Ruth Garby Torres is a member of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation (Indian Legal Program 10). She is an author, public servant, academic, and a recipient of numerous awards for her work (Charter Oak "Alumni"). A lifelong Connecticut resident, except for…
Henry Lorne Masta was born on March 9, 1853. He was an Abenaki writer, teacher, and a scholar of the Abenaki Language. He was also a respected leader in the Abenaki community. Lisa Brooks, author of The Common Pot, wrote that Masta, “published…
Joseph Laurent (1839-1917) was chief of the Abenaki village of Odanak in Quebec, Canada from 1880 to 1892. He was a teacher and leader in the Abenaki community, and Odanak Nation throughout his life. Laurent, also known as Sozap Lolô, is best known…
John Christian Hopkins is a Narraganset journalist, author, poet and public speaker who resides in Tuba City, Arizona. Hopkins was born in 1960 in Westerly, Rhode Island. In 1983, he enrolled at the University of Rhode Island, where he graduated with…
Larry Spotted Crow Mann is a Native author and musician belonging to the Nipmuc tribe. At an early age, Mann developed a strong interest in his tribe and has since worked to educate the public about Nipmuc history and culture (Sacks). On his role of…
Life and Career
Vera J. Francis is a Passamaquoddy educator, environmental activist and performance artist rooted in Wabanaki traditional storytelling. She resides in Perry, Maine, on the Pleasant Point (Sipayik) Reservation. Francis writes and…
Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel (b.1960)* grew up on Occum Lane on Mohegan Hill, on the homestead of her legendary ancestor, Samson Occum/Occom. She learned Mohegan traditions from her great-aunt, Gladys Tantaquidgeon.
Zobel holds multiple academic…
Lorèn Spears, MsEd, (Narragansett/Niantic) is an educator, essayist, artist and two-term Tribal Councilwoman of the Narragansett Tribe in Charlestown, Rhode Island, where she currently resides. She is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island and…