Great Leader: Gray Lock of the Western Abenaki

American fascination with celebrity has taken unique turns throughout our history.  One example of this is/was the tendency is a fascination with Native opponents in various "Indian Wars".  The first of many such would be Gray Lock/Wawanolet, a Western Abenaki leader during a conflict known as Dummer's War, sometimes known as Father Rale's War, 1722-1725.

The tribes of the Wabanaki Confederacy, including the Abenaki, Mikmaq, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot, lived in what is now Nova Scotia and portions of New England, including Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont.  At that time, Massachusetts controlled what would later become Maine and Vermont.  The Wabanaki tribes, like many Algonquian-speaking people, allied with the French.  Iroquoian-speaking peoples tended to ally with the English and the various tribes came into repeated conflict in the 17th century over the beaver trade.  As more and more English settlers infiltrated what is now New England and portions of Nova Scotia, they came into increasing conflict with Natives.  The tribes had been missionized by French priests, who often served as liaisons with the government of New France, providing weapons, advice and tacit support. 

During this conflict, Wawanolet emerged as a leader, known to the English by their name for him, Gray Lock.  How or why he got this name remains unknown.  His Native name refers to one who puts others off his track.  He made his presence known in Massachusetts through a series of raids, including settlements at Northfield and Rutland, killing some Settlers and taking others captive.  To combat the threat, Massachusetts authorities erected a fort near what is now Brattleboro, Vermont named Fort Dummer, after the then-acting governor of Massachusetts.  In 1724, Gray Lock struck settlements at Deerfield, Northampton and Westfield.  Captain Benjamin Wright set out with a company of militia, but quickly realized he faced a more powerful opponent and withdrew, Gray Lock's warriors tracking him every step of the way. 

The Abenaki made peace in 1725, but Gray Lock refused to be part of the treaty parley.  For the next two decades, Settlers in Massachusetts would learn of his continued existence through his lightening raids.  He died around 1750.  Mount Greylock in western Massachusetts was named for him.  A monument to him stands in Battery Park, Burlington, Vermont. 

People of the Red Earth: the Mi'kmaq

The Mi'kmaq are an Algonquian-speaking people historically part of the Wabanaki Confederacy and closely allied with such tribes as the Abenaki, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot.  Their traditional range is throughout the Maritime Provinces of Canada including Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Labrador, Newfoundland and Quebec as well as portions of Maine in the United States.  Sources differ as to the exact meaning and origin of the term, Mi'kmaq.  Like most human beings, the Mi'kmaq refer to themselves as the people.  The word Mi'kmaq may mean people of the red earth, or it may be a reference to an ancestral medicine man who taught the people his knowledge.

Like many coastal tribes, the Mi'kmaq relied not only on hunting, and were noted experts in hunting moose, a dangerous animal.  They also relied on coastal fishing.  The hostile climate and terrain of their hunting range didn't allow for much in the way of agricultural production, so hunting and gathering were necessary to their survival.  The Mi'kmaq were among the earliest Native peoples contacted by Europeans, including John Cabot, Jacques Cartier, and many other French, Spanish, Basque and English fishermen.  These frequently made landfall to dry the herring that they took home to Europe.  While on land, they had opportunities to trade with the Mi'kmaq and from time to time document aspects of their customs.  As with other Eastern tribes, the Mi'kmaq also became valuable partners in the fur trade.

The traditional Mi'kmaq homeland was divided into seven districts, each ruled by a chief in consultation with a council made up of band chiefs and other leaders.  A Grand Council, made up of district leaders assisted by elders, wampum readers and others with specialized knowledge cared for matters affecting the tribe as a whole.  The district chiefs rotated the title of Grand Chief.  The people lived in peaked spruce shelters known as wigwams.  While most continued to follow traditional practices, many Mi'kmaq converted to Catholicism in the 1600's.  The Mi'kmaq and the four other tribes of the Wabanaki Confederacy began to coalesce about the time of King Phillip's War, 1675, no doubt seeing the wisdom of mutual aid and protection in dealing with Settlers.  The Mi'kmaq remained staunchly pro-French during the various colonial wars in North American, even after the French lost control of Nova Scotia in 1713.  The Mi'kmaq steadfastly refused to concede any land to the British.  During the Expulsion of the Acadians in 1758-60, the Mi'kmaqs sided with the Acadians in resisting the British.

During this time, the Mi'kmaq were willing to sign treaties of peace and friendship with Great Britain, but not to cede any land.  The Mi'kmaq were at first tolerant of English settlers in the home range, but became less so after immigrants from New England, known as Planters, and later Loyalists after the Revolution began flocking into their territory.  Because of British incursion on their territory, Mi'kmaq warriors were willing to assist the Americans and some even served as auxiliaries to the Continental Army.  After the Revolution, as more Settlers arrived on traditional Mi'kmaq range, called Mi'kmaqi by the Natives, they were pressured to send their children to school and assimilate to White ways of life.   The Mi'kmaq may have been the inventors of ice hockey, being credited with the first ice hockey sticks in what became Canada's national sport.  Sticks made by Mi'kmaq craftsmen became the standard in the sport.  Mi'kmaq have served honorably in the Canadian armed forces during both World Wars.

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People of the Rocky Part: the Penobscot

The Penobscot are an Algonquian-speaking people, part of the Wabanaki Confederacy that includes the Abenaki, Passamaquoddy, Mikmaq, and Maliseet.  Their ancestral range included areas in what is now New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, as well as Maine in the United States.  Thus, they are both a First Nations tribe and a federally recognized tribe in the United States. 

Prior to contact with Europeans, the Penobscot supported themselves by hunting, gathering, and some agriculture.  They were fortunate in having the ocean close at hand to supplement their diet.  Like other coastal peoples, they began a lucrative fur trade with the Europeans.  And, they had a commodity much in demand.  They produced a beer made of pine needles, which had a high quantity of Vitamin C.  Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, this beer was effective against the scurvy commonly experienced by ship's crews.  The Penobscot, like other Algonquian tribes, frequently sided with the French during Colonial wars in North America.  This brought them into frequent contact with the Iroquois tribes.  Diseases also caused their population to decrease.  Encroachment on tribal land also brought the Penobscot into conflict with Settlers.  By 1800, authorities in Maine had forced the Penobscot onto reservations which barely allowed them enough resources to provide for their needs. 

Today the Penobscot Nation is the federally recognized entity for this tribe in the United States.  They became known for their basketry, beadwork and birchbark canoes.  The Penobscot River is named for this tribe.