A Poor Little Village When I was little, we didn’t have a lot of money. I didn’t know it then as no one in our village who lived there year-round had a lot. Years later when I was at a local history program, one of the retired teachers who was ...

Return to Dawnland I Am Passamaquoddy “Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come, along with patience and equanimity.”  ~Carl Jung  To say that my ...

Writer’s Statement   Some quotes like some faces are seared into one’s consciousness. One such quote was from a graduate level faculty member who stated, “You can’t be a writer if you don’t read Ezra Pound.” Another faculty member stated, “Native writing isn’t writing and is not to be pursued.” 1. ...

Writer’s Statement You could say that my sons turned me into a children’s author at a time when my main objective was writing and publishing poetry. First of all, the traditional Abenaki and Iroquois stories I told them as bedtime stories (stories I’d learned not in my own childhood from ...

Weaver Weaver by weaver, Up and under each standard Up and under As my hand moves in rhythm A figure starts to emerge A figure of the ancestors Silently whispering Reminding us they are still here Through tradition Through language They are still here To the naked eye a basket ...

Coats 1. It was fall and he was gone again. Oh, he’ll probably come back drunk, she thought to herself. And he thinks I drink way too much, hunh! She smoothed back her hair and looked in the mirror. That deep longing of loneliness was tugging at her again. The ...

  Harlan Chronicles   Intro to Story The Harlan Chronicles is a forthcoming novella series that follows the life of Harlan Drinkwater, set in a post-reservation dystopia, the first set of stories in the PRD Series. During a time when all books written are screened and digitized as federal property, ...

K8g8gwibakw Wantastegokwajok Wintergreen on Mount Wantastiquet   Ali-sowanikik nahil8t Kwenitegok wji Wantastegokwajok Southward downstream on the Connecticut River from Mount Wantastiquet Wantastegok peb8niwi tamakwak The West River in winter at the beaver place   Sp8zsigwan Peskawajok  Early spring at Black Mountain Ali-sowanakik wji kchi al8mkiwajok Southward from the great mountain ...

Lily Paul Her name is Aurora Little Bear. When she pushed herself out of her mother’s womb, old Lily Paul caught her. Lily’s strong brown hands were calloused from work, veins popping with excitement. She washed her and wrapped her in a flannel blanket while she sang Aurora her Indian ...

Spring Thaw I arrive at mossy banks beside Birch sentries with battle torn limbs from winters fury We stand in silent honor of the river passing by grateful for the spring thaw on the Kennebec Highway of my ancestors liquid life carrying pieces of trees gliding in succession to places ...

Standing in a Wooded Area Iti waya chito fako Iti chito kanafa shila kchulakko Iti illi Large tree Leaning without limbs Large dry tree fallen turned up By the roots Dead ~iti kafi 2017 You Never Have to Ask I was six years old and my little brother three, when ...

The Grave Robber or Brother Skunk Takes a Ride Somebody was robbing graves in Perkinsville. Not your typical storybook grave robber, oh no, this unholy cuss was digging up the flowers from the graves, one by one. This became quite a topic of conversation and consternation at the local men’s ...