Wabanaki Alliance (December 1977)
creator: Indian Resource Center
source: Passamaquoddy Cultural Museum
date: 1977-12
contributor: Donald Soctomah Julia Brush
rights: Steve Cartwright. Used with permission.
format: pdf
language: English
type: Document

Vera Francis
description: 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 speaks frequently about environmental issues and tribal politics in newspapers, at conferences, and on websites. On April 19, 2013, she was interviewed by Parker Cavallaro (UNH '13) for this article. As part of the nonprofit Ntulankeyutmonen Nkitahkomikon—NN “We Take Care of Our Land”, Francis has advocated for the environmental preservation of Pleasant Point-Passamaquoddy ancestral territory. Because Passamaquoddy ancestral homeland is now divided by the U.S.-Canadian border along the St. Croix river, Francis has been involved with legal proceedings concerning both federal governments, including litigation between the Bureau of Indian Affairs, members of the Passamaquoddy-Pleasant Point (Sipayik) Reservation, and various energy companies seeking leases for land in trust. In addition to work with NN, Francis’s second activist group, The Schoodic Riverkeepers, has dedicated its work to more recent issues involving the St. Croix River alewife (a migratory species of herring) and glass eel. The group has called for these two species to be restored through measures such as unrestricted spawning runs, traditional resource management such as catch limiting, and increased support for an indigenous economy through export of fish products ("Vera Francis-Personal Interview"). Part 1: The Story of A Fish A History of Turmoil For over 600 generations of Passamaquoddy ancestry, the St. Croix River alewife (Siqonomeq in the Maliseet language) has traveled from the brackish tidal waters of Passamaquoddy Bay to upstream spawning grounds in the river's 1,650 square mile watershed ("8.0 St. Croix River Basin" 1-2). With eight independent tributary streams and lakes, the St. Croix River basin provides the freshwater environment necessary for th…
date: 2013
contributor: Parker Cavallaro, UNH '13
format: jpeg
language: English
type: Still Image

The Aroostook Indian (October 1971)
description: v. 3, no. 10
creator: The Association of Aroostook Indians
source: University of Maine-Orono, Fogler Library Special Collections
date: 1971-10
contributor: Julia Brush
rights: University of Maine Libraries. Used with permission. We also consulted with the family of editor Tom Battiste, including his sister Marie Battiste and widow Susan Battiste. We thank Desiree Nagy at the University of Maine for making the digitized copies available.
format: pdf
language: English
type: Document

The Aroostook Indian (December 1971)
description: v. 3, no. 12
creator: The Association of Aroostook Indians
source: University of Maine-Orono, Fogler Library Special Collections
date: 1971-12
contributor: Julia Brush
rights: University of Maine Libraries. Used with permission. We also consulted with the family of editor Tom Battiste, including his sister Marie Battiste and widow Susan Battiste. We thank Desiree Nagy at the University of Maine for making the digitized copies available.
format: pdf
language: English
type: Document

Small Fancy Basket with Cowiss (c. 1900)
description: Fancy Basket, c. 1900, Ash Splint, Abenaki, Housed at the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum This is a small, purely decorative, fancy basket. The main structure of the basket is tightly woven with light colored ash splints. The even sized and very smooth splints indicate the later date of the basket. Small decorative curls, known as cowiss, fashioned out of a darker splint cover most of the outside of the basket. These curls, called cowiss, are a common decoration on fancy baskets. The handles of the basket, two on the sides and one on top, are highly decorative. Due to its style, the basket would have been an item popular among tourists in New England. The Legacy of Basketmaking By continuing to make baskets, basketmakers today preserve a traditional way while also being involved members of their communities. Basketmaking creates a connection between ancestors, the older generation, and the younger generation that is important to the continuation of the art of basketry: "the work we create as artists connects us with our ancestors and leaves behind a connection for those yet to be born to remember who we are and were. The baskets, carvings, beadwork, tools, and items that made their way into museums still speak to us and teach us" (Mundell 26). Basket styles continue to change, which is a testament to the adaptability of the Abenaki people: "Each new ash splint basket crafted by Abenaki basket-makers… is a modern creation, designed to meet current 21st-century needs. Yet behind each basket lies a fascinating, time-honored history of native woodworking and basket-crafting here in the northeast” (Goff). Despite changing styles, the legacy is never lost and the tradition and process of making a basket remains much the same as it used to. Today various basketmakers such as Jesse Laroque, Jeanne Brink, Judy Dow, and Bill and Sherry Gould, keep the tradition alive by teaching apprentices and the younger generation, selling their wares, providing information, forming organizati…
creator: Unknown
date: circa 1900
contributor: Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum Ana Caguiat
rights: Image used with permission of Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum.
format: jpeg
type: Still image

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

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

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

Larry Spotted Crow Mann
description: 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 promoting Nipmuc traditions and history, he states: “I’m somebody who is dedicated to my culture and tradition, and through that I hope to bring forth the intrinsic connection we all have as human beings. I love to learn new things and from other cultures” (Volain). His writing and music are shaped to not only honor traditions, but also to reach out to uninformed audiences and teach them about his tribe, which has been long part of American history. Music As a musician, he is a member of the Quabbin Lake Singers, along with his three sons Anoki, Nantai, and Manixit. The group has a focus on upholding and honoring culture with their music: during performances, the four wear traditional clothing to honor their ancestors. Mann holds the role of Drum Keeper in the group, a role that requires him to “ensure the Drum is being honored and played in a manner for the particular ceremony taking place.” The Drum is a sacred object in Native American culture that must be respected, as it is “the heartbeat of Mother Earth” and “allows us to pray and communicate with the natural elements of the world and beyond” (Volain). Writing Nowadays, the Quabbin Lake Singers do not perform as often as they used to, but Mann devotes the majority of his creative energies to writing. His writing career began in his youth when he wrote letters to the government in order to draw attention to issues that the Nipmuc people face. Additionally, he has been writing prose and poetry since his teens. He wrote his first book, a collection of short stories and poetry titled Tales from the Whispering Basket, because he wanted not only to acknowledge Nipmuc history, culture, and contributions to the foundations of America, but also to explore his ability to wri…
contributor: Thomas Lusted, UNH '14
format: jpeg
language: English
type: Still Image
coverage: Springfield, Massachusetts

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