A Cultural History of the Native Peoples of Southern New England: Voices from Past and Present.

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 (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.

2007. $28.95. Copies are available at your local bookstore, or through Amazon or Barnes and Noble, or order it through us (and get 20% off).

Table of Contents

Introduction

• Christianity and Early English Colonists

Southern New England's Indian Culture

• Cultural History
• Sources and Approach

Cultural Observations Arranged by Topic

• Their Appearance
• Greeting and Language
• Eating and Entertainment
• Sleeping and Lodging
• Numbers
• Family and Relations
• Domestic
• The Body and Senses
• Discourse and News and Oral History
• Time
• Seasons
• Travel
• The Heavens and Heavenly Bodies
• Weather
• The Winds
• Birds
• The Earth and Planting Crops
• Helping the English
• First Thanksgiving Day
• Animals
• The Sea
• Fishing
• Clothing
• Religion
• Government and Justice
• Marriage
• Wampum
• Trade
• Hunting
• Games
• War
• Sickness
• Death and Bural

Contributions of the New England Indians to America

Translation of Some Indian Place Names in Southern New England

• Historic Southern New England Nations, Tribes, Villages
• Reservations and Settlements and Other Places: Massachusetts
• Reservations and Settlements and Other Places: Cape Cod
• Reservations and Settlements and Other Places: The Islands
• Other Names: Rhode Island
• Other Names: Connecticut

Selected Quotes from Writings of Early American Colonists and Modern Indian Elders on Native Women of Wamanoag, Narragansett and Massachusett Peoples

Selection of Some Europeans Who Wrote About New England Indians in the 1500s, 1600s, and 1700s

Bringing Back Our Lost Language

Pronunciation Guide

White House Proclamation

References and Sources

2007. $28.95. Copies are available at your local bookstore, or through Amazon or Barnes and Noble, or order it through us (and get 20% off).