"A beautiful volume to browse through one fascinating and informative page at a time, Occupying Massachusetts: Layers of History on Indigenous Land is a moving story whose message will be appreciated for years to come—and could well served as a template for similar historical studies of other American states. Simply stated, Occupying Massachusetts: Layers of History on Indigenous Land is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, college, and university library American History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists."
—Paul T. Vogel, The Midwest Book Review

"Most of the things depicted in this book of site photography seem barely attached to the ground, or about to fall over. Heavy-looking rock monuments, attempting to convey a fixed history, seem more like imported thought bubbles, and the buildings, in this normally deep-rooted land of Massachusetts, are depicted here as temporary sheds and flimsy, disintegrating ephemera. The flotsam of occupation. Another entry in the lengthening line up of publisher George F. Thompson's output, which spans decades and includes some of the best books about places out there."
—The Lay of the Land, newsletter for the Center for Land Use Interpretation

"Your book is marvelous—great pictures and moving and poignant in concept. It provides much to think about, and I hope that many people will see and learn from it."
—Keith F. Davis, author of The Origins of American Photography (Yale University Press, 2007); former senior curator of Photography, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

"Thank you for sharing your work, Sandra. Occupying Massachusetts is a striking composition of images and words, lending a gleam of light into long stories that linger on the periphery. They're always there, next to us, but are seldom seen full frontal—it's more, rather, that they are sensed. Your juxtapositions enable the clarity that can come when, for example, you can see a hazy star more distinctly by looking next to it, rather than directly at it."
—Rich Holschuh, Cultural Relations Liaison for the Elnu Abenaki Tribe

"The places on which we stand flicker with the subtle traces of peoples who have come before us. In this moving book, Sandra Matthews asks us to look—really look—at the relationship between us and them and meditate on what such things as possession, occupation, and settlement might mean. Her photographs are haunting and also disturbingly beautiful."
—Anthony W. Lee, Idella Plimpton Kendall Professor of Art History at Mt. Holyoke College, author of seven books about art and photography, and founder/editor of the acclaimed book series Defining Moments in American Photography

"This is a beautiful and valuable book. The opening epigraph alone—about a place never belonging to one group—should be forwarded to Vladimir Putin, as it is so appropriate regarding the war in Ukraine. Once I opened the book, I was hooked. Its theme—occupation, conquest, and layers of history on Indigenous lands—exposes many truths. The book will thus be forever relevant. I totally admire the artist's vision!"
—Andrei Kushnir, author of Oh, Shenandoah: Paintings of the Historic Valley and River