Carrying Our History: Native American Heritage Month

FICTION

This work, based on the 1746 abduction of Keene, NH frame house builder Nathan Blake by Algonkians reimagines traditional frontier captivity narratives. While still based firmly in that tradition, Hebert explores the relationships between colonial settlers and Native Americans, captives and captors using modern insight while grounding the characters and their story firmly within the changing American frontier at the time of the French and Indian War.

Hebert, Ernest. The Old American: A Novel. PS3558 .E277 O44 2000

BIOGRAPHY

An extensive biography of Pequot Indian writer and polemicist William Apess. His activism on behalf of the plight of Native Americans is placed within the antebellum context of abolitionism. Gupta argues that his political and intellectual work deserves greater recognition among 19th century reformers. It also offers a view into how underrepresented intellectual communities represented themselves as people of color within the context of early American legal and political institutions.

Gura, Philip F. The Life of William Apess, Pequot.

BIOGRAPHY

This biography explores the life and times of Aunt Sarah, a basket-maker, healing woman, and St. Francis Abenaki. Her story, centered in the Connecticut River Valley, covers 108 winters and is lovingly presented by a descendant.

Parker, Trudy Ann. Aunt Sarah: Woman of the Dawnland.

NON-FICTION

The writings of Pequot William Apess, largely regarded as the first Native American to fully address the racism and unfair treatment he and other members of Indigenous communities endured. This includes his autobiography, A Son of the Forest, published in 1831, in addition to several essays addressing the hypocrisy of white Christians participating in the subjugation of other communities—most notably communities of color.

Apess, William. Edited and with an Introduction by Barry O’Connell. On Our Own Ground: The Complete Writings of William Apess, A Pequot. E78 .N5 A64 1992

NON-FICTION

This stunning book explores the textile history of the Wabanaki, the Indigenous people living between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Gulf of Maine. It examines the historical use of costume and ornament as a way of defining the Wabanaki view and experience of a world surrounded by a rapidly expanding settler culture. We see the uniqueness of these artifacts when compared against Native communities from other regions of North America and their continued relevance as a means of communication in an ever-changing world.

Bourque, Bruce J. and Laureen A. Labar. Uncommon Threads: Wabanaki Textiles, Clothing, and Costume. E99 .A13 B68 2009

NON-FICTION

Abenaki scholar Lisa Brooks presents a re-examination of King Philip’s War by presenting a close reading of previously under acknowledged Indigenous voices. In focusing on the stories of Weetamoo, a female Wampanoag leader, and Nipmuc scholar James Printer, we see this First Indian War as but one event in the history of 17th century settler colonialism. Through her extensive research, Brooks introduces a new way of telling our American story.

Brooks, Lisa. Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philip’s War. E83.67 .B795 2018

NON-FICTION

This collection of essays reminds us that, for Native Americans of New England, the colonial period is ongoing. While suggesting new avenues of research focusing on the intersectionality and conflict between past scholarship and the present Native experience, the chapters introduce ideas that are traditional in Indigenous communities while being new to academia. Authors include scholars of various ages and experience from within and outside Native communities, as well as collaborations between Native and non-Native scholars.

Calloway, Colin G. and Neal Salisbury, ed. Reinterpreting New England Indians and the Colonial Experience. E78 .N5 C65 2003

NON-FICTION

This collection of essays explores the New England Abenaki heritage of Claudia Chicklas and discusses over three generations of her family, beginning in the 1870s. The stories focus not only on the racism and discrimination endured by Native families and the work done to prove themselves worthy of a place within their community, but also the common experiences we all face, regardless of color or creed. It’s a very readable introduction to the lives of an Abenaki family in New Hampshire.

Chicklas, Claudia. Woven Through the Sweetgrass: Memories of a New England Abenaki Family. E99 .A13 C45 2021

NON-FICTION

This book examines the relationship between white and Native Americans in the years following the American Revolution. It focuses on the friendship between schoolmates Joseph Brant, a Mohawk Indian, and Samuel Kirkland, the son of a colonial clergyman. Over a span of 50 years, their friendship deteriorated as Kirkland worked to forward American expansion and Brant sought ways to help Native communities manage the process of continued settlement. It provides an examination of America’s early attempts to control the northern boundary with Britain by constricting Native Americans within reservations.

Taylor, Alan. The Divided Ground: Indians, Settlers, and the Northern Borderland of the American Revolution. E99 .I7 T299 2006