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Moondancer
and Strong Woman
Very few books on the history and culture of the southern
New England Native peoples have been written by the Natives themselves.
Standard academic books read like a clinical autopsy of a dead culture
from many years ago. Contrary to this, A Cultural History of the Native
Peoples of Southern New England provides an understanding of the ways,
customs, and language of the southern New England American Indians from
the Native's perspective. For the first time, a book written about the
Native American peoples of southern New England is written by the Natives
themselves. Incorporating voices of modern Elders and other Natives
to the historic records of the 1500s and 1600s, everything about the
beauty, power, and richness of their culture has been included. Sections
of the book cover appearance, language, family and relations, religion,
the body and senses, marriage, sickness, war, games, hunting, and much
more. The proud and fiercely independent Native American peoples of
southern New England once walked tall and proud on this land. With this
book, they are now beginning to walk tall again.
2007.
$28.95. Copies are available at your local bookstore,
or through Amazon
or Barnes
and Noble, or order it through
us or
PayPal (and get 20% off).
Reviews
Indian Country Today Suggests Book
Indian Country Today, the leading American Indian
news source has just reviewed A Cultural History of the Native
Peoples of Southern New England: Voices from Past and Present.
To read the full review, please
go here.
Islander Ensures Heritage and Culture for Future
Generations
Among his colleagues at NUWC, Frank O'Brien works on a lot of classified
projects as a mathematician and senior scientist. As Dr. Francis Joseph
O'Brien, he earned a Ph. D. from Columbia University in New York with
a dissertation on applied linguistics. As "Moondancer" he
authored several books including; Understanding Algonquian Indian
Words and Wampanoag Cultural History: Voices from Past and Present.
Currently known as "Waabu," this 60-year-old Newporter is
a member of the Rhode Island Indian Council, but to his daughter,
Lily, he will always be dad.
With a name like O'Brien, are you positive about your Indian heritage?
Yes, my father is of mixed-blood descent and my mother's family were
farmers from the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi in Canada. They migrated
to Rhode Island in the early 1900s. But, since RI was more of an industrial
state I say I grew up in Providence as a child of "urban peasants."
How did you come to be named "Moondancer" and later "Waabu"?
Indians traditionally change their names several times; for a great
deed or physical characteristic. A friend of mine from the Narragansett
tribe teased me because I used to go bed to early and get up early
and didn't have much free time, so he called me "Moondancer."
When my wife and I divorced, my life changed and so I changed my name
also, now my native name is "Waabu."
How many tribes are native to Rhode Island? There are about six. ...
To read the rest of the article, go to the East
Bay Rhode Island Paper.
A Cultural History of the Native Peoples
of Southern New England: Voices from Past and Present
was just noted in the Providence Journal. Here is their blurb:
Local books, Tuesday, Nov.13
Frank Waabu O’Brien (Moondancer), a former president of the
Aquidneck Indian Council and a member of the Abenaki Tribe and Rhode
Island Indian Council, and Julianne Jennings (Strong Woman), the author
of several books on southern New England Indians and a graduate student
in anthropology at Rhode Island College, have written A Cultural History
of the Native Peoples of Southern New England: Voices from Past and
Present (Bauu Press, 216 pages, $28.95). It provides an understanding
of the ways, customs and language of the southern New England Indians,
from voices of modern elders and other natives to the historic records
of the 1500s and 1600s.
Here is the link
to the notice.
Review in American Indian Quarterly (vol.
34[3]):
A Cultural History of the Native Peoples of Southern
New England offers a contribution by scholars with Native American
ancestry who are reappropriating their history by presenting their
own version of a regional Native culture history. This book provides
an excellent introduction to the subject of southern New England Indian
culture and history at the high school or upper middle school level
or for nonacademics seeking more knowledge about Indians in this region.
The language and material are both very accessible for readers of
all ages, and the inclusion of information from several Native informants
separates this book from similar texts. The contributions by twenthieth-century
New England Indians remind readers that Indians in New England are
still very present and knowledgeable about their history and culture.
2007.
$28.95. Copies are available at your local bookstore,
or through Amazon
or Barnes
and Noble, or order it through
us or
PayPal (and get 20% off).
Professor Jennings Wins Extraordinary Woman
Award
On March 8, the Extraordinary Woman Award Program
in Providence, RI, honored Eastern anthropology professor Julianne
Jennings, one of nine women who received the award. The award, which
recognizes women from different ethnic origins, recognizes outstanding
work that women perform in different areas of the community that enhances
education, professional and business development, community involvement,
cultural enrichment, health, politics and communications for woman
in the future in Rhode Island. Jennings, a Cheroenhaka Nottoway Native
American, received the award in cultural enrichment. For more than
15 years, she has been teaching children and adults about the history
and culture of the native people in Southern New England. She currently
teaches a First-Year Program Liberal Arts Colloquium entitled "Mixed
Blood Indians in Southern New England."
Jennings is the author of several books and journal
articles, and has recently co-authored a book entitled, “A
Cultural History of the Native People of Southern New England”
(Bauu Press). In 2007, she received the Eve Ensler’s “Vagina
Warrior” Award presented by Rhode Island College for her outstanding
advocacy against violence and sexual assault against Native American
women.
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