The Aroostook Indian (February 1971)]]> The Aroostook Indian (January 1971)]]> Wabanaki Alliance (December 1978)]]> Julia Brush
]]> Life and Career The very wise and active Passamaquoddy Tribe member, Donald Soctomah, has a resume that speaks for itself. Through many years of activism, writing, and leadership, Soctomah has accomplished much for his tribe. Without his drive, and over-the-top passion to bring the spotlight to a Native American nation that existed well before the early pilgrims, the Passamaquoddy would be fighting even harder than they are now. Soctomah is a great modern champion of the Passamaquoddy people.

Donald Soctomah was born in 1955, a member of the Passamaquoddy tribe. Soctomah served as his tribe's representative in the Maine state legislature for eight years, and is a tribal historian. He received his bachelor’s degree in forest management from the University of Maine, where he later received an honorary doctorate (Senier 178). However, Soctomah is more than just a few titles; in every way he can, he advocates for his people, the Passamaquoddy.

Soctomah works tirelessly to bring awareness to the communities surrounding the Passamaquoddy of their history, their presence, and their continued struggle for survival. Soctomah is an official tribal forester, and has served for in Maine for well over a decade, where the primary goal is to help Passamaquoddy tribal members secure jobs in the logging industry. Beyond helping his tribe in a community setting, Soctomah also supports them at the state level. As a state representative, Soctomah introduced legislation to change offensive names, which included more than thirty places in Maine, including such locations as “Squaw Mountain.”[1] Complementing his activism, Soctomah has also written several books on the history of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and is now director of the Historic Preservation Office.[2]

Soctomah still labors to transform the way schools teach Native history and to preserve the language in innovative ways—including helping develop an online audio dictionary of 18,000 Passamaquoddy words. Having spent most of his life working to preserve the language, history, culture, and land base of the Passamaquoddy tribe (located near the Atlantic coast of Maine and New Brunswick, Canada), Soctomah’s commitment to his Native roots and the future of Maine’s Indigenous population is very much alive. Soctomah has produced historical and children’s books, films, compilations of tribal music, and interactive educational material. [2]

Arguably, Soctomah is perhaps the most publically recognizable member of the Passamaquoddy tribe. In national media, Soctomah made an appearance on the PBS reality show “Colonial House,” which premiered in 2004, and was filmed on Passamaquoddy land. From being a tribal consultant to filmmakers (for the Discovery Channel, Maine PBS, and the Animal Planet Network), to grant writing, it is clear that Soctomah is perfectly at home as a representative of Passamaquoddy culture.

Writing

While Soctomah’s actions might express his passion for the Passamaquoddy, his love for his tribe is painted most beautifully in his own writing. For example, in Soctomah’s poem “Skicin Love,” he expresses love on a spiritual level, uncovering a strong, close relationship of community that the Passamaquoddy exert internally. Soctomah writes:

Each day the bond within our souls gets stronger
Each time we travel to the ancestral sites we get a blessing from above
Each time we make love our bodies become one Each time we look into each other’s eyes I can feel the love growing deep inside… [3]

This poem, while succinct, is a perfect example of Soctomah’s powerful love for his people. It speaks for the Passamaquoddy in the present, because they still are present today. The poem begins, “Each day,” announcing that for the Passamaquoddy, time is not running out, but rather growing “stronger” daily. As the poem continues, the repetition of “Each time,” at the beginning of every line creates a steady, echoing rhythm. The echo, the rhythm, helps the reader understand that every day, the Passamaquoddy people are walking in the same footsteps as their ancestors—time is continual and tradition is unbroken. The line, “Each time we travel to the ancestral sites we get a blessing from above,” expresses not only recognition of the past, but also a celebration of its still present landmarks.

The Passamaquoddy tribe itself is evolving, which is revealed in the following line, “Each time we make love our bodies become one.” Soctomah shows that the lovers are not only producing the next generation of Passamaquoddy to continue its legacy, but that the “love” represents the unity of the tribe, as well as the people. Individual acts of love strengthen the love of the Passamaquoddy as a whole—the tribe is one body. Soctomah does not end the poem with a period, but rather an ellipsis, meaning that the love doesn’t end for his nation, but continues to grow and escapes time itself. Soctomah’s writing reveals his deep emotional investment in his people, and his faith that they will continue to thrive through unity and devotion to one another.


Conclusion

Soctomah’s praise and accomplishments are well recognized. During a ceremony on March 30, 2015, the Maine Humanities Council awarded Soctomah its highest honor, the Constance H. Carlson Prize, for his outstanding contributions to public humanities in Maine, such as his work to protect native culture and lands through resource management, policy-making, teaching, and the promotion and dissemination of history and language. Out of the many efforts Soctomah made during his eight years in the Maine State Legislature, Maine K-12 students now learn about Maine Native American history in school, and Maine place names now show cultural awareness and sensitivity toward the state’s native populations.[5] As Soctomah recognizes in his poem, “Skicin Love,” day by day, the bonds of Passamaquoddy culture get stronger, their love is always growing, and so is the public awareness for one of the many Native American tribes in New England, thanks in part to his efforts.

Works Cited

[1] Higgins, A.J., and Globe Correspondent. "MAINE DROPS PLACE NAME USAGE OF INDIAN SLUR." n.d.: n. pag. The Boston Globe (Boston, MA). 3 Apr. 2000. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.

[2] Landry, Alysa. "Committed to His Native Roots: Soctomah to Be Honored for Contributions." Indian Country Today Media Networks. 2 Mar. 2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.

[3] Senier, Siobhan. Dawnland Voices: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from New England. p.178-80.U of Nebraska Press, 2014.

[4] Webber, Kate. "Donald Soctomah Humanities Prize Luncheon." Bangor Daily News. 29 Jan. 2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.]]> Captured: 1614 by Paula Peters (2014)]]> 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.

]]> Captured: 1614]]>
Frank James was an Aquinnah Wampanoag tribal leader, founder of the National Day of Mourning, and an activist committed to educating non-Native people about issues affecting indigenous people. He was a member of the BCM's first Native Advisory Board in 1972, and was instrumental in encouraging museum staff to start dismantling stereotypes. Following his lead, the BCM produced an early exhibit explicitly devoted to challenging stereotypes of Native Americans.]]> Siobhan Senier]]> The Aroostook Indian (Nov.-Dec. 1970)]]> The Aroostook Indian (Sept.-Oct. 1970)]]> The Aroostook Indian (June 1970)]]> The Aroostook Indian (May 1970)]]>