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
]]>Garret was visited often by townspeople, and was even allowed to be released from custody to participate in Christian gatherings after her proclaimed conversion to Christianity. The decision to convert was quite common for Indians facing death, and may have even been a failed attempt at receiving a pardon from the Government, as Garret had been in a Christian home since the age of fourteen without showing any signs of assimilating to the culture of her captors.
The format of Katherine Garret’s “Dying Warning” is consistent with the genre of Indian deathbed literature, as well as criminal biography; two forms that were popularized due to the era of the Great Awakening, and was used as evidence to prove how effective the reformation of Native Americans was. However, Garret broke from the approved format by using strong language and images to illustrate her feelings about her impending execution. The language was not outright enough to be edited from the document, which was distributed by Revered Eliphalet Adams, who spent a great deal of time with Garret during her incarceration and delivered the sermon at her execution, and both documents published by Timothy Green.
In the opening sentence, Garret uses the word “justice” to directly reference the injustice of what has happened to her; she was placed before a jury of white men, despite the lack of evidence directly linking her to the murder, and sentenced to death, though the act she was thought to have committed was most likely done in accordance with Pequot tribal traditions. Garret was forcefully separated from her culture at the young age but remained faithful to the Pequots, as is noted in her dress and resistance of conversion to Christianity. It should be noted that the name of the suspected father to the child was never named in the trial, sermon, character account, or dying warning. She calls out to “the Justice of the Court who has Sentenced me to die this Death”, which she stated prior was to be a “Violent Death”, as a late appeal to the emotional in the hopes that she may be released. Garret spends the first half of the text in describing how she came to her Conversion in prison, and thanking those who showed her kindness and brought her books to read, other than the Bible. Garret speaks about her past as a sinner, “a sinner by Nature, also guilty of many Actual Transgressions, Particularly of Pride and Lying, as well as of the Sin of destroying the Fruit of my own Body”, although she does not openly say that she committed murder, further evidence that she saw the supposed infanticide as a form of abortion. Garret recognizes that she “destroyed the Fruit”, purposefully not using any word to call to mind a human child, and takes responsibility in the words “my own Body”.
The second section of the warning is quite typical- urging children to behave and listen to their parents, though Garret does use natural images from Native spiritual traditions in order to understand the harsh punishments of the Christian Bible; “For the Eye that Mocks at his Father and despiseth to Obey his Mother, the Ravens of the Valley shall pick it out, and the Young Eagles shall eat it”. In the “Anonymous Character Account” that is believed to have been written by Adams, as it was included in the pamphlet of his sermon, there is a reference to Garret having been with in the home of the Reverend Worthington since “childhood”, but she had not been assimilated prior to her incarceration. In her use of traditional Native ideas, Garret again points to her true culture.
The third section is a complete break from the traditional form, calling out to servants and slaves “Either Whites or Blacks, be Obedient to your Masters & Mistresses” but “Above all Fear God; fear to Sin against Him: He is our Great Master”. By combining slaves, regardless of their color, into one group and emphasizing that God is the true Master, Garret makes the ownership position of master on Earth a trivial one, as “Parents and Masters…You must also give an Account to God how you carry it to them”. Everyone reports to the same Master after death, regardless of their societal position in life.
Fickes, Michael L. “`They Could Not Endure That Yoke’: The Captivity of Pequot Women and Children After the War of 1637”,
Boston, Patience. “A Faithful Narrative of the Wicked Life andRemarkable Conversion of Patience Boston Alias Samson; Who Was Executed at York, in the County of York, July 24th. 1735. for the Murder of Benjamin Trot of Falmouth in Casco Bay, a Child of About Eight Years of Age, Whom She Drowned in a Well.”, 1738.
Adams, Eliphalet. “A Sermon Preached on the Occasion of the Execution of Katherine Garret, an Indian-servant (who Was Condemned for the Murder of Her Spurious Child) on May 3d 1738. To Which Is Added Some Short Account of Her Behavior After Her Condemnation.” Timothy Green, 1738. Early American Imprints. Garret, Katherine. “Dying Warning of Katherine Garret”, New London, Connecticut, May 3, 1738.
Lauber, Almon Wheeler, and The Faculty of Political Science Columbi. Indian Slavery in Colonial Times Within the Present Limits of the United States. BiblioBazaar, 2010.
Salisbury, Neal. “Indians and Colonists in Southern New England After the Pequot War.” The Pequots in Southern New England: The Fall and Rise of an American Indian Nation, 198:81–95. The Cilvilization of the American Indian Series. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1990.
Schorb, Jodi. “Seeing Other Wise.” Early Native Literacies in New England: a Documentary and Critical Anthology, 148–161. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2008.
Carocci, Max. “Written Out of History: Contemporary Native American Narratives of Enslavement," June 2009.
]]>The pack basket with a leather harness shown in the picture below is particularly striking and showcases Bill Gould's skill in basketmaking. Used for carrying supplies while out in the woods, the pack basket is 20 inches high and made out of brown ash.
Basketmakers Bill and Sherry Gould work to maintain and continue the traditional art of basketmaking (“Western Abenaki Baskets”). They are enrolled members of the Abenaki Nation at Nulhegan/ Memphremagog and are passionate about making beautiful baskets (Gould). They pass on their knowledge and skill by taking on apprentices through the NH Arts Council Traditional Arts Program (Gould). As one of the main materials of basketmaking, ash trees are very important to basketmakers such as Bill Gould. Unfortunately, increasing human population and the introduction of foreign invasive species has made it much harder to find healthy ash trees for basketmaking.
The emerald ash borer, for example, is a beetle-like insect that eats Ash trees (Remillard). The beetle has already done a large amount of destruction. In Michigan alone, tens of millions of Ash trees have been lost, costing municipalities, property owners, nursery operators, and forest product industries tens of millions of dollars ("Emerald Ash Borer"). Although currently not present in New Hampshire, it is prevalent in Vermont and Massachusetts and the risk for its spread into New Hampshire is high (“Emerald Ash Borer”). New Hampshire forest service and other environmental agencies are doing what they can to prevent its introduction into the state (McCullough). For example, one way to avert the spread of the beetle is through the restriction of the transportation of firewood across state lines. Additionally, various traps developed specifically for the ash borer are used to capture the beetles (McCullough). Research is also being conducted into ground nesting wasps that feed on the borers and may keep their population in check (Remillard). This type of research ensures that Ash trees will survive for generations to come.
Although gathering the material for basketmaking is a lengthy process, Bill Gould continues to make baskets the traditional Abenaki way by first felling and pounding an ash tree. The strips of growth rings are split down to very thin layers and the underside of the outer two layers are scraped smooth. The strips are then moistened and cut down to meet the size of the basket (Sturtevant). There are molds of all different shapes and sizes that the Abenaki basket makers use to form their baskets. For example, some molds are square and small while others are tall and circular (Sturtevant). The ash splints used in basket making can also be died different colors to add certain effects to the baskets. Click here for a video of Ash being split by Jesse Larocque.
Bill and Sherry Gould are committed to continue the traditions of basket making and often have open door events at their home so people can see their workshop and learn about Abenaki heritage and culture (Gould).
“Emerald Ash Borer.” emeraldashborer.info. n.d. Web. 13 October 2012.
Gould, Sherry. “Artist Biographies.”
McCullough, Deborah G. “ Double-Decker Traps to Detect Emerald Ash Borer.” Michigan State University and USDA Forest Service. 2009. Web. 17 October 2012.
Remillard, Kathy. “NH Protects Itself from Emerald Ash Borer.” Union Leader. 21 July 2012. Web. 13 October 2012.
Sturtevant, William C. Handbook of North American Indians. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1978. Print.
“Western Abenaki Baskets – Home.” Western Abenaki Baskets. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012.
]]>Before the colonists arrived in America, the Abenaki tribe of New England lived an environmentally efficient and culturally sustainable lifestyle (Porter). Unfortunately, with the arrival of white settlers came the need for adaptation. Engaging in capitalism became necessary for the survival of the tribe. Therefore, many Abenaki turned to their basketry as a way to generate a modest income, which allowed them to remain afloat in a capitalist system (Porter). In the 1800s, tourists attractions, such as the White Mountains, became a popular place to sell baskets (Porter). The Abenaki continued to use traditional materials such as sweetgrass and brown ash splints in these baskets but changed the styles in order to attract more customers. For example, Victorian women would purchase work baskets, like the one pictured below, as souvenirs and use them to hold things like knitting supplies or other small household items. These fancy baskets, decorated with colored dyes, “appealed to the Victorian fondness for embellishment and elaboration” (Lester 154). Often the Abenaki vendors—almost always men, as women would remain at home with the children while their husbands travelled to sell the baskets—would dress in what was perceived as ‘traditional’ Indian clothing, wearing extra furs and feathers to play up their ‘Indian-ness' and increase their sales (154).
It is clear in an 1890 petition, written by the Abenaki of Quebec to the proprietors of hotels in the White Mountains, that the European presence was hindering the Abenaki ability to survive as an Indian nation (Phillips 52). The petition asks, “Not to let any but Indians or those married to Indian women” sell their baskets or other goods on the hotels’ properties (52). The petition emphasizes the need of the Abenaki to both maintain their culture and make a living. Selling baskets was the perfect way of fulfilling their need because baskets allowed them to continue a traditional art important to their culture while also making a profit. Restricting the opportunity to only Indian vendors would ensure that American Indian basketmakers had a constant demand for fancy baskets. A similar opportunity today is the ability to label items as Indian made, which increases the monetary value of the item (Upham).
Pictured below is a modern example of a fancy work basket made by Sherry Gould, a New Hampshire basket maker and certified member of the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe (Gould). Sherry Gould has apprenticed under Abenaki basketmakers, Newt Washburn and Jeanne Brink (Gould). She also became the first Abenaki basket maker to be juried by the League of NH Craftsman in the state of New Hampshire (Gould). Sherry Gould hopes to continue the tradition of basket making, an important part of Abenaki culture, into the next generation and beyond (Gould). She also hopes that her "modern works of art will be appreciated by current and future generations" (Gould). Both Sherry Gould and her husband, Bill Gould, demonstrate their art in various museums and fairs in the hopes of spreading their culture to the general public (Gould).
This basket is important to Abenaki culture because it demonstrates the continuance of a traditional Abenaki art form. It tells the story of how baskets have changed throughout the years. The basket is made of sweetgrass and, at eight inches wide by four inches tall, would likely be used to hold ladies’ needles and thread, had it been made and sold in the mid- to late-nineteenth century (Porter). The basket’s cover and sweetgrass handle allow it to be a sturdy and reliable container for sewing kits and its green dyes and braided design make it a beautiful basket to look at. In addition to being a practical and attractive souvenir, Abenaki baskets contained a wealth of cultural tradition, stemming from the materials from which they were made (Phillips). As Ruth Phillips points out in her book, Trading Identities: The Souvenir in Native North American Art from the Northeast, 1700-1900, “The widespread use of sweetgrass as a sacred ritual is ancient” (Phillips 270). Sweetgrass is believed to bring good luck to those who obtain it and is sworn to ward off evil spirits and purify any location, according to many Indian legends (270).
Sweetgrass has always been a widespread plant, present on each coast and in places down South and grows predominately in marshes and wetlands (Leif). However, it is becoming more and more difficult to obtain as these ecosystems are being sold off for development at an astounding rate ("Threats to Salt Marsh Environments"). For basket makers in New Hampshire, the development of Interstate 89 and private landowning in its area have become problematic regarding the collection of sweetgrass ("Threats to Salt Marsh Environments"). As it is, sweetgrass can only be harvested once per year, in July, and one must pick enough to last until the next harvest (Phillips). Native basket makers are historically resilient, however, and that is no different now, as many travel to places along the Maine coast to gather their sweetgrass, and some grow their own.
Traditionally, Abenaki baskets include a sweetgrass rim, and the fancy work baskets relied on the pleasant smell of sweetgrass to attract buyers (Leif). Losing sweetgrass in the basket making practice would be losing a sizable and important part of the Native American and Abenaki culture. As Joan Lester points out in the Laurie Weinstein edited Enduring Traditions: The Native Peoples of New England, “When they use materials or processes that are centuries old, they again follow and retain the ways of their ancestors” (Lester, 157-8).
While the tourists who purchased baskets similar to this one may not have fully understood their cultural significance, their native makers did. Each basket maker knew exactly what they were weaving into their items: an important sense of tribal identity (Bruchac). Joan Lester further explains that, while the selling of these souvenirs was born out of economic necessity, “creating and selling Indian work also supports cultural survival” (157). The basket below, and many like it, are important reminders of the rich Abenaki history and the sweetgrass that comprises it upholds the presence of an Abenaki cultural hallmark.
Bruchac, Jesse, Joseph Alfred Elie Joubert, and Jeanne Brink. L8dwaw8gan Wji Abaznodakaw8ganThe Language of Basketmaking. Greenfield Center, NY: Bowman, 2010. Print.
Leif, John W. “Sweet Grass.“ Plant Fact Sheet. United States Department of Agriculture, 09 Apr. 2010. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.
Lester, Joan. “Art for Sale: Cultural and Economic Survival.” Enduring Traditions: The Native Peoples of New England. Ed. Laurie Weinstein. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey, 1994. 151-67. Print.
Phillips, Ruth B. Trading Identities: The Souvenir in Native North American Art from the Northeast, 1700-1900. Seattle: University of Washington, 1998. Print.
Porter, Frank W. “Native American Basketry.“ The Art of Native American Basketry: A Living Legacy. New York: Greenwood, 1990. 67. Print.
”Threats to Salt Marsh Environments.“ Environmental Fact Sheets. New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, Aug. 2008. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.
”Western Abenaki Baskets – Home.“ Western Abenaki Baskets. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2012.
In the Wampanoag tribe, women played a very important role that went far beyond the stereotypical colonial women that was soon adopted. Wampanoag native women brought in on average 75% of the food consumed and one of their most well known and loved dishes is called “Three Sisters Rice”, a dish which combines all of their most abundant and important crops; rice, corn, beans, and squash. The native spirituality had many different aspects but centered around the idea of one Mother Earth. The most plentiful and cherished crops; corn, beans, and squash, were examples of how Mother Earth takes care of the human race. The native culture cherished the female body and felt a strong bond between themselves and Mother Earth. “The land was used and shared; it was not owned.” (Dresser 45). They viewed Mother Earth as everywhere around them and understood that as land, she was not property but instead meant for survival. “Women were the souls of the councils, the arbiters of peace and war, and in whom all real authority was vested.” (Leacock 265). For them, Mother Earth had given them the ability to take the lives of plants and animals to sustain their own survival but only because humans are able to respect the sacrifice these other living organisms make for us and understand how it nourishes our bodies, she was the one spiritual leader.
Native Wampanoag people understood and loved the female figure just as the ancient Greeks had understood the importance of the woman’s body and worshiped its spirituality. European colonist however, had implemented a society where a woman was only for making children, making clothing, and staying within the household; very much an object that men could buy and own—inadvertently and helplessly reliant on her working husband. Just as this idea had spread across Europe and other nations in Central America and South America, when the colonist arrived to New England they started to infiltrate the native’s beliefs simply by not acknowledging women in roles of authority. In order to save their land, Wampanoag men would learn how to speak and write in English. The men primarily did this because women were not allowed, and women were not allowed because colonists did not acknowledge women in any type of authority. Slowly the balance between men and women started to shift. Eventually, as children of this time grew up with their mothers at home and their fathers at school, church, and working in the fields, this way of life became inherited until it was eventually the only way of life natives knew.
The inheritance of land was passed down through the mother lineage, and in Land deposition #35 from the Native Writings in New England, the Wampanoag Sachem leaves his land to two women; Ales Sessetom and Keziah Sessestom. Not only does this Sachem swear in the name of God, but also the deed is written in English. “During the colonial period, male authority was being encouraged by Euro-Americans in their political and military dealings with Native Americans at the same time as Indian women were becoming dependent in individual households on wage-earning and trading husbands” (Leacock 264). By adopting Christianity and English literacy, the Wampanoag people were trying to save their land in any way possible. Of course, the colonist would neither accept this deed as legitimate regardless of how many witnesses signed at the bottom nor would they ever allow a woman, let alone a native woman, to own land. Until these documents were found and transcribed, to the common public it seemed that women played absolutely no authoritative role in native literacy or society. Experience Mayhew, a colonist and missionary who worked alongside the Native Wampanoags, understood the women and children’s role in their tribal society. Instead of comparing women to the subservient role that men play to god, he instead wrote about their struggles with colonization and how they had once been respected. Experience was also the Reverend who signed off on the Land deed dated March 14, 1689 - who grants permission for the two women to own land.
The idea that native women were weak and unreliable as human beings is completely false. Weetamoo served as a Sachem to the Wampanoag tribe during King Philips War and was remembered and worshiped for her strength, beauty, and severe confederacy. She was not some weak housewife who depended on her husband. Instead she was an active member of society who was entrusted with some of the most vital assessments for her people. Awashonks was another Wampanoag woman Sachem and ruled at a time when tensions between Colonist and Natives were about to break out into King Philips War, which is noted as one of the most violent periods of warfare. Clearly if women were able to rule over entire tribes and own land, then the oppression that eventually took over the Americas and other countries did not originate from within. Instead, it was learned and instigated by Colonization and Christianity. Overall it is clear that Wampanoag women were taking a stand and fighting for their land just as the men were, in any way possible!
]]>