Abenaki Daring : The Life and Writings of Noel Annance, 1792-1869

The life and work of an Abenaki man illuminate the troubled history of Indigenous peoples. "An Abenaki born in 1792 in St. Francis, Quebec, Noel Annance was by virtue of his descent from two white captives privileged to attend Dartmouth College, the only North American institution then admitting indigenous students. Determined to be the person he had been educated to become, Noel was all his life caught between two ways of being, neither of which accepted him among their numbers. Despite exemplary service in the War of 1812, he was too indigenous to be allowed to succeed in the fur trade, too civilized to be accepted by those in charge on returning home. He did not belong. All his life Noel dared on the pattern of his Abenaki great uncle, grandfather, and father. For a third of a century to his death in 1869, he wrote the truth to persons in positions of authority who might have changed the course of Canadian history had they followed up. Some of Noel's writings are reproduced to permit him to speak for himself. Against these are juxtaposed others' perspectives in forms ranging from government documents to personal observations. Noel Annance's life and writings demonstrate how the exclusionary policies towards indigenous peoples generally considered to have originated with the Indian Act of 1876 were well in place upwards to half a century earlier. Moving ahead in time, Abenaki Daring speaks to the similar barriers still preventing many well educated indigenous persons seeking to belong from reaching their full potential."-- Provided by publisher An Abenaki born in St Francis, Quebec, Noel Annance (1792–1869), by virtue of two of his great-grandparents having been early white captives, attended Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Determined to apply his privileged education, he was caught between two ways of being, neither of which accepted him among their numbers. Despite outstanding service as an officer in the War of 1812, Annance was too Indigenous to be allowed to succeed in the far west fur trade, and too schooled in outsiders' ways to be accepted by those in charge on returning home. Annance did not crumple, but all his life dared the promise of literacy on his own behalf and on that of Indigenous peoples more generally. His doing so is tracked through his writings to government officials and others, some of which are reproduced in this volume. Annance's life makes visible how the exclusionary policies towards Indigenous peoples, generally considered to have originated with the Indian Act of 1876, were being put in place upwards to half a century earlier. On account of his literacy, Annance's story can be told. Recounting a life marked equally by success and failure, and by perseverance, Abenaki Daring speaks to similar barriers that to this day impede many educated Indigenous persons from realizing their life goals. To dare is no less essential than it was for Noel Annance. Cover Abenaki Daring Title Copyright Dedication Contents Annance’s Writings Reproduced in the Text Illustrations, Maps, and Table Preface Chronology Introduction PART ONE An Inheritance of Wary Engagement 1 Of Abenaki Daring and Captivity Narratives 2 Taking a Chance on Literacy’s Promise PART TWO Pursuing Indigenous Inclusion 3 In Search of Belonging 4 Hopes for the Fur Trade 5 Letting Go PART THREE Contesting Indigenous Exclusion 6 Returning Home to Captivity Narratives’ Legacies 7 Land No More 8 To Belong or Not to Belong Postscript Appendix: Noel Annance’s Journal of the Voyage from Fort George to the Fraser River, 18 November to 31 December 1824 Notes Works Cited Index