Wabanaki Legislative News (Oct. 2003)
creator: Loring, Donna M. and Donald Soctomah
source: University of New England Maine Women Writers Collection
date: 2003-10
contributor: Cathleen Miller, UNE Julia Brush
rights: Donna M. Loring and Donald G. Soctomah. Used with permission. We thank University of New England for making digitized copies available.
format: pdf
language: English
type: Document

Wall Basket (late 1700s to mid 1800s)
description: Wall Basket, late 1700s to mid 1800s, Ash Splint, Abenaki, Housed at the Hopkinton Historical Society Probably used to store fruits and vegetables, this basket was made to hang on a hook on the wall (Hopkinton Historical Society). Wide-open spaces at the bottom of the basket would allow air to circulate facilitating the quick drying of food or other items placed in the basket (Hopkinton Historical Society). According to the Hopkinton Historical Society, there is a residue on the inside of the basket that may suggest something wet was hung to dry inside it (Hopkinton Historical Society). The strong handle would probably be able to support a heavy load. In addition, the edge of the basket is reinforced with a continuous splint in a spiral formation. The strength of the basket illustrates the skill with which baskets are made. Although the basket is utilitarian in nature, "red and black natural dyes were swabbed on the exterior of some of the splints and on the visible portion of the interior"(Hopkinton Historical Society). The visible black splints make a square checkerboard shape, which compliments the pattern of the plain colored splints. The black splints were dyed with natural dyes, which suggest the date of the basket to be from the late 1700s to mid 1800s (Hopkinton Historical Society). A Basket Speaks But what analysis can be gained by looking at a basket? How much can a basket say? In her essay, "The Cultural Work of a Mohegan Painted Basket," Stephanie Fitzgerald writes, "Baskets, which were and still are ceremonial and utilitarian objects used for transportation and storage of items, prayer ceremonies, and traditional games, function as communicative devices. In sum, by touching every aspect of daily Native life, both past and present, basketry is imbued with cultural and spiritual power" (Fitzgerald 53). As an object needed for daily use, baskets have a direct connection to daily Native life. Because a basket is connected to the community, both now and in t…
creator: Unknown
date: late 1700s-mid 1800s
format: jpeg
type: Still Image

Yarn Basket (c. 1760) by Penacook Abenaki Indians
description: Yarn Basket, c. 1760, Ash Splint, Penacook Abenaki, Housed at the Hopkinton Historical Society This ash splint yarn basket, dating to 1760, is one of the earliest baskets in our online archive. It is also one of the earliest known Penacook baskets. The early date is notable because most baskets around today are of a later date. Part of the Hopkinton Historical Society collection, this basket once held a label that read, "Ball Basket for Knitting Work/ Date 1760" and indicates that the basket would have been used as a holding place for yarn (Hopkinton Historical Society). Additionally, a piece, meant to hold knitting needles, is missing. Splints of different sizes make up the rotund shape of the basket. Several splints are dyed black with a natural dye. Despite fading, red and yellow dye is evident on some of the splints. This basket boasts a friendship chain around the lid and at various points around its midsection (Hopkinton Historical Society). (The friendship chain is also present in another basket within this archive.) The basket boasts an equal mix of utilitarian purpose and aesthetic design. In other words, it fulfills both the functions of utility and decoration. This basket and others like it are a testament to the continuing presence of the Abenaki people long after they are said to have disappeared from New Hampshire. Much earlier than the popular fancy baskets of the late 1800s, the basket is a precursor that emphasizes the longstanding Abenaki tradition of basket making. The Significance of an Early Basket The early date of this basket indicates that the Abenaki adapted economically much sooner than the fancy basket period: “Beginning in the 1700s, making and selling baskets and other traditional art forms became a means of survival that still allowed for the freedom to continue traditional ways” (Mundell 25). Not only were they selling utilitarian baskets to farmers but were creating more specialized baskets to fill specific needs such as this particul…
creator: Penacook Abenaki Indians
date: circa 1760
contributor: Ana Caguiat, UNH 2012
format: jpeg
type: Still Image

"Herbs & Roots" (1754) by Samson Occom
description: This 1754 herbal diary is a rare written record of indigenous medicinal practices from early New England. Part of the original manuscript is housed at Dartmouth College (link above); the other part is in the New London County Historical Society in Connecticut. A full transcription can be found in Joanna Brooks’s collection of Occom’s writings. 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. I…
creator: Occom, Samson
date: 1754
contributor: Verna Boudreau UNH '16 Jody Curran UNH '12
format: jpeg
language: English
type: Document

Suzanne Rancourt
description: Suzanne Rancourt is a Native American poet, veteran of both the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army, and a regular Jack of all trades (Erdrich). Rancourt connects with people through her poetry, as well as through other art forms, and through instructive positions and jobs she has held. About Her Life 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. About Her Writing 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 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…
date: n.d.
contributor: Tracy Lavallee, UNH '14
format: jpeg
language: English
type: Still Image

Berry Basket with Floral Design (c. 1840)
description: Berry Basket, c. 1840, Ash Splint, Possibly Mohegan, Housed at Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum 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. The Meaning of the Floral Design 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 at…
creator: Unknown
date: circa 1840
contributor: Emily Fortin, UNH '13
rights: Image used with permission of Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, Warner, NH
format: jpeg
type: Still Image

Eel weir basket (c. early 1900s)
description: Eel Weir, c. early 1900s, Wood Splint, Abenaki, Housed at The Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum An unidentified fishing basket trap from the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum in Warner, NH, is likely an eel trap. Woven from wood splints, it stands nearly three feet high when stood on end. Museum staff is unsure of this basket’s exact date and place of origin, but Abenaki and other Native people in northeastern New England have long used trap baskets of this kind with their fishing weirs. Abenaki basket maker Bill Gould, who makes similar items, explains that a trap like this “is set up under water and weighed down with bait inside.” What is a Fishing Weir? Fishing weirs, sometimes constructed of stone, and sometimes of wooden stakes, work “to obstruct the passage of the fish in order to facilitate its capture, and impound the fish so that it cannot get away" (lutins). Weirs can capture fish traveling either upstream or downstream, usually during the spawning period, when they have the most fat. In a 1992 study of prehistoric fishing weirs in the northeast, allen lutins observes that “weirs and traps may be used independently, but their functions are often combined in a single structure when traps are used to collect the fish forced by the weir to a narrow outlet.” The oldest fishing weirs could be vast. Fredrick Johnson describes an enormous prehistoric weir found in 1913 under Boylston Street in Boston. Dating back to the Late Archaic period, it covers about two acres and includes some 65,000 stakes interwoven with brush wattling, or a mixture of shrubs and branches (27). The Late Archaic period occurred in 1250 BC-3800 BC (Fagan 202). According to Johnson, the difference in construction between this ancient fish weir and modern ones was that the stakes were not evenly spread out or of the same size (Johnson 57). Fishing, Baskets, and Culture Throughout New England, fishing has been an important means of subsistence for Native people, promoting a spiritual connection to specif…
creator: Unknown "Woodlands Indian"
date: circa 1900
contributor: Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum Hayley Pac, UNH '12
rights: Image used with permission of Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, Warner, NH
format: jpeg
type: Still Image

Introduction to Captured: 1614 by Paula Peters (2014)
description: Paula Peters is a Native American journalist and educator from Mashpee, Massachusetts. She worked for the Cape Cod Times from 1992-2002 and has worked to educate the public about Native history as part of the Indian Program at Plimoth Plantation (first as an interpreter in the 1970s and 1980s, and returning in 2005 as Director of Marketing and Public Relations). Peters attended Bridgewater State University from 1984-1986. She was actively involved in the Mashpee federal recognition effort, with her father, Russell Peters (d. 2002), and many other tribal members. In an interview with NPR in 2006, Peters recalls a time when "nobody in Washington cared much about which tribes were recognized." Like her father, Peters has served on the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council. With her husband, Mark Harding, who serves as the council's treasurer, she co-founded the marketing company SmokeSygnals. As executive producer of Captured: 1614, Peters continues her longstanding efforts to tell history from the Wampanoag perspective. The exhibit was first unveiled in November 2014 at the Plymouth Public Library in Plymouth, Massachusetts, marking the 400th anniversary of the kidnapping of Squanto and 19 other Wampanoag tribe members by English settlers. The essays included here comprised some of Peters's contributions to that exhibit. Captured will travel and continue to grow until 2020, the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower. Peters serves on the committee of Plymouth 400, the non-profit organization planning that event.
creator: Peters, Paula
source: Captured: 1614
date: 2014
contributor: Victoria Leigh Gibson, UNH 2016
rights: Paula Peters
language: English
type: Document

Joan Tavares Avant
description: Joan Tavares Avant is a Mashpee Wampanoag elder, historian, and writer who works to promote an accurate representation of her Mashpee Wampanoag culture and heritage. Family From the day of her birth on April 14, 1940 until today, Joan Tavares Avant has lived in Mashpee, Massachusetts. As she puts it: “I was born in Mashpee as a Mashpee Wampanoag, Why would I want to leave?” She is the granddaughter of revered Mashpee Wampanoag Elder Mabel Pocknett Avant, in whose ancestral home now resides the Mashpee Wampanoag Historical Museum, of which Avant has been the past director of. She is mother to four children, grandmother to five grand-children, great grandmother to 3 great grandchildren, and has two un-adopted adult children, all which she loves dearly. She is also one of seven clan mothers, the Deer clan mother of her tribe. Granny Squannit Granny Squannit is one of the oldest Wampanoag legends. An old medicine woman with long black hair covering the single eye in her forehead, she snatches away children who misbehave, taking them away in her canoe to her cave in Cummaquid to scare them into being good. However, Granny Squannit also has a benevolent side, giving presents to good children and guiding sailors who leave her gifts. Every Halloween, Avant dresses up as Granny and greets (often scaring them in the process) Mashpee children as they walk through the woods. After playing Granny Squannit for adults, children and organizations and keeping her alive through writings for 20 years, Avant was given “Granny Squannit” as her native name from their tribal medicine man. She continues to write articles on Granny Squannit, even having her own column titled “Tales from Granny Squannit” in the Mashpee Enterprise in recent years. She also has a black and white tattoo of Granny Squannit on her right arm Education Unlike some of her author peers, Avant did not enter college immediately after high school, finding it hard to be accepted to a university because of her Native stat…
date: n.d.
contributor: Shelby McGuigan, UNH '13
format: jpeg
type: Still Image

John Christian Hopkins
description: 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 degrees in journalism and history in 1987. Journalism Endeavors Hopkins spent time as a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist for the Gannett News Service, and also has written for USA Today, The News-Press, The Pequot Times, The Westerly Sun, Indian Country Today Media Network, News from Indian Country and Native Peoples Magazine. His work has received recognition from the Gannett Awards and the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) Awards. In 2003, he became the first member of the NAJA to receive awards in four different writing categories during the same year (news, features, sports and columns). From an early age, Hopkins knew exactly what he wanted to do and made it happen. “I’ve never wanted to do anything other than write,” Hopkins said in an interview. “Through journalism I saw a chance to write, tell stories of interesting people and things and get paid for it!” From Journalist to Author The field of journalism has brought Hopkins from Rhode Island to Massachusetts, New York, Florida, and now Arizona. While he has been in the reporting business for twenty-plus years, he also delved into writing fiction novels over the past decade. Hopkins has published five books: Carlomagno in 2003, Nacogdoches in 2004, The Pirate Prince Carlomagno in 2011, Twilight of the Gods in 2011, and Rhyme or Reason: Narragansett Poetry in 2012. Hopkins doesn’t shy away from trying out different genres, whether it be historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, or even poetry. “I can’t sleep at night because my mind won’t turn off; I spend time thinking of things to write about, genres I want to try,” said Hopkins. “I feel some need to create.” His first book, Carlomagno, is based off King Philip’s War, fictionally elabor…
date: n.d.
contributor: Steven Robert, UNH '13 Oliver Thomas, UNH '14
format: jpeg
language: English
type: Still Image