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Three noted scholars and historians gathered together in the Minksy Recital Hall last Monday to discuss themes relating to the book “Life and Traditions of the Red Man,” penned by Penobscot tribal elder Joseph Nicolar in the latter half of the eightenth century. The three speakers gave individual talks on separate topics, then answered questions from the audience as a panel and stayed on for a reception.
The speakers were Charles Norman Shay, Penobscot elder and grandson of Joseph Nicolar, Annette Kolodny of the University of Arizona, and James Eric Francis Sr., the tribal historian of the Penobscot Nation. Shay delivered a speech titled ‘Admiration and Respect for My Elders.’ Kolodny offered a lecture titled ‘Rethinking the Ecological Indian; the Penobscot Precursor’ and Francis gave a talk he called ‘The Evolution of Story.’
The first speaker of the evening was Charles Norman Shay, a decorated World War One veteran and Indian Island native. Shay’s talk centered around memories of his own family, mixed with historical records of his grandfather’s family. “Although I never knew my grandfather,” he said, “I always felt a special bond to him.”
Shay recently converted a wooden teepee that his aunt and uncle built into a museum highlighting his family’s history. He discussed, among other things, the influence of his family and the other Penobscots in the area on local, state and federal government.
For example, after a series of petitions and letters, the Penobscots were able to lift a Maine state law which denied American Indians the right to vote in either state or federal elections. He also spoke about the many difficulties faced by his grandfather Nicolar in receiving the proper education to become a writer – a challenge he also faced as a child. He concluded his talk with a moment of silence, to honor his ancestors.
The next speaker was Kolodny, a professor of American Literature and Culture at Arizona University. She drew on her experience as a teacher throughout her talk, using examples from her students to illustrate her points. Her discussion focused on the changing ‘image’ of the American Indian in contemporary society. She specifically discussed what academic writers sometimes refer to as ‘the ecological Indian,’ or the image of American Indians as conservationists and ‘stewards of the land.’ She argued against the popular conception that this image only came about in the modern age, circa 1970.
The idea of American Indians being conservationists, she argued, goes back much further than this. Even in Nicolar’s time, the Penobscot tribe was sending letters and petitions to all levels of government arguing for the conservation of Maine’s forests, wildlife, and rivers. She used Nicolar’s book as a prime example of the Penobscot tribe adopting and promoting this image. “This text radically changes our discussion,” she said of Nicolar’s book. The book paints a portrait of the Penobscots as “worthy stewards, in contrast to the wasteful white man.”
The third speaker, James Eric Francis Sr., spoke about the role of oral history in the Penobscot tribe’s history. “I often considered myself the tribe’s first historian,” he said. “But I’m hardly that.” In his talk about the evolution of story, Francis showed how the tradition of orally relating stories, myths and the history of the tribe made every storyteller a historian in their own right.
“The histories I learn are from the elders. They are from my fellow tribe members,” Francis said. “True history comes from them.”
He contrasted this oral tradition to the “static” written tradition, exemplified by Nicolar. Whereas oral stories can change and ‘evolve’ to reflect current cultural trends, written texts are stuck in the context in which they were written. He cited the influence of Christianity, particularly through Jesuit missionaries, as an example. In Nicolar’s text there are many instances of fairly obvious Christian imagery, which he argued are in the text because of their cultural prevalence at the time of the writing.
The talks were concluded with a presentation of framed copies of the original artwork displayed on the promotional posters for the event to Kolodny and Shay.
This event was sponsored and organized jointly by the Penobscot Nation Cultural and Historic Preservation Department and the English department, with help from several other UMaine organizations and academic departments.
Bangor Daily News