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Honoring sacrifices of `Praying Indians' (MA)

To the remorseless beat of a deerskin drum, three Native Americans in tribal regalia chanted a list of battles and wars their ancestors had fought since the ``Praying Indians" settled here in the 1650s.

In prayers and song, the tribe paid homage to warriors whose sacrifice had been all but forgotten -- Native Americans who converted to Christianity and were believed to have fought with the Colonists during the Revolutionary War.

On Main Streets and town greens across the state, people gathered yesterday to remember those who served their country in uniform, and those who died defending it. But on a small Indian burial ground near the center of town that was originally 100 acres, people gathered to resurrect and redeem the faded memories of 21 fallen Native American soldiers buried in unmarked graves.

Read entire article at Boston Globe