Early Native Literacies in New England: A Documentary and Critical Anthology (Native Americans of the Northeast: Culture, History, & the Contemporary)

Designed as a corrective to colonial literary histories that have excluded Native voices, this anthology brings together a variety of primary texts produced by the Algonquian peoples of New England during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and very early nineteenth centuries. Included among these written materials and objects are letters, signatures, journals, baskets, pictographs, confessions, wills, and petitions, each of which represents a form of authorship. Together they demonstrate the continuing use of traditional forms of memory and communication and the lively engagement of Native peoples with alphabetic literacy during the colonial period. Each primary text is accompanied by an essay that places it in context and explores its significance. Written by leading scholars in the field, these readings draw on recent trends in literary analysis, history, and anthropology to provide an excellent overview of the field of early Native studies. They are also intended to provoke discussion and open avenues for further exploration by students and other interested readers. Above all, the texts and commentaries gathered in this volume provide an opportunity to see Native American literature as a continuity of expression that reflects choices made long before contact and colonization, rather than as a nineteenth or even twentieth-century invention. Contributors include Heidi Bohaker, Heather Bouwman, Joanna Brooks, Kristina Bross, Stephanie Fitzgerald, Sandra Gustafson, Laura Arnold Leibman, Kevin McBride, David Murray, Laura Murray, Jean O'Brien, Ann Marie Plane, Philip Round, Jodi Schorb, David Silverman, and Hilary E. Wyss. The Mohegans. Oweneco, Letter Of Instruction From Oanhekoe, Sachem Of The Mohegan Indians In New England, 14 July 1703 ; Letter Of Instruction From Oanhekoe, Sachem Of The Mohegan Indians In New England, 14 July 1703 / David Murray -- Joseph Johnson, Diary, 1773 ; Joseph Johnson's Diary, Farmington, Connecticut, 18 November 1772 To 1 February 1773 -- Mohegan Wood-splint Basket ; The Cultural Work Of A Mohegan Painted Basket / Stephanie Fitzgerald -- Samson Occum, Temperance And Morality Sermon ; Samson Occum And The Sermonaic Tradition / Heather Bouwman -- Title Pages From Samson Occum's Sermon Preached At The Execution Of Moses Paul ; Samson Occum And The Native Print Literacy / Philip H. Round -- The Narragansetts. Sarah Pharaoh, The Case Of Sarah Pharaoh ; The Dreadful Case Of Sarah Pharaoh: Finding Native Women's Voices In An Eighteenth-century Infanticide Case / Ann Marie Plane --^ Sarah Simon, Letter To Eleazar Wheelock, 1769 ; Writing Back To Wheelock: One Young Woman's Response To Colonial Christianity / Hilary E. Wyss -- Natick. Samuel Ponampam, Confession Narrative, 1656 ; Temptation In The Wilderness: Ponampam's Confession / Kristina Bross -- Natick Indian Petition, 1748 ; Our Old And Valluable Liberty: A Natick Indian Petition In Defense Of Their Fishing Rights, 1748 / Jean O'brien -- The Pequots. Pequot Medicine Bundle ; Bundles, Bears, And Bibles: Interpreting Seventeenth-century Native 'texts' / Kevin A. Mcbride -- The Confession And Dying Warning Of Katherine Garret ; Seeing Other Wise: Reading A Pequot Execution Narrative / Jodi Schorb -- The Wampanoags. Mittark's Will, 1681/1703 ; 'we Chief Men Say This' : Wampanoag Memory, English Authority, And The Contest Over Mittark's Will / David J. Silverman --^ The Hannit Family, In Experience Mayhew's Indian Converts ; Tradition And Innovation In A Colonial Wampanoag Family From Martha's Vineyard / Laura Arnold Leibman -- Intertribal Conversations. Pictograph Image On A 1725 Treaty (wabanaki) ; Reading Expressions Of Identity On A 1725 Peace And Friendship Treaty / Heidi Bohaker ; Montaukett Petition, 1788 ; 'this Indian World': A Petition/origin Story From Samson Occom (mohegan) And The Montaukett Tribe / Joanna Brooks ; Hendrick Aupaumut (mahican/stockbridge), A Short Narration Of My Last Journey To The Western Contry ; Historical Introduction To Hendrick Aupaumut's Short Narration ; Hendrick Aupaumut And The Cultural Middle Ground / Sandra M. Gustafson. Edited By Kristina Bross And Hilary E. Wyss. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 251-268) And Index. Designed as a corrective to colonial literary histories that have excluded Native voices, this anthology brings together a variety of primary texts produced by Algonquian peoples of New England during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and very early nineteenth centuries. It includes letters, signatures, journals, baskets, pictographs, and petitions. Contents Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1 The Mohegans 2 The Narragansetts 3 Natick 4 The Pequots 5 The Wampanoags 6 Intertribal Conversations Bibliography Contributors Index