Zobel holds multiple academic degrees, including a B.S.F.S. in History and Diplomacy from Georgetown University, and M.A. in History from the University of Connecticut—the school from which both her mother and great-aunt received degrees. Initially, Zobel was preparing to attend Harvard University as a history major. However, in meeting with the department chair, she was told that a Native American focus in History was not allowed, as it was considered "ethnohistory," and that she could major in anthropology. She chose UConn instead. In 2012, she also earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Fairfield University; and in 2013, she began a Ph.D. in Adult Learning and Teaching of Native American Studies at Lesley University.
In the Mohegan tribal nation, Zobel is both Medicine Woman and Tribal Historian. She also serves as executive director of the tribe’s cultural and community programs department. In her capacity as tribal storyteller, Zobel has traveled all throughout New England. Her goal has always been to provide a greater understanding of Native American history. In a recent interview, Zobel stated, “We are the keepers of the original ancient stories of New England.”
Zobel has long written history for her tribe, but she was motivated to get serious about her writing in 1991, when she was panned by critics at a Connecticut Humanities Council Conference. In 1992, her manuscript, The Lasting of the Mohegans, won the first annual Non-Fiction Award from the prestigious Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas.
Zobel’s non-fiction publications provide in-depth information and an unparalleled understanding of Mohegan culture, granting readers a glimpse at traditional practices. In Medicine Trail: The Life and Lessons of Gladys Tantaquidgeon, for instance, she writes that “certain feathers, such as those of the eagle, were reserved for ceremonies and high honors. Owl feathers were forbidden except in rare instances, for the owl’s cry is an omen of death” (41).
Additionally, Zobel writes speculative fiction, sometimes incorporating cherished cultural figures like Granny Squannit into her novels as a way of keeping them alive. In the summer of 2013 she is expected to release her newest novel, Great Bear Blues, set in New Hampshire.
Zobel won a top national award for “The Accomac Business Model.” The contest, called “Native Insight: Thoughts on Recession, Recovery & Opportunity,” was sponsored by the Alaska Federation of Natives, in partnership with the National Congress of American Indians and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.
In this story, Zobel illustrates the challenges of maintaining Native traditions in a rapidly changing, capitalist economy, suggesting that tribal people's cohesive nature might lend itself to cleaning up the current individualistic corporate structure. “The Accomac Business Model” provides the answers to Native longevity: there have always been Native fishermen and hunters, and yet while those same professions still exist today, there are also Native lawyers, doctors, and businesspeople. In both her fiction and her non-fiction, Zobel promotes Native Americans' continuing survival by refusing to let them slip from public memory. Native people have remarkably kept pace with an ever-changing society, while holding firm to the traditions of their ancestors. Zobel calls for the coalescence of progression and tradition in leading Native people to a bold new future.
Some of Zobel's earlier publications appear under her maiden name, Melissa Jayne Fawcett. Her Mohegan name was originally “Morning Star”, though Gladys Tantaquidgeon renamed her “Osowano,” meaning “the flower on the corn plant,” corn being a sacred food in Mohegan culture. Zobel has three children whose names embody their tribal heritage. Rachel Beth was named after Rachel Hoscott Fielding, the great-grandmother of Gladys Tantaquidgeon. Madeline Fielding gets her middle name from Mohegan culture keeper Fidelia Fielding. David Uncas was born in 1991, just after Zobel had a vision of her late uncle, Harold Tantaquidgeon, passing the baby to her along the Beautiful White Path. David’s middle name came thus comes from Harold’s hero, the Sachem Uncas.
*This article began as a longer profile for Wikipedia. Thanks to Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel for her assistance and feedback on both that article and this one.
Fawcett, Melissa Jayne. The Lasting of the Mohegans: Part I, the Story of the Wolf People. The Mohegan Tribe, 1995. Print.
Fawcett, Melissa Jayne. Medicine Trail: The Life and Lessons of Gladys Tantaquidgeon. University of Arizona Press, 2000. Print.
Fawcett, Melissa Jayne, and Joseph Bruchac. Makiawisug: The Gift of the Little People. Little People Pubns, 1997. Print.
Zobel, Melissa Tantaquidgeon. Fire Hollow. Raven’s Wing Books, 2010. Print.
Zobel, Melissa Tantaquidgeon. Oracles: A Novel. UNM Press, 2004. Print.
Spencer, Tricia et al. The Road to Elsewhere: Anthology of Award-Winning Short Stories. Scribes Valley Publishing Company, 2009. Print.
Zobel, Melissa Tantaquidgeon. "The Accomac business model." Alaska Dispatch. 4 November 2009. Alaska Dispatch. 16 April 2013. Accomac Business Model
Jacobson, Erica. "Tantaquidgeon relative named Mohegan tribal medicine woman." Norwich Bulletin.com. 21 May 2008. Norwich Bulletin. 4 April 2013. Norwich Bulletin
Official Mohegan Tribe website.
Arizona Board of Regents. "Great Tribal Leaders of Our Time: Jayne Fawcett." Indigenous Governance Database. 2013. University of Arizona. 5 April 2013. Jayne Fawcett
Zobel, Melissa Tantaquidgeon. "Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel." Academia.edu. 2013. Academia. 11 April 2013. Curriculum Vitae
Sayet, Rachel. "From the Mohegan Tribal Museum to Harvard to NMAI: An Intern's Journey (So Far) ." The National Museum of the American Indian. 20 May 2011. NMAI. 4 April 2013. The National Museum of the American Indian
Toensing, Gale Courey. "Mohegan Medicine Woman Wins $10,000 Essay Contest." Indian Country. 27 November 2009. Indian Country Today Media Network, LLC. 4 April 2013. $10,000 Essay]]>
Fielding’s children’s story, Uyasunôqak Cits: Leading Bird, incorporates the values of the Mohegan people. In the story, Fielding emphasizes a core value of the Mohegan people that is rooted in the backbone of their language: sharing. Delving into the world of linguistics, one can better understand how a language overlaps with its speakers’ perception of human connections. Fielding discovered an overlap between the virtue of sharing and the structure of the Mohegan language. In English, for instance, we say “I love you” or “I want you to do well." In the Mohegan language, however, the "you" always comes first. Fielding says, "In Mohegan when 'you and I' are both in the equation, 'you' always come first, whether 'you' is the subject or the direct object. Can you imagine what kind of society it would be like if everyone always put 'you' before 'me'?" The make-up of the Mohegan language thus exemplifies a value of the Mohegan people- to always think and care about others before worrying over oneself- with which Fielding concludes her children’s story:
Everyone’s tears watered his grave that day and for many days to come. Then one day in the spring chipmunk saw a little plant growing from that very place where they had laid him to rest. The animals kept watch over the plant carefully, knowing that this was Uyasunôqak’s remembrance for them. It was a low growing plant with dark green leaves. No one had ever seen anything like it before. Later it sprouted little white blossoms with yellow centers and later those blossoms turned into little red hearts. We call them wutah-berries, but most others call them strawberries. No one had to say it, but all the animals knew that this was Uyasunôqak’s heart being born again and again with the blooming of each strawberry. And when they tasted the berries, and they knew they should, they could tell the sweetness of Uyasunôqak would be with them still. Now this would be a good way to end the story, but there is one thing more. Because chipmunk was the first to taste a berry, and because there were so few in the beginning, he left part of it on a stone nearby for the next animal to taste. It is said that chipmunks, all the way until today, still do this. They are remembering Uyasunôqak’s lesson of sharing when they do.
Fielding is a follower of the Baha’i faith, which is a faith centered on the oneness of humanity. While separate from the Mohegan culture, the Baha’i faith’s core beliefs - equality of men and women, the elimination of prejudice, and a spiritual solution to economic problems- closely parallel the core beliefs of the Mohegan culture. Fielding writes about her religion in her fiction piece The Seven Cities. The epigraph of the story is from a Baha’i sacred writing, The Seven Valleys. Fielding’s The Seven Cities is analogous to this sacred writing; her story is divided into seven parts, all of which mirror the seven sections of the sacred writing. The “seven valleys” in the sacred writing include the valley of search, of love, of knowledge, of unity, of contentment, of wonderment, and of true poverty. Fielding’s story offers a contemporary look into the meanings of these valleys.
The spiritual journey of Baha’is is centered on learning the importance of unity and the wrongness of discrimination. The religion Fielding chose to follow could not be more fitting for one who belongs to a people who faced such significant prejudice. Fielding has devoted a large portion of her life to the re-unification of her people. Through her work in reviving the Mohegan language, Fielding is reviving a part of her heritage that was stripped away. She is reuniting her people- her people that were made foreigners in their own land when they lost their language.
“Stephanie Fielding Interview.” Telephone Interview. 19 April 2013.
Fielding, Stephanie Mugford. The Phonology of Mohegan-Pequot. N.p.: n.p., 2005. Print.
Fielding, Stephanie Mugford. A Modern Mohegan Dictionary. Uncasville, CT: Mohegan Tribe, 2006. Print.
Speck, Frank G. Native Tribes and Dialects of Connecticut: A Mohegan-Pequot Diary. Washington: G.P.O., 1928. Print.
Ni Ya Yo: Mohegan Newsletter
Writing of Indigenous New England: An Article on The Mohegan-Pequot Diary
Canku Ota: A Newsletter Celebrating Native Americans
]]>For generations of indigenous people, the art of basketry has been a primary source of economic survival and cultural preservation. Basket making is never a solitary process; from the gathering and preparation of materials, learning the many styles and techniques of basketry, to marketing and distribution, networks of people become involved and play crucial roles in their manufacturing. From traveling basket makers in Victorian times to present-day craftspeople showcasing their work in fairs and conventions, basketry continues to emphasize the importance of family life and oral tradition along with the relevance of non-text based communal literacy.
This particular basket is a small berry basket featuring a floral pattern, alternating horizontal bands of red and blue, and a series of diagonal dash marks next to every flower. According to Wabanaki basket expert Gaby Pelletier, berry baskets tended to be made quickly and efficiently so they could be used to hold fruits that would be sold along with their container. The patterns on the sides may have been created using potato stamps, a method of decorating that quickened the production of baskets for selling purposes and according to Pelletier is highly unusual for Abenaki baskets to have. This basket’s floral design may have been used to attract white clients to the berries being sold by evoking imagery from European art styles; however it could also be interpreted as being a symbol of nature, thus showing the ability of indigenous people to maintain their cultural identity while still appeasing white settlers. Small berry baskets such as this were also helpful in allowing children to pick fruit alongside their families and enabling them to observe cultural traditions and learn valuable life skills. Yet Pelletier also explains that the basket's handle is indicative of European influence, as its attachments are too delicate for the wear that it would have received during berry picking, perhaps suggesting that this basket may have been sold as a souvenir rather than used for utilitarian purposes.
Family life always has been and continues to be a key factor in the preservation of the basket making tradition among Native Americans of New England. In the film "Our Lives in Our Hands" by Harold Prins and Karen Carter, a documentary examining Mi'kmaq basketry, the majority of people interviewed described their family as playing a crucial role in how they acquired their basket making abilities. Several of the people interviewed described how they learned through watching relatives weaving for years, echoing the importance of a non-text based form of literacy. While both men and women take an equal part in the process of weaving, men were traditionally more likely to go out into the woods to cut down and pound the ash trees that baskets were typically made from. However, one man interviewed did mention that due to the decline in passing down traditions such as basket making (and language), he has started showing his daughters how to make the tools such as axes needed to make splints along with his son.
Once colonists began arriving in New England, baskets became a link between the native people and the Europeans. Lisa Neuman's article "Basketry as Economic Enterprise and Cultural Revitalization" explains the history of basketry as a non-threatening economic enterprise: "Beginning in the 1860s, Wabanaki families began to set up summer encampments in Maine's famed resort area of Bar Harbor, on Mt. Desert Island, primarily to sell baskets and crafts to tourists and the island's wealthy summer residents. At Bar Harbor, Wabanaki families would sell door to door and invite potential customers to visit their encampments, sometimes dressing in clothing that met tourists' romanticized expectations of Indianness to attract sales (Neuman 93)". This method of sales enabled Indigenous craftspeople to introduce European settlers to their way of life, allowing these colonists to lift the veil and see them not as stereotypes, but rather as another culture with similarities to their own. The essay "'A Precarious Living': Basket Making and Related Crafts Among New England Indians" by Nan Wolverton reaffirms the communal nature of basketry: "Like basket makers, chair bottomers traveled to the homes of their customers, and there they performed their craft, often telling stories simultaneously. By spending many hours within the family circles, these artisans often earned the respect and friendship of their customers through their work and their stories" (Wolverton 356-357). Maintaining repeat customers was very common among Native basket members, and in some instances this resulted in lifelong friendships between whites and Native Americans. This sort of traveling salesmanship can be seen as bridging the divide between Native peoples and the white societies they lived on the fringes of through the trust gained through their craftsmanship.
Today basket and craft fairs encourage communication between tribes as well as between native and non-native residents of New England. These fairs encourage non-native people to ask questions and learn through hearing directly from tribe members about their trade and culture. These conversations echo the early tenuous cross-cultural bridges made between Native people and the colonists whose homes they visited to demonstrate their craft and tell their stories in the 1800s. Annual craft fairs are also a way for members of the same tribe to get together and talk to one another face to face. These fairs provide an “opportunity to travel and spend time with relatives from around the region. Basket sales also provide people with the opportunity to promote cross-cultural awareness, and this can be intertribal as well as intercultural” (Neuman 97). The Mi'kmaq tribe also has a “Basket Bank”, a place where craftspeople making baskets can bring their work to sell for a fairer price than they might receive elsewhere, and in turn their baskets are resold as well as used for demonstrations or showcasing in museums. Websites such as the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance provide information about upcoming basket and craft fairs with links to websites for tribes in Maine, museums, and national basket associations as well as showcasing their mission statements: preservation of natural resources such as sweet grass for future generations, expanding markets, and maintaining and handing down traditions for younger generations and other tribes.
Calloway, Colin G., ed. Reinterpreting New England Indians and the Colonial Experience. 2003. Print.
Neuman, Lisa K. "Basketry as Economic Enterprise and Cultural Revitalization: The Case of the Wabanaki Tribes of Maine." Wicazo Sa Review. 25.2 (2010): 86-106. Print.
Dir. Prins, Harold, and Carter, Karen. Our Lives in Our Hands. Northeast Historic Film. DVD.
Jason Mancini, a senior researcher at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, attributes the relative scarcity of Native medical remedies in the historical record to “fear, misunderstanding, and subsequent mischaracterization of Native beliefs,” as well as to the arrogance of European colonial physicians. He adds, “in spite of the fact that many North American plants became part of the Euro-American ‘medicine chest,’ Indians were seldom given credit for ‘discovering’ their uses.”
What prompted Occom to make this unusual record? Joanna Brooks says that the death of Occom’s father, Joshua, in 1743 “fully ushered Samson into his responsibilities as an adult member of his family, kinship network and tribe. These weighty new responsibilities and his sense of the imperilment of Mohegan territory generated in Occom ‘a great Inclination’ . . . to improve his reading and writing skills” (14). Meanwhile, English settlers brought diseases that proved disastrous to Native communities. According to Brooks, Occom developed a close relationship with a Montaukett man named Ocus, who taught him how to treat the eyestrain that plagued him during his study with Eleazar Wheelock. Ocus also shared over 50 additional herbal and root medicines useful for a wide range of ailments and purposes, from treating burns and digestive complaints to serving reproductive health and contraception. Perhaps Occom felt a record of these medicines should be left for survivors. After all, that is really what we learn from all of his writings—a constant sense of obligation or desire to regenerate the Mohegan tribe.
But the herbal diary is often cryptic. It appears Occom purposely avoids any issue concerning the science of growing, discovery, and the timeliness in gathering of the herbs. Perhaps the diary was a ruse to satisfy the colonists’ curiosity about medicinal cures from plants. Or perhaps he felt this knowledge was being effectively kept by Mohegan women who could read between the lines. In an email exchange in April of 2012, Melissa Tantaquideon Zobel, the current medicine woman and tribal historian, stated, “In Mohegan tradition women were the healers, which suggests gender issues may have come into play here in the denigration of indigenous medicine just as they did in old Europe.” Thus, in those places where Occom does not even name the herb or weed used in a specific cure, perhaps he was relying on the fact that the older generation instructed the young women which seed to plant for what, verbally transmitting their instructions for how medicine was to be prepared.
Samson Occom’s recording of these remedies marks the beginning of a Mohegan ethnobotanical literary tradition that continues to this day, from Medicine Woman Gladys Tantaquidgeon’s scholarly treatise to the historical writings and novels of her protégé and descendant, Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel. These writings blend both Mohegan and Euro-colonial traditions to preserve and promote indigenous knowledge.
The very fact that they are written, and written in English (Tantaquidgeon adds botanical Latin), is a shift in traditional Mohegan ways of imparting knowledge. Mohegan medicine people were and are thoroughly trained by elders, following them as they gather herbs and listening carefully to their knowledge. They would not necessarily need to write this knowledge down, and they might not even want to, because wild plant populations are vulnerable to over collection, misuse and (as Winona LaDuke explains) biopiracy. Tantaquidgeon frames her Mohegan pharmacopeia by cautioning, “pick only what you need and leave some in reserve. The Indian practiced conservation in its true meaning” (68-69).
Occom’s notebook therefore gives very few specifics. His entry (#29) for wintergreen, for example, calls of “wintergreen and another herbe.” He uses English standards of measurement (“3 quarts of water”), but doesn’t reveal other things: at what time does one pick wintergreen? When it is a sprout, fully grown or drying out? On this same remedy, Tantaquidgeon says simply that wintergreen tea is “a warming beverage and a kidney medicine” (72). These omissions urge those seeking cures to look towards more knowledgeable sources, like the tribes, for help. They are a way of protecting traditional ecological knowledge even while they document the value of the cures. In the time Occom was writing that value was also monetary. Occom says he paid Ocus “in all 27 York money” for the information.
This hybrid text connects readers to Mohegan herbal knowledge, but is also indicative of a more complex relationship, one with the utmost respect for the earth. In order for herbal medicine to be practiced successfully we must follow the ways of the Mohegans in order to sustain the land that serves us.
Brooks, Joanna, The Collected Writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan Edited by Joanna Brooks
Dartmouth University Archives, Rauner Special Collections Library
Fawcett, Melissa Jayne. The Lasting of the Mohegans: Part I, The Story of the Wolf People. Uncasville, CT: The Mohegan Tribe, 1995.
Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel. Medicine Trail: The Life and Lessons of Gladys Tantaquidgeon. University of Arizona Press, 2000.
LaDuke, Winona. “The Political Economy of Wild Rice.” Multinational Monitor 25, no. 4 (April 2004): 27–29.
Occom, Samson. The Collected Writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan: Literature and Leadership in Eighteenth-Century Native America. Edited by Joanna Brooks. Oxford University Press, USA, 2006.
Tantaquidgeon, Gladys. Folk Medicine of the Delaware and Related Algonkian Indians. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission,1972.
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