are distinct, but we are also all woven together.” The disparity between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities with property ownership and division is due to centuries of development and demographics being shaped and controlled by colonial mindsets. These ownership opportunities have been disproportionately denied to and kept from Indigenous communities as their lands were stolen and their people displaced by locals, laws, and government for centuries. These injustices carry on even in modern times.
With so much on the shoulders of Juniper + Pine -its mission, its potential, its heart and soul, and the ancestral energy at the foundation, it is a fortunate thing that its capable creators are Costa and Alonso-Wynne. These two Indigenous women are the new generation of powerhouse figures in the community. Their kindness is matched by their intelligence and talent. The gift of a simple conversation with them is guaranteed to inspire and set one at ease while also proving to be, to put it mildly, eye-opening.
Though young, they exude wisdom and clarity that is palpably ancient and rare in these oft out-of-touch modern times. Yet, in spite of their permeating connection to the past, they are ever so present and keenly aware of how their heritage should be received, respected, and given room and relevance to thrive in current day society. They are the tangible echoes of their ancestors and if you hear them, you will hear the story of survival. Here in New England, the Indigenous community deserves reform and attention in the long-accepted, highly-flawed narrative. Their story is often told inaccurately, incompletely, and through the accounts of people who were colonizers with agendas to uphold and points of view that differed greatly in perspective and understanding. The best way to learn about the local Indigenous community, no matter where you live, is to ask them. They are still here, and they have so much to say.