Masta’s Abenaki Legends, Grammar, and Place Names is not just a dictionary, but also a dissection of an immense collection of different Abenaki words, names, and tales. Titles and stories are broken down and explained for the reader. Their origins are traced, and their importance is sketched. In constructing and compiling these extensive explanations, Masta is actively revitalizing the Abenaki language and promoting decolonization through the continued practice of the dying language. Masta is also utilizing the Abenaki language so as to carry on the myths and cosmos of the native people.
Within the foreword written by A. Irving Hallowell, a professor of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, he explains, “While the phonetic symbols used (in this book) are not refined to the extent demanded in academic circles, a reasonable degree of systemization has been achieved” (Hallowell, 11). This excerpt is an attempt to warn the reader that the writer will be using traditional Abenaki spellings and letter combinations. Masta chose this method in an effort to encourage proper pronunciation, thus keeping all words and names as true to the language as possible. This, then, is a distinct effort from Masta towards decolonization; Masta has challenged the “academic circles,” and has successfully published a piece of oral history that remains true to the roots of the native peoples.
Furthermore, the foreword includes several examples of the “reasonable degree of systemization” used by Masta so as to teach the reader how to pronounce certain letter combinations unique to Abenaki. For example: “‘w’ preceding or following a consonant is equivalent to 'u' pronounced as 'oo' in English, "moon," the difference being that in Abenaki this sound is uttered with even a more marqed [sic] lip protrusion and weak breath” (Hallowell, 11). This is a vivid example of the author’s initial goal, which is to promote decolonization through language revival. In the aforementioned excerpt, the reader is instructed how to pronounce certain words through physical direction. This adds to revival efforts and challenges the norm of the more widely spoken languages.
In addition to traditional Abenaki words and grammar, Masta lists ecological titles and their origins. An example from “The Meaning of Indian Names of Rivers, Lakes Etc.” section of the dictionary follows:
NAHANT, Mass. This celebrated watering place is a part of the beautiful town of Lynn. It is a peninsula, jutting out about five miles into Massachusetts Bay and forms Lynn Bay on the south. Nahant means point. (Masta, 93)
Masta has taken his dictionary and threaded into it several legends of his people and stories of different battles amongst native tribes. For the first two parts of Abenaki Legends, the book reads much like a religious or historical text. In his work, “The Life and Traditions of the Red Man, Joseph Nicolar explains that, “Henry Lorne Masta, former Head Chief of the St. Francis Abenaki at Odanak, Quebec, included three separate stories of Abenaki-Iroquois entanglements in his Abenaki Legends, Grammar, and Place Names” (Nicolar, 85). In Anthropological Linguistics, an archive of languages from Indiana University’s Anthropology Department, Masta, along with Pierre Paul Osunkhirine and Chife Joseph Laurent, is described as, “A native author who produced translations, legends, and descriptions of language, in addition to religious materials for the use of both Catholics and Congregationalists” (Grant, 577). These accreditations affirm that Masta is both historically accurate in his retellings and respected in his religious inclusions. These additions are important because they further display Masta’s wide net of efforts to encourage an embrace of Abenaki culture.
One of the first of Masta’s legends that the reader encounters involves John Loden, an Abenaki, and his wife Mary Nigen, a Wawenock of Becancour, Quebec. In the legend, they are headed to Batiscan River near Rat River, Quebec, late one summer. Colin M. Coates, in his The Metamorphoses of Landscape and Community in Early Quebec, offers insight into the area’s past: “The origins of the word “Batiscan” are obscure, though it doubtless has an Amerindian derivation” (Coates, 14).In the introduction, Masta announces that the couple are from different tribes. Although they may have originated separately, they have come together as husband and wife. The writer also uses landscape to establish a geographical reference and a connection to the earth, strengthened by Coates’ research.
As John and Mary walk, they come across a cherry bush. While snacking, they encounter a big bull moose, which John shoots on the head with cherry stones. The moose leaves, uninjured but uninterested. As they continue, Mary explains to John that the moose was actually a sorcerer, “Remark what I say... Thou shalt see something more wonderful than this ere thou again comest to St-Francis River” (Masta, 44). Mary is warning John that he will see something spectacular before he returns to St-Francis River, foreshadowing the end of the story. After spending the winter “thereabouts” and “remained there until the latter part of the summer,” the duo begins the journey back the way they came. They eventually come to the cherry tree again, but it is different, elevated on a rock that is shaped like a “gourd.” When John climbs the rock and begins picking cherries, Mary soon hears him call for help. She runs up to his unconscious body and wakes him. “Just then the moose was walking away with the small elevation and the big cherry tree on his back and horns; at the same time John and Mary heard someone say: ‘Mary, Mary, John, Mary, Mary, John Loden, Mary Nigen” (Masta, 45). The story ends with Mary telling John that now he sees what a sorcerer can do. John responds, “It is so amazing that I can hardly believe it.”
There is literary intricacy involved in this story, which is meant to illustrate the interconnectivity between different peoples, as well as their connection with the earth. Through John and Mary’s travels and the landmarks mentioned, the story displays the relationship that humans share with earth and nature: people live in tandem with the earth, and it is where all life begins and ends. Descriptive language aids in the symbolism: the gourd is symbolic of the fruitfulness of nature and its ability to sustain life. The physical difference in the land, the “elevation,” symbolizes the malleability of nature and represents change as inevitable. The aggression of the moose is symbolic of the force of nature and its ability to fight back after being mistreated, so unstoppable and awesome that humans, like John, can hardly believe it. Through the combination of extensive language use (the story is presented in both Abenaki and in English), Masta promotes the use of native language, while at the same time passing on and revitalizing a legend of Abenaki culture and ideals of the native people even to non-speakers.
In conclusion, Henry Lorne Masta’s Abenaki Legends, Grammar, and Place Names serves not only as a dictionary of an imperiled language, but as a tool of revitalization of a culture, and decolonization through the expression of linguistic mechanics and the retelling of timeless legends. In The Oxford Handbook of Indigenous American Literature, author James Howard Cox credits Masta for revitalizing the Abenaki language:
Finally, a number of Native writers in the Northeast published or composed books, journals, and documents in their Indigenous languages, enabling, perhaps without knowing it, the revitalization movements of the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Odenak Abenaki writers, including Peter Paul Wzôkhilain, Joseph Laurent, and Henry Lorne Masta, published awikhiganak, Western Abenaki language books, designed for teaching their students English. These works are being used today by language teachers, creative writers, and community members on both sides of the border to continue an endangered language that has survived centuries of colonization (Cox 552).
With the inevitability of further decline among Abenaki speakers and therefore the language itself, it is authors and scholars like Henry Lorne Masta that can be credited with succeeding in resuscitating a struggling culture. In their determined and unwavering efforts, Masta and his peers have also inspired future generations to continue the work.
Brooks, Lisa Tanya. The Common Pot: The Recovery of Native Space in the Northeast. U of Minnesota Press, 2008.
Coates, Colin M. The Metamorphoses of Landscape and Community in Early Quebec. McGill-Queens Press, 2000.
Cox, James Howard, James H. Cox, and Daniel Heath Justice. The Oxford Handbook of Indigenous American Literature. Oxford University Press, 2014.
Grant, Anthony P. "Review of Western Abenaki Dictionary, Volume 1: Abenaki-English; Volume 2: English-Abenaki by Gordon M. Day." Anthropological Linguistics. 38.3 (1996): 576-8. JSTOR. Web. 14 August 2015.
Masta, Henry Lorne. Abenaki Indian Legends, Grammar and Place Names. La Voix des boisfrancs, 1932.
Nicolar, Joseph. The Life and Traditions of the Red Man: A Rediscovered Treasure of Native American Literature. Duke University Press, 2007.
]]>New Familiar Abenakis and English Dialogues begins with the Abenakis alphabet, and then goes into the vowels, diphthongs, and syllables. The pronunciation key gets you ready to delve into the vocabulary that is broken up into sections; the first being “Of God’s Attributes” with words like Deity, Mercy, and Spirit. From the heavens, to the winds and seasons the reader is brought down from what is bigger than any single human to the very words used to describe the kinds people who inhabit this earth. The sections of words continue to take the reader back out of their own skin and into the very soil they walk on, and all the gratitude it deserves. The more difficult verbal translations and conjugations are at the end of the dictionary.
The structure of Laurent’s dictionary is also what widely sets it apart from others. His translations are set up as a journey through their land as opposed to a standard list. He takes the reader on a trip from Quebec and throughout New England through linguistics, and language education.Despite Laurent's upbringing of speaking fluent Abenaki and French,he created the substantial text in an effort to preserve the Abenaki language and culture. Laurent’s preface describes his intentions, along with a suggestion of how to read the book without criticism:
The primary intention, the chief aim of the Editor in publishing this book, is to aid the younger generation of the Abenakis tribe in learning English. It is also intended to preserve the uncultivated Abenakis language.
May this little volume, which will learn the white man how the Abenakis vocal organs express God’s attributes, the names of the various objects of the various objects of the creation; beasts, birds, fishes, trees, fruits, etc., etc., and how extended are the modifications of the Abenakis verb, be welcomed by the white as well as by the red man, and its errors and defects overlooked with indulgence.
(Signed) Sozap Lolu, alias, Jos. Laurent.
Aside from his work with language, Joseph Laurent was also an entrepreneur. He built a trading post and camp in Intervale, New Hampshire. It was erected in the same years as the publication of Laurent’s dictionary, 1884. The camp was located in a grove of white pines known as Cathedral Woods, across from the scenic overlook that resides on the border of North Conway and Intervale. A local hotel owner allowed Laurent to build on his land thinking the Abenaki business would benefit both men. It consisted of an Abenaki gift shop, five cabins, a wigwam, flagpole, and totem pole. Laurent purchased goods from Odanak members and took them to his trading post to sell to Euro-American tourists. They sold things like Victorian goods and miniatures, but their primary source of income was the sale of handmade ash-splint baskets. Tourists, who stayed at the hotel while traveling through the White Mountains could visit Laurent and his family, watch them make baskets and purchase goods. It was not only a business opportunity, but was also a way for his family to practice speaking English. After Laurent’s death in 1917 a monument was placed on a large stone in memory of him. The trading post remained for thirty-three years, and was maintained after Laurent's death until 1960 by his wife and son Stephen Laurent who was also an accomplished writer/linguist, and resided in Intervale until his death in 2001.
The camp in Intervale was more than a store. It symbolized the return of Abenaki people to their ancestral homeland. New England based nations were forced out of New England and into Canada during colonial settlement. The creation of the trading post gave the Abenakis the opportunity to reconnect to their original roots. With the future Abenaki generations on his mind, Laurent’s impact was one of the greatest of his people. The now historical site of his trading post remains today with the memorial to Laurent and the remains of a cabin or two, and New Familiar Abenakis and English Dialogues is still widely used as their language is being revived faster than ever. His memorial in Intervale ends with a quote from St. Mark 6:1:
“Ni Odzi Modzen Nidali Ta Wdali Paion Agmatta Wdakik”
“And he left that place and returned to his own country”
References:
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Rancourt was born and raised in west central Maine as part of the Abenaki Bear Clan, of which she is now an elder, though she currently lives in Hadley, New York(Archuleta 74; “Birthing the Drum” ; Birns 17). She not only has a Masters of Fine Arts in Poetry from Vermont College but also a Master of Science in Educational Psychology from University at Albany, SUNY (Erdrich). With her degrees and several abilities, Rancourt has coordinated Pow wows, and held workshops on several topics including drum making (“Birthing the Drum” ; Keyser). She has worked as a counselor for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in New York and has also worked as a parent education specialist for a Head Start Program in the northern part of New York (Rancourt 68; Erdrich). Among other things, Rancourt is also a singer/songwriter, a personal fitness trainer, a percussionist, an herbal educator, and a dance instructor (Erdrich) Rancourt is not afraid to try it all and to spread her knowledge to others.
Suzanne Rancourt’s work has appeared in numerous locations. It has been published in several literary journals including Callaloo and The Cimmaron Review, as well as many other anthologies (Rancourt “Poets & Writers”). Her most notable work is her collection of poetry calledBillboard in the Clouds, which won the Native Writer’s Circle of the Americas First Book Award in 2001, while some of her other pieces appear in The Journal of Military Experience Volume II.
The Journal of Military Experience contains prose, poetry, and artwork from veterans all across the United States. The goal of the journal is to express what it is truly like to serve and to “facilitat[e] a dialogue that can bridge the gap between civilians and those who serve” (The Journal of Military Experience). Rancourt published five different poems in this journal and while many of her other poems showcase stories of her life outside of the military, of her family, and of nature, the poems in this journal are packed with raw emotion all focused on her experiences in the military and army. Rancourt expresses the same intenseness that she does in her other poetry and remains true to her simplistic style for which she has been praised for (Birns 20). Her poems are rather short, but are packed with vivid images that speak of the aftermath of bombs, the tragedy of innocent deaths, and the confusion and exhaustion involved in serving.
I can remember my father bringing home spruce gum,
He worked in the woods and filled his pockets
with golden chunks of pitch.
For his children
he provided this special sacrament
and we’d gather at this feet, around his legs,
bumping his lunchbox, and his empty thermos rattled inside.
Our skin would stick to Daddy’s gluey clothing
and we’d smell like Mumma’s Pine Sol.
We had no money for store bought gum
but that’s all right.
The spruce gum
was so close to chewing amber
as though in our mouths we held the eyes of Coyote
and how many other children had fathers
that placed on their innocent, anxious tongue
the blood of tree?” (Rancourt 21)
This poem allows the reader so much access to Rancourt’s life as a child. It becomes apparent that Rancourt had a positive relationship with her father growing up. He provides this special gift to his kids and Rancourt questions “how many other children had fathers” who would do something like this for them. The act of getting this gum almost seems like a ritual for her and her siblings. They beg at the father’s feet and we get this textual image of Rancourt’s father’s sticky clothing that gives off a piney scent. It is this image that pulls the reader into the moment with little Suzanne Rancourt. It is very casually mentioned by Rancourt that they did not have money, but that it did not matter. She is not bothered by the fact that her family cannot afford gum like the other kids and she seems to relish in what she has. She makes a big deal about how the spruce gum connects her to nature, how it was like “chewing amber” and holding “the eyes of Coyote” in their mouths. Then she goes on to describe it again as “the blood of tree,” almost as if the pleasure of chewing this golden, delicious thing was a gift or sacrifice of nature; the sacrifice of a Coyote’s eye or the gift of the tree’s blood. Rancourt also paints her father as being very connected to nature by telling us that he works in the woods and this comes up in a few other poems, one in which she describes her father speaking to the sky.
It is through her poetry that Suzanne Rancourt stays so connected to her culture and to their relationship with nature. Suzanne wants to share with the world both where she comes from and where she has gone in life, all in the effort to keep alive the traditions, memories, and experiences that have defined her and her people.
Archuleta, Elizabeth. “Billboard In The Clouds.“ World Literature Today 80.3 (2006): 74. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.
Birns, Nicholas. “The Other East Coast.” American Book Review 26.3 (2005): 17-20. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.
“Birthing a Drum”. Heartbeat Collective. Web. Retrieved 4 April, 2013.
Erdrich, Heid E., and Laura Tohe. Sister Nations: Native American Women Writers on Community. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 2002. Print.
The Journal of Military Experience 2.2 (2012): Web.
Keyser, Tom. “Even in the heat, celebration: Native American heritage group holds powwow at sweltering Route 5S site.“ Times Union (Albany, NY) 18 July 2010:Newspaper Source. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.
Rancourt, Suzanne S. Billboard in the Clouds: Poems. Willimantic, CT: Curbstone, 2004. Print.
Rancourt, Suzanne. “Suzanne Rancourt.” Poets & Writers. Poets & Writers, 9 July 2012. Web.
]]>Bachofner co-founded and edits the online literary journal, Pulse in 1997. She is dedicated to unveiling new poetic voices and art. She has published her own poems in countless literary journals since 1995. Becoming a runner-up in the 2006 Main Street Rag Poetry Chapbook Award Contest, encouraged Bachofner to publish her poems in collections as well as in a broader array of literary journals including Prairie Schooner Journal, Main Street Rag, The Comstock Review, and Naugatuck River Review, among many others.
She has been nominated for several literary awards and honors, including Editor of the Year by the Wordcraft Circle of Writers & Storytellers in 1999 and Writer of the Year for her poetry by that same group in 2000. In 2007, Bachofner was a featured speaker at the Winter Wheat Conference at Bowling Green University, and in 2009, she was invited to be a presenter of poetry by indigenous writers at the Maine Literary Festival in Camden, Maine. She was also named in the 2009-10 publication of MarquisWho’s Who and made the short list (runner up) for individual works of poetry by the Maine Literary Festival in 2011. Carol’s poem Super-Hero won the First Place Portia Steele Memorial Award for Poetry in June 2007. In 2009, she was named “A Poet of Merit” by the Florence Poets Society.
In April of 2012, the City of Rockland, Maine named her Rockland, ME Poet Laureate. She launched her latest collection, Native Moons, Native Days (2012) at the Three Poets Book Launch, hosted by the Camden Public Library. Bachofner’s poem, We Speak the White Man’s Language, will appear in the anthology, Unraveling the Spreading Cloth of Time, edited by MariJo Moore and Trace A. DeMeyer. Her poems will also be appearing in the anthology Dawnland Voices, edited by Siobhan Senier, associate professor of English at the University of New Hampshire.
Bachofner frequently writes themed collections. Her collection titled I Write in the Greenhouse includes poems about Maine and its people, including Edna St. Vincent Millay and Andrew Wyath. Her other poems often describe the traditions within Native American culture. When asked in an interview by Fringe magazine what her favorite milestone in her poetry career has been, Bachofner gave a very thoughtful yet direct reply. She said, “Getting published in Prairie Schooner. I was in my MFA program and had written a kind of quirky poem for me. My advisor told me to throw it away, but I started sending it out and Prairie Schooner took it. That was a turning point for me. I realized it wasn’t about somebody else’s point of view, it was about the writing and how I encountered language. Carol often writes with a strong sense of place as narrative, and enjoys writing in both traditional and free verse.
Works Cited
Rector, Leta. “Genocide of the mind.” News From Indian Country (Feb. 12, 2004).
Ernest, Dagney. “Laureates Galore." The Camden Herald (March 27, 2013).
Three Poets Book Launch, Camden Library. June 22, 2011. YouTube.
Carol Bachofner, personal interview.
This basket, by Denise Pouliot, showcases a combination of sweetgrass and ash splint. Behind its deceptively simple yet beautiful design is the story of Abenaki basketmaking tradition. Abenaki basketmaking is more than a hobby, it is a way of life that emphasizes various aspects of Abenaki culture: family and friends, the teaching of the next generation, and sustainability. As an Abenaki basket maker, Denise Pouliot embodies all three.
Denise Pouliot is treasurer and member of the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook Abenaki ("Band Council Leaders"). Through their newsletters and educational programs, the band seeks to serve their people while informing the broader public about accurate indigenous history ("Goals Statement."). In 2009, Denise and Paul Pouliot began to learn Abenaki basketmaking under Sherry and Bill Gould (Pouliot, "Basket Apprentice Program" 9). While Denise Pouliot focused on basketmaking with Sherry Gould, Paul Pouliot focused on four aspects of preparing the material: "how to identify black or brown 'basket' ash in the forest, how to prepare and pound the log, split the splint, and to prepare the finished splint for the basket maker" (9). Together, Denise and Paul Pouliot illustrate the communal process of basketmaking (9). There are many steps to preparing a finished basket and each one is as necessary as the next (9). As part of the apprenticeship, Denise Pouliot learned to make various natural splint dyes:
Black Walnut Husks - Brown Dye
Pokeberries - Fuchsia
Blackberries - Light Purple
Goldenrod - Light Yellow (Pouliot, "Basket Apprentice Program Continued" 7)
Denise Pouliot often demonstrates her basketmaking at various events, such as at the Mt. Kearsage Indian Museum and at various craft fairs (Pouliot, "Basket making Activities" 5). At the 2010 Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum Winter Celebration, "Denise Pouliot had a Christmas tree decoration demonstration with a tree setup with a dozen or so traditionally made ornaments with a large ash tree topping star" ("Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum" 5). The attendees were able to make their own ornaments to take home, which encouraged them to appreciate the skill and effort required to make a basket (5). These types of events continue the basketmaking tradition while also bringing attention to Abenaki culture.
Like the ash splints of a basket, each individual basket maker is important but their strength is only increased through collaboration with others. As each ash splint is woven together to increase its strength and durability, so too do basket makers collaborate with others to strengthen their bonds and perpetuate Abenaki culture.
Denise and Paul Pouliot often collaborate with other Abenaki artisans and have even spoken of creating an Abenaki Artisan Collaborative ("Abenaki Artisan Collaborative."). The collaboration also includes other areas of Abenaki culture. The cover (Shown Below) of the language book, L8dwaw8gan Wji Abaznodakaw8gan: The Language of Basket Making by Jesse Bruchac, is a photograph of one of Denise Pouliot's baskets who was honored to have it included ("Book Review" 14). Pouliot has also participated in various Abenaki language camps that combine both language and baskets: "As part of the language camp, each afternoon was dedicated to ash splint basket making ("Abenaki Language Camp" 6). The students of the language camp also learned various basket making terms. For example, ida ni aln8ba8dwa means basket making and abaznodaal means a basket made of ash (Bruchac 12). By using basketmaking terms in Abenaki, the language camps combine two aspects of Abenaki culture that were once in danger of being lost. The many Abenaki basket makers and students of language that go to these events make that no longer the case. These language camps accomplish a variety of goals. First, they generate an interest in speaking the Abenaki language (Pouliot, "Abenaki Language Camp" 6). Second, they bring attention to basketmaking as a way of learning a language and illustrate that they are both linked together in Abenaki culture (6). Third, they foster a sense of community amongst those of Abenaki heritage and encourage the younger generations to get excited about their culture (6).
As important as it is to make baskets and learn Abenaki, it is far more important to demonstrate the process of basket making and teach the language so as "to pass on these traditions to our next seven generations" ("The Speaker Speaks" 14). Events and demonstrations help to ensure that various Abenaki traditions and the language will not be lost.
"Band Council Leaders." Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook Abenaki People. Cowass North America, n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2013.
Bruchac, Jesse. "Say That in Abenaki." Aln8bak News Jan-Feb-March. 2010: 12.
"Goals Statement." Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook Abenaki People. Cowass North America, n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2013.
Pouliot, Paul. "Abenaki Artisan Collaborative." Aln8bak News Oct-Nov-Dec. 2009: 6.
---. "Abenaki Language Camp." Aln8bak News April-May-June. 2010: 6.
---. "Basket Apprentice Program." Aln8bak News July-Aug-Sept. 2009: 9.
---. "Basket Apprentice Program Continued." Aln8bak News Oct-Nov-Dec. 2009: 7.
---. "Basket Making Activities." Aln8bak News April-May-June. 2010: 5.
---. "Book Review." Aln8bak News Jan-Feb-March. 2010: 14.
---. "Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum." Aln8bak News Oct-Nov-Dec. 2010: 5.
---. "The Speaker Speaks." Aln8bak News July-Aug-Sept. 2009: 14.
Photographs by Joshua Trott
]]>Abenaki basketmaker, Jeanne Brink keeps her culture and her grandmother's spirit alive by weaving baskets (like the ones shown below) with traditional materials, such as brown ash and sweet grass. Known for her miniature fancy baskets, Jeanne Brink often uses sweetgrass as it is easily maneuverable when doing minute details (Bruchac 63-68). A basket often shows a basket maker's personality and Brink uses various techniques in her basketmaking that mark the basket as specifically hers (63-68). For example, she is known for using a green candy-stripe pattern in her baskets by incorporating sweetgrass to create a subtle swirl around a basket's lid and sides (63-68). The baskets shown below are made with a combination of sweetgrass and both dyed and un-dyed ash splints ("We're Still Here").
Jeanne Brink first became interested in basketmaking when she was little while watching her grandmother make baskets ("Voices of Vermont Women: Jeanne Brink"). However, it was not until she grew into an adult that she realized that her grandmother represented a living history ("Voices of Vermont Women: Jeanne Brink."). Her grandmother, Elvine Obomsawin, told a story in Abenaki of the Abenaki version of "Rogers' Raid" ("Voices of Vermont Women: Jeanne Brink"). The story was recorded and then translated by Gordon Day and eventually became the basis of Malian's Song ("Voices of Vermont Women: Jeanne Brink"). Please click here for various audio links of Jeanne Brink speaking about her grandmother. But it was her grandmother's dexterous weaving that sparked Jeanne Brink to investigate the tradition of basketmaking ("Voices of Vermont Women: Jeanne Brink"). Brink attended one basketmaking class from a non-native, only to return frustrated with an unfinished basket ("Voices of Vermont Women: Jeanne Brink"). After a visit with her mother, Brink discovered the Abenaki tradition of basketmaking students first starting by making hundreds of bookmarks to get the technique down before finally making a basket ("Voices of Vermont Women: Jeanne Brink"). Brink spent the next four years making bookmarks until she took an apprenticeship with a fellow Abenaki basketmaker, Sophie Nolette, from Odanak ("Voices of Vermont Women: Jeanne Brink").
After mastering the art of basket making, Jeanne Brink began to give back to the community by teaching others what she knew. Brink takes on various apprentices to pass on the basketmaking tradition ("New Hampshire Traditional Arts & Folklife Listing"). One of her apprentices, Sherry Gould, is also featured in this exhibit. Education is very important to Jeanne Brink and does not limit her teaching to basketmaking. In fact, she serves as a Native American consultant to various schools and even participates in various Abenaki language camps ("New Hampshire Traditional Arts & Folklife Listing"). Language camps are very successful in preserving and reviving the Abenaki language and Brink does her part by hosting them at her home (Pouliot, "Abenaki Language Camps" 5). In addition to the language camps, Brink often collaborates with others of Abenaki heritage to preserve the culture (Pouliot, "Abenaki Artisan Collaborative" 6). In 2010, Brink contributed to L8dwaw8gan Wji Abaznodakaw8gan: The Language of Basketmaking, a book by Jesse Bruchac that combines language and basketmaking as a way of sparking interest in the Abenaki language. It is through this cycle of teaching and learning that Abenaki culture and language is revived.
Bruchac, Jesse Bowman, Elie Alfred Joseph Joubert, and Jeanne Brink. L8dwaw8gan Wji Abaznodakaw8gan: The Language of Basket Making. New York: Greenfield Center, 2010. Print.
"New Hampshire Traditional Arts & Folklife Listing." New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. State of New Hampshire, n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2013.
Pouliot, Paul. Abenaki Artisan Collaborative." Aln8bak News Oct-Nov-Dec. 2009: 6.
---."Abenaki Language Camp." Aln8bak News April-May-June. 2010: 6.
"Voices of Vermont Women: Jeanne Brink." Womenspeak: Voices of Vermont Women. Vermont Folklife Center, n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2013.
"We're Still Here" Online Exhibit. Center For New England Culture. University of New Hampshire. N.d. Web.
Photograph Copyright 2005, University of New Hampshire Photographic Services
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