Creating N E W Relations to Improve Relations: Strangers As Wabanaki
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Creating New Relations to Improve Relations: Strangers as Wabanaki Chiefs NICHOLAS N. SMITH Brunswick, Maine In looking over a list of Wabanaki chiefs with the late Peter Paul one day, I observed that many seemed to be, at least in part, of European descent, and Paul agreed but offered no reason as to why they might have been selected. I gained a better understanding of the Wabanaki pattern when, dur ing a visit to Waswanipi and Mistassini in 1970, I learned that recently passed Quebec provincial legislation cut short the terms of the chiefs tra ditionally elected for life; henceforth, terms were limited to two years. The elders looked to their young people for candidates: people who had leadership qualities, some experience with White ways, and a knowledge of French and English. The new chiefs who were elected from this group of young politicians would function as intermediaries between tribal elders and government officials. I saw this "new" situation as a replay of 300 years of Wabanaki history. It had been an ancient tradition of the Northeast to adopt some of the prisoners taken in what appear to be ever-present wars among the tribes. Those who showed great courage and fortitude (notably by surviving tor ture while exhibiting little sign of pain) were adopted into families to replace their young men who had been killed. Their allegiance was trans ferred to their former enemy, and they often became more patriotic mem bers of their new tribe than many of those who were bom into it. The rules and traditions were the same for European captives, and there are many accounts of Whites who declined to return home when the opportunity presented itself and instead became highly regarded warriors and leaders in their new group. The young stranger, often an orphan, who suddenly appears and decides to live with the band is a popular theme of Wabanaki traditional tales. Some time later he is seen performing feats that require special powers. I believe that people were always alert for potential leaders of special accomplishments, and on occasion even the role of missionaries might be viewed in this manner. Papers of the 34th Algonquian Conference, ed. H.C. Wolfart (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba, 2003), pp. 333-340. 334 NICHOLAS N. SMITH The early Catholic priests who came to the isolated Wabanaki vil lages were forced to leam the language and to develop good rapport with the people whose souls they wanted to save; opportunities to speak with another Frenchman were rare. Some of the early missionaries became accepted as trusted friends by the Wabanaki group to whom they, in turn, often referred as "my Indians." Missionaries who remained with a band for a long time often came to share the band's point of view on political issues. They were frequently adopted into the tribe and designated chiefs, at least in certain domains. They were to negotiate for the tribe with Euro peans whose language and ways they understood so much better than the Indians did. When Father Druillettes successfully mediated a peace at Boston in 1650, for example, the Norridgewock were happy with what he accomplished, adopted him into the tribe and made him an honorary chief of their band (Campeau 1966a:282; Morrison 1984:194; Shea 1869:391). Some missionaries so honored were of the French nobility and conspicu ous as war leaders. They served two masters, their king and their church. L'abbe Francois Picquet led Abenaki warriors in an attack on Schenectady and Fort Oswego, and a group of 300 Penobscot, Maliseet and Micmac at Ticonderoga. He was their chaplain and war chief. L'abbe LeLoutre served in a similar position, leading Maliseet and Micmac against English settlers in Nova Scotia. The Rev. Charles Francois Bailly was sent to the St. John River in 1768 and, although he served among the Indians only a few years, they recognized him with the title of chief. When the early converts to Christianity were baptized and Christian Indians were not available as sponsors, they were given names of the French nobility as their sponsors. In 1611 Membertou, a Micmac and the first representative of the Wabanaki Confederacy to be baptized, received the name Henri for King Henri IV, while his wife was baptized Marie for the Queen, and his son Louis for the prince who became Louis XIII. In 1667 Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie, Baron de St-Castin, established himself on the Maine coast at a noted Indian trading location and formed a good trading and military relationship with the Penobscot, becoming chief of the 130 families who were regular customers at his trading post (Sprague 1917:298). Later he married Chief Madockawando's daughter, Matilde. Madockawando respected the advice of St-Castin, a member of the French nobility whose residence with the Penobscot made him a valu able intermediary. Both sides felt that he was in a position to be advanta- STRANGERS AS WABANAKI CHIEFS 335 geous to them during a period of conflict between the French and the English. (Some historians were confused by the St-Castin names and gen erations.) When Madockawando died, Anselm, the oldest son of St-Castin and Matilde, succeeded him (Coolidge & Mansfield 1859:22; Sprague 1917: 310). Non-Indians considered Anselm, who inherited his father's title, a European; the Penobscot treated him as an Indian chief. Anselm became very active in the events of the early 1700s in Maine and the Maritimes, having gained the trust and respect of Indians and French just as his father had. He preferred the Penobscot life to that of the French villagers, was an active trader, led Wabanaki warriors to battle, and negotiated with Euro peans for peace. Joseph Robineau de Villebon (DCB 1:576), the dominant French officer in Acadia from 1690 to 1700, saw an advantage in making friends with the Maliseet. He adopted Taxous, a strong Wabanaki chief whose influence was known from Nova Scotia to Maine. Taxous in turn honored him with the title of chief (Raymond 1950:233). It appears that his was the role of a war chief, as warriors willingly followed him into battle. The French wanted to continue the close relationships established by Druillettes and Villebon. In 1704 the Norridgewock chief, Assacumbuit (various spellings), was taken to France, where he spent about six months and was knighted by the king. (He was also introduced to Charlevoix and helped him with his history.) It was expected that he would be so impressed by French glamour and power that he would remain forever faithful to the French. When their cause lost its glitter, however, the French tried to invalidate his position as chief by taking away his chiefs medal and giving it to another who seemed more promising to their cause. (When Europeans brought their conflicts to this continent and enlisted tribes on their side, they needed a means to identify chiefs as friend or foe. The chiefs medal became the identifying mark.) Barthelemy Petitpas (1687-1747) had a French father and a Micmac mother. Like St-Castin, he preferred the Indian life. He became a trader and interpreter who influenced the Micmac and has been referred to as a chief. Easily swayed by both French and English politicians, he gradually lost his political importance as a chief. In 1711 fourteen-year-old Samuel Gill was captured by Abenaki and taken to Odanak (St-Francois), Quebec. Rosilee James, a twelve-year-old 336 NICHOLAS N. SMITH girl was captured at the same time; they had known each other since early childhood. They both had the opportunity to return to their homes, but opted to remain with the Abenaki. In 1715, the Abenaki chiefs arranged their marriage, although several chiefs wanted them to marry Indians. The marriage between the two Protestants was performed by Father Joseph Aubery, missionary to the Abenaki. Samuel became a valued interpreter of English for the Abenaki; he died in 1758, at the age of sixty-one. The mother of seven children, Rosalie died in 1738. Their son, Joseph-Louis Gill, bom in 1719, married Marie-Jeanne Nanamaghemet, the daughter of the grand chief, evidence that the Gills enjoyed high status in the tribe. A few years later Joseph-Louis was elected a chief and later became a prin cipal chief. In his old age he served as prayer chief, the most important position in the church after the missionary (Charland 1979:293-4; Huden 1956:200; Maurault 1866:346-349). After the fall of Quebec Gill was tribal spokesman with the English on several important occasions; during the American Revolution his loyalty to England was questioned. Joseph- Louis, the son of white prisoners, served the Abenaki well in his role as chief; his descendants are represented in many Abenaki families today. A young boy who was captured by the Penobscot is best known to us as Chief Orono. Little is known about Orono; for many years it was thought that, like other hereditary chiefs, Orono was descended from St- Castin. However, later research has traced Orono to early settlers in York, Maine. In 1692, seven-year-old William Donnel strayed into the forest, was captured by Indians and was not seen again. Vickery has traced Orono's genealogy (1992:136); Trafton provides a family tradition of the boy's capture (1878: 93-96). Madockawando, who was the adopted son of Assaminasqua, adopted the boy captive from York, leading some to say that Orono was captured by Madockawando, but factual evidence as to who captured him is lacking. No orally transmitted accounts of his rise to a leadership position are known to exist.