U & D

The following is from Joseph Charnley (Wabanaki Connections), used with his permission.

I watched most of Monday night’s “We Shall Remain”: Episode 1. Although the series focus is
on Native nations in MA and further west, it is unique in that it relied
heavily on Native academic support and guidance. Each of the 5 episodes
(April 13, 20, 27, May 4, and 11) is an in-depth look at a particular
historical moment and the cast of characters that inhabited that moment.

Massasoit, his son, Philip, and the English so-called “Pilgrims” and
Puritans, were the characters who highlighted episode 1 and provided a
much broader understanding of that period’s struggles than anything I
have seen before.

[Upcoming episodes will cover Tecumseh, Geronimo, The Trail of Tears, and Wounded Knee.]

Below is a link to the PBS.org site which has background information as
well as a host of Teacher resources. Please take a moment and check out
this site and glean what you will from it. A viewing of all 5 episodes
will give you a general background to some of the pressing issues behind
this history. One of the producers said that the goal of this series is
to “bring Native American history back into the center of American
history”. Just focusing on how Native history has been allowed to be
sidelined is a seminar in itself.

I have downloaded some of the material from the site and will make it
available to folks as requested. It is in PDF format. I have also
ordered the series and will make it available for viewing in some
format, perhaps here at KMS. School libraries should also consider
purchasing it for loan. There is a 20% off feature for pre-ordering the
set, 40.00 instead of 50.00. Use MAYFLOWER in the code section of the
order form. [This offer is good until 5/1/09. I have also purchased this set].

The transcript from Episode One is available for download, as Joseph mentions. Even if you missed the series, you can appreciate the value to Maine’s Wabanaki Studies contained in information such as this:

It was a community of communities and they had inter-meshed and had their own agendas, their own political problems, their own warfare, and their own trade. There was a rich sort of political interaction in this region.

Massasoit is a classic sort of village chief or super village chief in the Algonquian world. He is a man of great respect among his people. He doesn’t have the coercive power that a European sovereign or a monarch would have. He is a person who leads by example, and people have faith in his leadership and his experience.

Massasoit is a classic sort of village chief or super village chief in the Algonquian world. He is a man of great respect among his people. He doesn’t have the coercive power that a European sovereign or a monarch would have. He is a person who leads by example, and people have faith in his leadership and his experience.

[Narrator: ] Throughout that winter, Massasoit wrestled with the question of how to deal with the newcomers. The Chief’s first impulse had been to put a curse on the Pilgrims, and watch them die off altogether. But the weakened Wampanoag needed any friends they could get. Massasoit was paying steep tribute to the Narragansett, but he knew his near neighbors had the numbers to overrun the remaining Wampanoag villages whenever they chose. And he was aware that the strangers came from a nation of wealth and military might.

This is not a picture of ignorant, savage people, but of intelligent, compassionate, reasonable individuals in a highly organized culture. Let’s make good use of this series in our classrooms!

When my video set arrives, I will loan it out to schools for the cost of the mailing.

Link to PBS.org site:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/