Author: jeff

Who lived in New Hampshire first?

New Hampshire, a picturesque state located in the northeastern part of the United States, has a rich history that dates back thousands of years. But who were the first inhabitants of this beautiful region? Let’s delve into the past and uncover the story of the original inhabitants of New Hampshire.

The Native Americans:
The first people to call New Hampshire home were Native American tribes. These indigenous communities had been living in the area for thousands of years before European settlers arrived. The two major tribes that resided in New Hampshire were the Abenaki and the Pennacook.

The Abenaki tribe, part of the larger Algonquian-speaking Native American group, inhabited the western and northern parts of New Hampshire. They were skilled hunters, gatherers, and farmers, relying on the rich natural resources of the region for their sustenance.

The Pennacook tribe, also part of the Algonquian-speaking group, resided in the southern and eastern parts of New Hampshire. They were known for their agricultural practices, cultivating crops such as corn, beans, and squash.

European Arrival:
In the early 17th century, European explorers and settlers began to arrive in New Hampshire. Englishman Captain John Mason, who received a land grant from the Council for New England, established the first European settlement in the region in 1623. This marked the beginning of significant changes for the Native American tribes.

FAQ:

Q: What happened to the Native American tribes after European arrival?
A: The arrival of European settlers had a profound impact on the Native American tribes. The tribes faced diseases brought by the Europeans, conflicts over land, and forced displacement. Many Native Americans were either killed or displaced from their ancestral lands.

Q: Are there any Native American tribes still present in New Hampshire today?
A: While the Abenaki and Pennacook tribes no longer have a significant…

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When he was a younger man, Unkechaug Nation Chief Harry Wallace had a vision.

Wallace saw three sacred bundles — one of which was the talking sticks, a tool of Indigenous democracy that allowed people to take turns speaking.

The vision, he believes, was intended as a message to preserve his community’s language, which had not been spoken for generations, in part due to governmental repression that forced Native Americans to forgo many of their traditions.

“That [his vision] meant that our language was not lost. It simply went into a safe place,” said Wallace. “And it was my mission, my vision, to uncover that safe place and provide a secure place where it could be relearned in a safe, loving way.”

Unkechaug Nation Chief Harry Wallace with a copy of a Native American word list made by Thomas Jefferson. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara

Today, Wallace’s vision — along with that of many other members of the Unkechaug, Shinnecock and Montaukett nations on Long Island — has been realized through the Algonquian Language Revitalization Project.

The project, the result of more than a decade’s worth of collaboration, has produced a language class, a dictionary and a Native American resource library based at Stony Brook University.

According to program coordinator Lizbeth González, the project is part of a national movement to reclaim Native American languages. In some cases, she said, researchers have relied on elders who can speak the languages fluently. But on Long Island, organizers have had to work meticulously, reaching back nearly 400 years to recreate the languages once spoken here.

“There were no teaching materials until the ALRP started to teach,” said González. “There…

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How do we learn and teach about First Nations labour in ways that connect to local economies and Canadian history education?

In a new exhibition, Nii Ndahlohke / I Work, at Art Windsor Essex, labour is the central theme for understanding the history and legacies of Mount Elgin Industrial School, an Indian Residential School in southwestern Ontario.

The exhibition brings together artists from the communities whose children attended this institution, and it runs until June 24, 2024. It emerged from the Munsee Delaware Language and History Group, a community-based language and history learning project.

The group has worked together for many years to study and teach Munsee language and history, and supports research and teaching about Munsee people, communities, languages and territories.

Manual labour demands

Mount Elgin was located at Chippewas of the Thames First Nation in southwestern Ontario. Like other Industrial Schools of its era, Mount Elgin was an underfunded religious federal boarding school and a model farm that was expected to generate income to pay for itself.

Students at the school were expected to work at the institute as much as they were expected to attend class.

Their labour was invisible within the school budget. However, the Indian department was aware that Mount Elgin students were not given progressive training in skilled trades and that manual labour demands on students kept them out of the classroom and therefore compromised their education.

Vanessa Dion Fletcher,Aapáachiiw Return Home, 2022, digital prints. (Frank Piccolo/courtesy of Windsor Essex)

Farm labour, domestic service

Manual labour prepared students for limited work opportunities: farm labour for boys and men, and domestic service for girls and women….

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