Through literary collaboration and recovery, Siobhan Senier and Native tribal historians and scholars have crafted a unique volume covering a variety of genres and historical periods. From the earliest petroglyphs and petitions to contemporary stories and hip-hop poetry, this volume highlights the diversity and strength of New England Native literary traditions. Dawnland Voices introduces readers to the compelling and unique literary heritage in New England, banishing the misconception that “real” Indians and their traditions vanished from that region centuries ago.
Through literary collaboration and recovery, Siobhan Senier and Native tribal historians and scholars have crafted a unique volume covering a variety of genres and historical periods. From the earliest petroglyphs and petitions to contemporary stories and hip-hop poetry, this volume highlights the diversity and strength of New England Native literary traditions. Dawnland Voices introduces readers to the compelling and unique literary heritage in New England, banishing the misconception that “real” Indians and their traditions vanished from that region centuries ago.
Dawnland Voices: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from New England
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Dawnland Voices: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from New England
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Overview
Through literary collaboration and recovery, Siobhan Senier and Native tribal historians and scholars have crafted a unique volume covering a variety of genres and historical periods. From the earliest petroglyphs and petitions to contemporary stories and hip-hop poetry, this volume highlights the diversity and strength of New England Native literary traditions. Dawnland Voices introduces readers to the compelling and unique literary heritage in New England, banishing the misconception that “real” Indians and their traditions vanished from that region centuries ago.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780803256804 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Nebraska |
| Publication date: | 09/01/2014 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 664 |
| File size: | 1 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Dawnland Voices
An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from New England
By Siobhan Senier
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS
Copyright © 2014 Board of Regents of the University of NebraskaAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8032-5680-4
CHAPTER 1
Mi'kmaq
Introduction
Jaime Battiste
The Mi'kmaq have occupied the eastern coast and forests of Canada and the New England area, which collectively is called Mi'kma'ki, for as long as anyone can remember. The Mi'kmaq continue to transmit their knowledge, beliefs, customs, and practices through performances and oral traditions, based on storytelling, songs, ceremonies, symbols, and literacies, including wampum to record important teachings. Representing some of these legacies, I have sought to balance the writings in this section across the Mi'kmaw districts from New England, New Brunswick, the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. As may be seen on a map, this territory is shaped like a crescent moon and symbolized as such on the Mi'kmaw flag.
Since at least the sixteenth century, Mi'kmaw people have been in contact with Europeans and have conducted diplomatic relations through treaties, compacts, agreements, and concordats with European sovereigns and other national powers. Much has been written and documented about Mi'kmaq from the viewpoint of Eurocentric scholars, but many of these sources are based on outsiders' perceptions about Mi'kmaq. Over the past generation, guided by Mi'kmaw scholars, Elders, students, and leaders, a Mi'kmaw renaissance has emerged, with many Mi'kmaw authors beginning to build not only on written history but also on Mi'kmaw knowledge and on traditions within Mi'kma'ki. In particular, the late Mi'kmaw author Rita Joe reminds us that it is important for Mi'kmaq to create writing, instead of just being written about.
This collection of essays, stories, poetry, and fiction was gathered with an aim of learning from the Mi'kmaw people through their words, experiences, imagination, creativity, and perspectives. Their writings demonstrate Mi'kmaw people's resilience under the suffering and humiliation of colonization as well as showcase Mi'kmaw talents. This work continues to show readers that Mi'kmaw knowledge and culture are current, dynamic, and gathering strength as contributions by academics, storytellers, and students build on Mi'kmaw teachings, voices, and visions.
Recognizing that "history" is a contested Eurocentric discipline, Mi'kmaq have understood their traditions in a different way, and this is a key theme within this set of readings. Mi'kmaw poets and their creative storytelling have also been instrumental in taking a moment in time and capturing it with a few poignant words. The late Rita Joe has led the way, inspiring a new generation of Mi'kmaw poets who continue to tell a new story for Mi'kmaq through poetry and creative writing. This collection can give only a glimpse of the poetry and other genres that circulate among Mi'kmaq.
Mi'kmaw academics have analyzed the colonial experience of the Mi'kmaq in five periods. The first is precontact, which marks an indeterminate time before the late sixteenth century, which in turn marks the beginning of the second period, the contact period. The third period is the treaty diplomacy era (1630–1796), in which Mi'kmaq diplomats advocated for and negotiated treaties with European settlers and royalty. The treaty denial era (1800–1982) is the fourth period, marking a dark time in our experience, when Mi'kmaw people were denied the rights that they had negotiated and when they often were the target of assimilation policies aimed at destroying the Mi'kmaq culture, language, knowledge, and ways of life. The fifth period is the treaty recognition era (1982 to present day).
During the first period Mi'kmaw people had their own governance structure, with an economy based on trade within our nations and an education based on survival and cooperation. Within Mi'kmaw teachings of this period are many stories that are viewed as fundamental to Mi'kmaq life. Undoubtedly, one of the most famous is the Mi'kmaw creation story, which contains many teachings about our holistic relationships with our families and our ecosystem. We have chosen a shorter version, translated and transmitted through generations and recorded by Keptin Stephen Augustine, a member of the Mi'kmaw Grand Council, which is the traditional governance structure of the Mi'kmaw people and continues to exist today despite years of oppression and discrimination.
Author Daniel Paul has been a passionate activist and advocate for justice for the Mi'kmaq to correct the history of oppression, assimilation, and cultural genocide. His book We Were Not the Savages has been a compelling resource for many Mi'kmaq and non-Mi'kmaq alike, revealing the dark legacy of colonial history that the Mi'kmaq survived. In particular, he works to create awareness of Governor Edward Cornwallis's 1749 "extirpation policy," which advocated the total annihilation of the Mi'kmaw people by placing a bounty on Mi'kmaw scalps. Regardless of this legacy, to this day Governor Cornwallis is honored as the founding father of Halifax and continues to have statues, streets, and buildings named after him.
During the treaty diplomacy period the Mi'kmaq entered into treaties with different European nations. Mi'kmaw laws, then, are important for understanding why so many different treaties were negotiated between the Mi'kmaw Grand Council and the British Crown. Treaty research has been a lifelong pursuit of James Sakej Henderson, and his introduction to the treaties makes it easier to understand the complex legal and historic framework within them. The largest essay within this collection is the story of the Mi'kmaw Grand Council relayed in the Covenant Chain. In one of the only works written down—and in English—by the executives of the Mi'kmaq Grand Council, the plight of the Mi'kmaq Grand Council and their continued struggle for justice is showcased.
Another important theme within this collection is the relationship between the Mi'kmaq and the territory now called New England, or Pastimkawa'ki, as we have come to know it. While the majority of Mi'kmaq live in Canada, they have always had a special relationship with New England. Perhaps the best illustrations of this are the Treaty of 1725 at Boston and the treaty with the newly formed United States signed in 1776 at Watertown. The Mi'kmaq at the time were considered a fierce threat and fighting force, and their knowledge of the eastern coast made them a great ally to any nation that planned to inhabit or defend newly created colonial settlements. Under the authority of these treaties, many Mi'kmaq sought a livelihood in New England, and with the federal recognition of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs in 1991, the relationships have been strengthened and continue today.
The treaty denial period is another dark period of cultural genocide for the Mi'kmaw people, when policies such as the Indian Act, Indian residential schools, and centralization were aimed at assimilating Mi'kmaw people and controlling their resources. This collection thus includes documented history on Indian residential schools and centralization, including an excerpt from the Grand Council's Covenant Chain. Isabelle Knockwood's book Out of the Depths is a suggested reading for those looking for more information on the residential schools attended by Mi'kmaq.
The Indian residential schools, by eroding Mi'kmaw culture, stealing the language from many, and creating ongoing distrust of government and religion, have left a tragic legacy among victims and their families. Many survivors of the residential schools have experienced a syndrome that closely resembles posttraumatic stress disorder; as a result, several generations of Mi'kmaq have grown up in households filled with personal and social problems. Centralization, which was built on the promises of better housing, health services, education, and welfare payments, decreased Mi'kmaw participation in the workforce and in traditional methods of sustenance such as hunting, fishing, and crafts. This has created among many in Mi'kmaw communities a sense of entitlement for justice to be served and for the government to fulfill promises made more than two generations ago.
The essay "Structural Unemployment: The Mi'kmaq Experience," by Dr. Marie Battiste, provides a brief look at the role centralization played the experience of Mi'kmaw people. This policy was meant to move Mi'kmaq into two centralized reserves in Nova Scotia, supposedly saving the federal government on costs of administering funding to the Mi'kmaq, but it also isolated Mi'kmaq in two reserves away from their traditional communities and sustainable practices, while limiting their access to employment, resources, and other economic benefits. By doing so, the federal and provincial governments created a welfare economy for the Mi'kmaq and a dependence on government handouts for their day-to-day survival. Today the impacts of both the Indian residential schools and centralization continue to affect Mi'kmaw people's self-determination and self-sufficiency.
The recent Mi'kmaw revival and successes of the Mi'kmaq in the treaty recognition era have been based largely on the Mi'kmaw treaties and the recognition of inherent Aboriginal rights. In 1929 the Canadian justice system was quick to dismiss the claims of treaty rights of Mi'kmaq in the Sylliboy decision; the recent trilogy of Mi'kmaw rights cases—Simon, Marshall, and Sappier/Grey —has recognized rights of the Mi'kmaw people and provided hope for a different future. Both the Constitution of Canada and the Canada Act of 1982 create a legal context in which the Mi'kmaq have been able to compel the government of Canada into negotiations based on Mi'kmaq rights. Included in this Mi'kmaw collection, therefore, is the conclusion to my essay titled "Understanding the Progression of Mi'kmaw Law," which highlights how Mi'kmaw traditions and teaching have been used as the basis for a constitutional recognition and reconciliation of Mi'kmaw rights and explores the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.
As Mi'kmaw people look ahead to a new era that involves treaty implementation and reconciliation with the various levels of government, an empowering education system is ever more needed. Of merit in higher education are the science and humanities courses that are now taught using traditional pedagogical methods along with contemporary Western systems. Elders have called this method a "two-eyed seeing" approach.
While several interpretations of history have been written by Mi'kmaw and non-Mi'kmaw men and women, the Mi'kmaq today are beginning to document their own oral traditions in creative forms such as film, photography, and art. The novel Stones and Switches by the late Lorne Simon tells the story of a young Depression-era Mi'kmaw man who seeks understanding of the world around him and of what it means to be Mi'kmaq at that time. And many new creative works are emerging, including documentaries like The Spirit World, by Keptin John Joe Sark of Prince Edward Island, and The Spirit of Annie Mae (Aquash), by Cathy Martin of Millbrook. The oral history of the Mi'kmaq in its most beautiful form can also be found within Mi'kmaw music, by bands such as Morning Star, The Relatives, Eagle Feather, and A Tribe Called Mi'kmaq. It is important to remember that while the written word has been used by most academics, modern media have begun to help the Mi'kmaq preserve their oral traditions.
The final theme that this Mi'kmaw collection explores is the relationship between the Mi'kmaq and the New England area. This is a personal journey for me as well, as my mother was born and raised in Houlton, Maine. Many members of my extended family have lived and raised their children in the New England area, and some continue to live there today. Much like the tales of other Mi'kmaq who sought a better livelihood in New England, the last few pieces below focus on Mi'kmaq who chose to travel to areas of Massachusetts or Maine. Elder Elsie Charles Basque's story from "Here to There" is a short story that documents the journey of one family. Given that many Mi'kmaw families continue to live in the New England area, during my research I asked some of these families why they chose to live in New England, away from their ancestral homes and family. Their stories tell of better economic opportunities, less discriminatory work environments, or wanting to be part of their own family's history in New England. Many Mi'kmaq have experienced greater educational and economic opportunities in cities such as Boston, Portland, or Bangor, which they feel they could not have found in Canada.
Today Mi'kmaq continue to do seasonal migrations to harvest the blueberries in Maine, a kind of rite of passage for many Mi'kmaw youth who took to the fields as soon as they were able. They did so in order to make money for the upcoming school year, for school clothes, or to support their families. For many, it is the way to pay off their cars or to get needed items that they could not afford otherwise. My own earliest memories of that time include being fourteen and working all day under the hot sun for two dollars per box of berries. I received my first paycheck for hard manual labor, which I then proudly used to buy my school clothes in Maine. I have fond memories of those days, staying in small cabins in Maine, without electricity or running water, being so sore from head to toe from bending over in the hot sun all day but eating well and enjoying the ancient camaraderie of communal friends and family. Like my ancestors, I spent summers in Maine, taking part in what they had done for generations before me. In his poetry Lindsay Marshall captures the experiences of so many who have gone to New England for generations to gain a temporary livelihood in those blueberry fields; however, for some, New England is not just a temporary location, but home. This ability of Mi'kmaw people—to be connected to homeland and kin even while living in and traveling to different places—is reflected in the works of the last two writers in this section, Alice Azure and Starlit Simon.
Chief Stephen Augustine
(Tribal Elder)
An elder of the Elsipogtog (Big Cove) First Nation in New Brunswick, Stephen Augustine is a hereditary chief on the Mi'kmaq Grand Council. He also serves as curator of eastern maritime ethnology at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Quebec. In 2009 Augustine received the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Culture, Heritage, and Spirituality. Of the selection below, he says, "My grandmother, who lived to be one hundred years old, passed this story on to me. This is part of the Mi'kmaq creation story." Chief Augustine wrote it especially for this volume.
Mi'kmaq Creation Story
In Mi'kmaq tradition there are seven levels of creation. These levels correspond to seven stages in the creation of the world. The first level is the act of creation itself. Some people would call it the Creator, but in Mi'kmaq culture it is more about the wonder and unfolding of creation. The word we use is kisúlk. This means "you are being created." Kisúlk is the Giver of Life.
The second level is the Sun, which we call Niskam, or Grandfather. When we stand in the Sun we cast a shadow. The shadow represents the spirits of our ancestors. Grandfather Sun puts spirit into life.
The third level is Sitqamúk, Mother Earth. Mother Earth gives us all the necessities of life through the elements of the earth: water, rocks, soils, plants, animals, fish, and so on. Mother Earth sustains life.
The fourth level of creation is Kluskap, the First One Who Spoke. He is created from a bolt of lightning that hits the surface of Mother Earth. He is made of the elements of the earth: feathers and bone and skin and dirt and grass and sand and pebbles and water. An eagle comes to Kluskap with a message from the Giver of Life, Grandfather Sun, and Mother Earth. The eagle tells Kluskap that he will be joined by his family, who will help him understand his place in this world.
The first of Kluskap's family to arrive is the Grandmother, Nukumi. She is formed from a rock. She brings wisdom and knowledge. The Grandmother is the fifth level of creation.
The next of Kluskap's family to arrive is the Nephew, Netawansum. He is formed from the sweet-smelling grass. He brings strength and can see into the future. The Nephew is the sixth level of creation.
The last of Kluskap's family to arrive is the Mother, Nikanaptekewisqw. She is formed from a leaf. She brings love for all her children, so that they will care for one another. She also brings the colours of the world. The Mother is the seventh level of creation.
As each member of his family arrives, Kluskap asks his fellow beings—the animals, the fish, and the plants—to sustain the Mi'kmaq peoples. Kluskap also calls upon the wind to fan the sparks left by the first bolt of lightning. This gives birth to the Great Spirit Fire. The seven families of the Algonquin peoples are formed from sparks that fly out of this fire and land upon the Earth. The Mi'kmaq are one of these families.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Dawnland Voices by Siobhan Senier. Copyright © 2014 Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. Excerpted by permission of UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments,Introduction,
Mi'kmaq,
Maliseet,
Passamaquoddy,
Penobscot,
Abenaki,
Nipmuc,
Wampanoag,
Narragansett,
Mohegan,
Schaghticoke,
Notes,
Further Reading,
Source Acknowledgments,