BOSTON (AP) — A Native American tribe is calling on Boston University to change the name of a dorm that honors Pilgrim military leader Myles Standish.
The Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag says in a recently launched petition that Myles Standish Hall should be renamed Wituwamat Memorial Hall after a leading Native American figure massacred along with other tribe members in 1623.
The Associated Press reported that according to the tribe's history, Wituwamat and other tribe members were killed by Standish and his men because Standish suspected Wituwamat was plotting against them.
Wituwamat was beheaded and as a warning, his head was displayed atop Plymouth Colony’s meetinghouse, the AP reported.
A recently launched online petition also argues that Standish has no connection to the university or the stately Back Bay neighborhood where the dorm is located.
The dorm instead takes its name from the hotel it now occupies.
In 1949, the university purchased the building and then converted it into dorms, the AP reported.
University spokespeople didn't respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday.