Mihku Paul
description: About Mihku Paul is a Native American Maliseet poet, writer, visual artist, and activist. She is a member of Kingsclear First Nation, N.B., Canada and holds a BA in Human Development and Communication from the University of Southern Maine. Paul then received an MFA in Creative Writing from Stonecoast at the University of Southern Maine. Born on December 4th, 1958 Paul grew up in Old Town, Maine, along the Penobscot River. Her mother was born an hour and 45 minutes north in Houlton, Maine where the Houlton Band of Maliseets is located. The Maliseet Tribe is also known as the Wolastoqiyik Tribe. Paul, the youngest of four children was the only one in her family to complete high school. Starting a year late in her schooling, Paul didn’t struggle to catch up and ended up completed school a year early. Early Life Her grandfather, a Maliseet elder, was instrumental in passing on tradition and cultural knowledge to Paul. Being the youngest of all her siblings, Paul’s mother stressed the need for Paul to know this history so it wouldn’t get lost in through generations. Paul’s grandfather lived on Penosbscot Indian Island Reservation near Old Town. Here Paul spent much of her childhood where she watched her grandfather watercraft, hunt, and trap. She would miss many days of school at a time while she was out on the river with her grandfather on expeditions. Though Paul lived near a reservation, hey family didn’t grow up on one due to the lack of programs dealing with infrastructure and housing. It wasn’t until after the civil rights movement during the 1960’s that those programs were beginning to be put into place. Though she lived off the reservation, conditions weren’t much better for her family as Paul grew up in a very poor neighborhood. When Paul was on the reservation she felt safe and accepted, but when she had to leave and interact, like in the public schools, that became problematic. Though she wasn’t the only Native American to attend public schools, the group of k…
date: n.d.
contributor: Raya Sultan Al-Hashmi, UNH '13
format: jpeg
language: English
type: Still Image

"To the Women Poets of Kandahar" (2003) and "Polaris" (2009) by Carol Bachofner
description: Carol Willette [Snow Moon] Bachofner is a Native American poet of Abenaki descent. She is a resident of Rockland, Maine. She has published several collections of her own poetry, includingNative Moons, Native Days, as well as Drink from Your Own Wells: a guide to richer writing. Carol is a native of Maine but has lived for many years elsewhere, including having resided in Germany and London for some time. She graduated from Vermont College with a Masters of Fine Arts in Poetry and has been a professor of college-level English at Victor Valley College and Taft College. She was previously a midwife and labor and delivery RN, and a free-land writer. One of her favorite ways to work with other poets, both new and emerging, is to offer poetry workshops in her local area and loves to travel to bring poetry workshops to people all over the country. A dream of hers is to spend time in Scotland translating the poetry of her Scots ancestor, William Dunbar. Bachofner recalls first becoming interested in writing poetry when she was six years old. She frequently read poems aloud to classes in her elementary years, encouraged by her teachers. This led to a “life in verse” as she tells it. Career 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 Confer…
creator: Bachofner, Carol W.
date: 2003-09
contributor: Alyssa Taliaferro, UNH '13
rights: Carol W. Bachofner
format: jpeg, pdf
language: English
type: Still Image, Document

"Writings on Civil Rights" (2015-16) by Donna Loring
description: In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, many indigenous intellectuals lent their voices to the cause of racial justice and equity. Donna Loring--a Penobscot tribal leader, author, and Vietnam veteran--exemplifies the commitment to cross-racial solidarity and social justice activism. She presented the "Memorial for 9 Killed in Charleston, South Carolina" at a service in Portland, ME, commemorating the victims of the massacre at that city's Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. In 2016, she wrote a fierce defense of African-American activist Rachel Talbot Ross for the Portland Press Herald. While the paper declined to print the piece in its entirety, she posted it on Facebook and asked friends to circulate it widely, saying: I tried to get the Portland Press to print this article as an op-ed but they refused and made me cut a 730 word article down to 150 words. I did that because I wanted to get something in about Rachel before the primary next week. I decided to put the entire article on my facebook and ask you guys to share it on your facebook pages twitter and any other form of social media you can.The paper controls too much of our political process. Please circulate this! THANK YOU!!!! Biography Donna Loring* was raised by her grandmother on Indian Island, Maine. Loring received a Bachelors degree of Arts in Political Science from the University of Maine in Orono, and later attended the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. In 1984 she became the police chief for the Penobscot nation, making her the Academy's first female graduate to become a police chief. From 1992 to 1997, Loring was the first female director of security at Bowdoin College. During her service in Vietnam, she was stationed at the communications center at Long Binh Army base north of Saigon, where she processed all casualty reports of southeast Asia. Former Maine State Governor Angus King commissioned her to honorary Colonel rank, and appointed her as Aide de Camp to advise him on women v…
creator: Donna M. Loring
date: 2015 2016
contributor: Carl Bumbaca, UNH '14
rights: Donna Loring. Used with permission.
format: pdf
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

Linda Coombs
description: Linda Coombs* is program director of the Aquinnah Cultural Center. She is an author and historian from the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). Life & Career Born and raised in Martha's Vineyard, Coombs lives with her family in the Wampanoag Community in Mashpee on Cape Cod. After she graduated from University of Massachusetts at Lowell in 1971 with a degree in music education, Coombs began a museum career in 1974, interning at the Boston Children's Museum as part of its Native American Program. She and her peers, including Narragansett elder Paulla Dove Jennings, wrote children's books for the museum, illustrating Native American culture from a Native American perspective. Coombs later worked for nearly three decades with the Wampanoag Indigenous Program at Plimoth Plantation, including 15 years as the program's associate director. Writing Her children's book, Powwow, was published in 1992 by Modern Curriculum Press under their Multicultural Celebrations series; it chronicles the experiences of a Native American girl at her first powwow. The book is 23 pages long and is illustrated by Carson Waterman. Additionally, through her work at Plimoth Plantation, Coombs wrote a number of essays documenting colonial history from a Native American perspective. For example, at a conference on Thanksgiving, she stated, The actual and factual history of Thanksgiving in this country will be discussed: the European origins, views and practices, and how it evolved into the holiday it has become today. Many people don’t realize that thanksgiving was not a new concept to Native people. … Native people have held thanksgiving ceremonies since the time of Creation. The energy of lifeways of acknowledgement and thankfulness is what sustained Native culture for millennia. Coombs strives to promote truth, authenticity and cultural sensitivity. In 2008, she received some media attention when she asked a nine-year-old girl to remove her indian costume before entering the Wampanoag site at…
date: n.d.
contributor: Crystal Gosnell, UNH '14
format: jpeg
language: English
type: Still Image

"The Seven Cities" (1996) by Stephanie Fielding
description: Stephanie “Morning Fire” Fielding is known for her work in linguistics, especially for her work in resurrecting the Mohegan language. A member of the Mohegan Tribal Council of Elders, she lives on the Mohegan reservation in southeastern Connecticut. Fielding holds a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics and anthropology from the University of Connecticut, as well as a Master of Science in linguistics from MIT. Her Master's thesis, The Phonology of Mohegan-Pequot, includes diary excerpts written in Mohegan from her relative Fidelia Fielding, the last fluent speaker of the Mohegan language. In 2006, Stephanie Fielding published A Modern Mohegan Dictionary. She also created the online Mohegan Language Project, a central part of her efforts to keep her native language alive. Of this project, Fielding states that “the goal is fluency,” and offers links to a Mohegan-English dictionary, phrase book, pronunciation guide, exercises, and an audio option. The webpage incorporates her Master’s thesis as well as her Mohegan dictionary. Fielding’s use of technology in restoring the Mohegan language is paramount; creating an online resource makes the language available to everyone, and the audio option allows one to learn the language from home. Besides making her work in linguistics readily available on the Internet, Fielding teaches Mohegan language classes. She also translates English into Mohegan for speakers at traditional Mohegan ceremonies. Fielding is weaving the Mohegan language back into modern Mohegan life in as many ways as she can. Her efforts in Mohegan language revival are unparalleled today, and in history are tied tightly to her ancestor, the determined Fidelia Fielding. Beyond her dictionary, phonology, webpage, and Mohegan community service, Fielding revives the Mohegan language through her creative writing. Creative Writing Fielding’s children’s story, Uyasunôqak Cits: Leading Bird, incorporates the values of the Mohegan people. In the story, Fielding emphasizes a co…
creator: Fielding, Stephanie
date: 1996
contributor: Dana Roach, UNH '14
format: jpeg, pdf
language: English
type: Still Image, Document

The Narragansett Dawn (1935-36)
description: The Narragansett Dawn was a monthly newspaper produced by members of the Narragansett tribe in Rhode Island from May 1935 through September 1936. The founders of the paper were Princess Red Wing and Ernest Hazard. They both also produced content for the paper, with Hazard often writing under the pseudonym Eagle Eye. The paper was sold for $0.25 an issue or $1.00 a year by subscription. Its cover bore the official seal of the Narragansett Tribe of Indians and the slogan “We Face East.” Through a total of seventeen issues, The Narragansett Dawn touched upon issues pertaining to the language, culture, religion, politics, and daily life of members of the Narragansett Tribe. While the exact scope of the paper’s readership is difficult to determine, letters published within it show that it attracted attention both within and without the Narragansett community. According to an editorial written by Princess Red Wing, the name The Narragansett Dawn was chosen at a tribal meeting in December 1934 in order to signify “the awakening after so long and black a night of being civilized” (“Our Purpose”). This quote begins to suggest the quietly subversive nature of the paper. The general tone of many of the articles is a sort of defiant and proud resistance to the dominant narratives about Indians in American culture at this time. Native people were often portrayed as savages who needed to be civilized by the stronger hand of white people, to be forcibly taught about Jesus, Shakespeare, and white bread in order to become worthwhile members of society. In response to this depiction of their people, Indians like the founders of the Narragansett Dawn worked to create an image of their communities as close-knit and tradition-based. Moreover, looking to the future, George D. Jordan insisted that, “to preserve the best that was and now is in this culture shall be the primary function of this organization” (“The American Indian”). The Narragansett Dawn was both a way for Red Wing and Haza…
date: 1935-36
contributor: Graham Hayslip, UNH 2013 Katie Gardner, UNH 2014 Ray Hebert, UNH 2014
format: jpeg
language: English
type: Still Image

"Trenching" by Alice Azure
description: Alice Azure was born July 30, 1940 in North Adams, Massachusetts. Her father, Joseph Alfred Hatfield, was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, but grew up in northern Maine and New Hampshire. He was of French, Dutch, and Mi'kmaq descent. Azure's mother, Catherine Pedersen, was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, but spent her formative years in Mandal, Norway from about 1924 to 1934. She was of Norwegian descent. At the age of seven, family strife sent Azure and her siblings to live in the Cromwell Children’s Home in Connecticut. Azure lived there from 1951 to 1959. She attended the University of Iowa, earning an M.A. degree in urban and regional planning. Ancestry Azure was long unclear about her familial roots, and did not know to which tribe she belonged. After searching for 35 years, she wrote a memoir, Along Came a Spider, about her life and the struggles she went through to discover her ancestry. The title of this memoir comes from Azure’s discovery of her spiritual guide, Grandmother Spider. Azure speaks with Grandmother Spider throughout her memoir, who provides inspiration and tranquility. After years of research, a visit to Canada, and alliances with Metis groups in Nova Scotia, Azure was finally able to discover many of her old ancestors, dating as far back as the 17th century. She can officially say that she is of Mi’kmaq Metis descent, and her roots are in the Kespu'kwitk District of Nova Scotia. Azure has also been granted recognition of aboriginal status as an Acadian descendant in Nova Scotia by the Association des Acadiens Metis-Sourquois (salt water people), who are located in Saulnierville, Digby County, Nova Scotia. Personal Life Azure has been married twice. She met her first husband, Tom Liljegren, at North Park College, where Azure attended as an undergrad. Though they did not have a lot in common, they were still able to fall in love, and were married in 1960. They had three children, Kathryn, Michael, and Patti. After twenty years of marriage…
creator: Azure, Alice
date: n.d.
contributor: Jessica Goudreault, UNH '14
format: jpeg, pdf
language: English
type: Still Image, Document
coverage: North Adams, Massachusetts

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

Lorèn Spears
description: 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 the University of new England; and taught for over two decades, including 12 years in the Newport Public School system working with underserved children. Spears is also the Executive Director of one of the oldest tribal museums in the country--the Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum, located in Exeter, RI. This site was originally home to the Dovecrest Restaurant and Trading Post, founded by Eleanor and Ferris Dove. A few years after the museum was founded by Eva Butler and Princess Red Wing in the 1950s, the Dove's donated their property to provide the museum a permanent location. Native American Education The museum has helped her with many of her personal endeavors, including the publishing of her essay in the book The Pursuit of Happiness: An Indigenous View, the Narragansett People Speak in 2005 as well as serving as the site for her school. Spears is a strong advocate for integrating more Native history and experiential learning into school curricula, as well as standing up for Native American children in the public school systems. As a child, Spears struggled to reach the caliber of her first grade classmates in her public school class in rural Rhode Island. She reflects on the experience, stating that “it was the perfect story of the low expectations white teachers have for Native American children” (Coeyman). In an unfortunate sense of déjà vu, Spears watched her eldest son struggle through first and second grade. This is when she decided to take some action; the discrimination of, and lack of respect for, Native children had gone on too long. Because of this, in 2003, Lorèn founded the Nuweetooun-meaning "our home"- School. This was a K-8th grade day school for Native American children (but also open to the public)…
date: n.d.
contributor: Samantha Zinno, UNH '14
format: jpeg, pdf
language: English
type: Still Image, Document