Abenaki Ethnography

Preface

"When the white man stops insisting that the Indian adhere to his ways and allow us to live as Indians, the Indian problem will be solved."
-- John Stevens, Passamaquoddy Tribal Governor

I. Introduction and thesis statement

This paper intends to discuss various features and points of interest of the Abenaki. These features will include: geographical location, culture area, population, subsistence, life cycle, and modern day issues.

II. Geographical location / Culture Area / Environment

The word Abenaki means "people of the dawnland (Calloway,14)" and refers to their most eastern location in North America.

The Abenaki originally spanned from the Lake Champlain area in Vermont to the far reaches of Nova Scotia. They inhabited from southern Canada (Quebec) to near the New Hampshire/Massachusetts border. The Dawnland "is a region of mountain ranges divided up by long rivers, a world of deep forests jeweled with sparkling lakes (Calloway, 15)." Modern day location is scattered in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and some in Quebec.
The Abenaki reside in the Northeast culture area, sometimes called the Woodlands culture area, and speak the Algonquin language, with "several different dialects that normally divded along river beds(Snow, 137)." Of these dialects, the most known are "those of Kennebec, Arosaguntacook, Penobscot, and Pigwacket (Snow, 137)."
The environment of the area inhabited by the Abenaki has long, harsh winters and short summers. The area is covered by a "mixed white pine, hemlock, and hardwood forest in coastal areas, changing to a spruce and fir forest in the interior (Snow, 138)." The land itself varis from coastal areas to majestic mountains such as Washington and Katadin, "which the Abenaki thought of as sacred places(Calloway, 16)." The lakes and rivers provided "numerous highways traveled by the Abenaki (Calloway, 16)." The Abenaki endured "long, cold winters with frequent heavy snows, and subzero temperatures. The harshness of the winter, however, gave way to beautiful seasons; late spring and summer could be mild and pleasant, with clean air and cool breezes, and autumn was spectacular (Calloway, 16-17)."

III. Creation Story / Kinship

The Abenaki in Vermont believe "that the world was created by Tabaldak, the Creator. But they also told a story of Odzihozo, 'The Man Who Made Himself'. Before he had legs, Odzihozo dragged himself around, gouging valleys in the land's surface and piling up dirt with his hands to build mountains. Finally, he made Lake Champlain and, satisfied with his work decided to stay there forever (Calloway, 23)." Native tradition also holds "that the Abenaki were created by Gluskap, an immortal super-being with magical power who also taught the Indians how to live good lives. Gluskap departed on the eve of the European invasion of America (Judd, 99)."
The Abenaki society was patrilineal. "The basic unite was the household, one to several nuclear families of the same patrilineage living together in one long bark house. The formal unit was a patrilineal totemic decent group regarded as the descendants of a remote male ancestor, not of the totem animal, together with their wives and children (Day, 156)." The Abenaki practiced exogamy, "though the nature and degree of it is hard to determine prior to Christian influence (Day, 156)."

IV. Population / Political Organization

There are varied estimates as to the population prior to contact. As described by Samuel Purchas, "an estimated total of about 1,250 houses and 3,000 adult men, or a total population of about 10,000 in A.D. 1600 (Snow, 138)." Another estimate puts that number at "as many as 40,000 divided between 20,000 eastern; 10,000 western; and 10,000 maritime (Sultzman, 1)." After major epidemics of smallpox and or plague, "many villages were totally destroyed and whole populations were probably wiped out (Calloway, 45)." In 1988, "the most populous band, the Penobscot had about 2,000 members (Calloway, 14)."
Leadership for the Abenaki "as normally vested in assertive men who acquired the necessary qualifications through the force of their own personalities. Leadership was not hereditary in a strict sense, but there was a tendency for it to be transferred patrilineally (Snow, 140)." Occasionally, "several tribes would unite under a powerful sachem for purposes of war, but the Abenaki were noteworthy for their general lack of central authority (Sultzman, 5)." These leaders were called sagamores, "which was usually the head of a large kindred (Snow, 140)." The sagamores of the Abenaki "generally held their position for life, but they only had limited authority and could be deposed if they behaved badly or if the band suffered misfortune under their leadership (Calloway, 29)." The sagamore's influence "stemmed from his skill as a hunter, his bravery as a warrior, his power as an orator, and his reputation for honesty, generosity and wisdom (Calloway, 29)." Sagamores could also be shamans, "like that of Chief Passaconaway and John Neptune (Calloway, 22)."

V. Subsistence / Clothing / Technology and Arts

   The Abenaki were a hunter/ gatherer society. Those bands on the Coastal areas could hunt and fish, with a selection of: "salmon, alewives, shad, eel and smelt. They also speared lobsters and crabs from canoes in shallow water (Snow, 138)." Inland bands could hunt game including that of: "deer, moose, beaver and muskrat (Calloway, 19)." Near winter, the Abenaki "dug root cellars, which they stored corn and dried meat for the winter months (Calloway, 19)."
   The women gathered "berries, cherries, grapes and other wild fruits, as well as the ground nut, a starchy tuber, which was eaten like a sweet potato (Snow, 138)." The hunters usually "carried a bow and arrows, a long lance and a knife. They also carried a game bag and a smaller bag made of woodchuck skin to carry a firemaking kit (Snow, 139)."
   Clothing "consisted almost entirely of animal skins. Beaver pelts were popular for both robes and smaller garments such as breech cloths (Snow, 141)." Footware consisted of moccasins which were "usually made of three pieces that wrapped around the ankle (Calloway, 33)." The Abenaki "learned to decorate garments with dyes or or embroidery and other quill work (Calloway, 33)." Abenaki men sometimes wore "conical caps, especially when they were hunting, for tradition's sake (Calloway, 33)."
   The Abenaki "lived in small villages consisting of wigwams (cone shaped and covered with birch bark) or longhouses (Brooks, 2)." Wigwams "normally had two doors, each covered by a deerskin. One was usually left open to provide an adequate draft for smoke exiting through a smokehole at the apex of the house (Snow, 140)." The longhouse "was larger, sturdier and more permanent. The Abenaki built these longhouses when they congregated in villages (Calloway, 20)."
   With early contact, came fast technology changes for the Abenaki. In the 17th century, "the Abenaki began to use metal knives, cloth (instead of skins), and decorative glass beads (instead of shells or porcupine quills) (Calloway, 35)." The Abenaki "fashioned many tools, vessels and other implements with the bark that grew on white birch trees (Calloway, 35)." Birchbark could be "shaped into baskets, cups and bowls, bottles, cooking utensils, cradles, canoes, wigwams, mats and a host of other items (Calloway, 35)." Small containers could be also made of "bark fibers, rush, sweetgrass or leather, commonly decorated with white or dyed porcupine quills (Snow, 139)." The Abenaki also used "snowshoes and toboggans for transportation in winter (Day, 155)."

VI. Life Cycle / Customs & Rites {Marraige /Burial} / Belief System

   Immediately after birth, "Abenaki babies were bound to a cradleboard that the mother carried on her back. When she performed chores, the mother either hung the cradleboard from a branch or placed her child in a small hammock padded with moss, to keep it out of harm's way (Calloway, 27)."Abenaki parents were "affectionate and children were not struck (Day, 155)." Girls were taught early on the way to do the daily tasks, including "basketry, sewing, cooking, gather maple syrup, and planting crops (Calloway, 32)" and there was also "menstrual seclusion at puberty (Day, 155)."
   Abenaki children were taught essential life lessons at an early age, such as "sharing, generosity, and hospitality. These virtues could mean the difference between eating and going hungry (Calloway, 27)." Education and discipline consisted of "traditional stories often repeated, grave admonitions, and the pressure of group dissapproval (Day, 155)."
   Boys were given their first bow and arrow at age 5 or 6 and "hunted at age 10 or 12 with his father or uncle (Day, 155)." They also learned "bird calls, animal sounds, how to disguise and conceal themselves from prey, and how to wait paitiently until the right moment came (Calloway, 31)." Young men made vision quests, "seeking an animal or bird vision while fasting (Brooks, 3)."
   Marraiges were arrainged, but the "young man had to demonstrate his proficiency as a provider (Calloway, 34)." The newlyweds would take up matrilocal residence, and the new couple joined the "family band and in time produced a family of their own (Calloway, 35)." There was occasional polygyny, but it was "confined by custom to leading men A sagamore often had two or more wives, primarily so he could have more children and so he had adequate assistance in carrying out the social obligations of his duties (Snow, 140)."
   Marraiges and funerals were normally accompanied by "feasts, dances and song (Brooks, 2)." The deceased were "clothed in their finest garments and wrapped in a roll made of birchbark (Calloway, 35)." In winter, the body was "placed on scaffolds until the spring thaw (Calloway, 35)." The deceased was "buried with the person's most valued possessions and in the seated position (Brooks, 2)."
   The Abenaki followed along a belief system that was parallel to that of other tribes with the belief in the supernatural and animism. The Abenaki also hold a belief in a supernatural power they call 'manitou'. Shamans were believed to "be closer to the spirit world and gave spiritual guidance to all who sought it (Calloway, 22)." Sickness was often treated by sweating. Shamans also cured by "using various laxatives, teas and salves for visible injuries. Internal injuries would be treated by blowing or dancing it away (Snow, 141)."

VII. Modern Day Issues

The most significant issue in modern day Abenaki life would be that of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1981. The "total settlement of $81.5 millon was a compromise for the Penobscot and Passamquoddy had demanded the return of almost two-thirds of the land in the state (Calloway, 13)." The Passamaquoddy and Penobscot invested this money wisely, the Penobscot "purchased a large blueberry farm near Machias, and in 1988, it was the largest independent producer of commercially grown blueberries in the state of Maine (Calloway, 97)." The Passamaquoddy also used "$25 million for various parts of Dragon Products Company, a cement company, then in July of 1988, turned around and sold Dragon for an estimated $80 million (Calloway, 97)." The Abenaki are still fighting for federal recognition both in the United States and Canada. Certain bands have federal recognition, but since the Abenaki as a whole never signed a treaty or held any land, this fight is very difficult. The Abenaki are only now regaining ground in population count and cultural awareness. In the past, when Jesuits converted the Abenaki, they also made the Abenaki believe they were of French descent. There was also a tendency to keep families hertiages and lineage a secret for fear of persecution. Some Abenaki, like Laura Brooks, are only now finding out their heritage.

VIII. Conculsion

This paper has given a basic overview of Abenaki people. By no means is this in full detail, and part of that is due to a lot of Abenaki history being unwritten. The Abenaki played important roles in history, and they still play key roles in Maine, Vermont and Quebec. I was involved for a few years in one of the groups in Maine that is trying to bring back traditional Abenaki values, and educate people about the Abenaki. I also assisted in a major research project involving the Pennacook people. These have helped me in my insight on not only the Abenakis, but on Native Americans as a whole.

Bibliography

Brooks, Laura. "The People of the Dawnland." Orono, ME: University of Maine, 1995.

Calloway, Colin. The Abenaki. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1989.

Day, Gordon. "Western Abenaki." Handbook of North American Indians. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978.

Judd, Richard, Edwin Churhill and Joel Eastman. Maine: The Pine Tree State from Prehistory to the Present. Orono, ME: University of Maine Press, 1995.

Snow, Dean. "Eastern Abenaki." Handbook of North American Indians. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978.

Sultzman, Lee. Abenaki History 1995.

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