THE ROLE OF GLADYS TANTAQUIDGEfJN MELISSA FAWCETr University of Connecticut The identity of the Mohegan people has been preserved as well as challenged by interaction with the non-Indian. This paradox has been sustained by three outstanding tribal leaders born in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, respectively. When a splinter-group of the Pequot nation first formed the Mohegan tribe in the 1620's, the rebels were an insecure minor­ ity within both the Indian and non-Indian world.l Forced to ally with the Puritans for survival, the Mohegan chief, Uncas, was nonetheless able to limit cultural contamination through his pragmatism and manipulative diplomacy. Mter U ncas' death in 1683, the devastating effects of accul­ turation combined with a power vacuum created a nearly dis­ astrous cultural and demographic degeneration. This trend was reversed in the mid 1700s by Samsom Occum. As a congre­ gational minister and skilled Indian woodsman, he was able to establish schools for his people with curriculum that balanced traditional and modern skills. Having survived the ravages of contact and acculturation by the creative implementation of non-lndian military and educa­ tional skills, the Mohegan had yet to face an even greater chal­ lenge. Mter the reservation was eliminated in 1861, cultural identity became increasingly difficult to maintain. By the late 1 This view of Mohegan origins is popular within the tribe itself. For the currently accepted scholarly interpretation see Neal Salisbury (1982). 136 MELISSA FAWCETT 19th century tribal elders were often too apathetic, too fearful or too skeptical of their offspring to pass on their knowledge. Gladys Tantaquidgeon was born into thb negative climate in 1899. As a young girl she was chosen to become cultural custodian by Fidelia Fielding, the last speaker of the language, and the tribal medicine women. With their passing in the early 1900s she was receptive to any opportunity to convey and expand her knowledge. That chance was afforded first by anthropologist Frank Speck, who adopted Gladys as protege and informant, and secondly by her work with numerous tribes through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Arts and Crafts Board. Her life, like that of Uncas and Occum, was one in which non-Indian in­ fluences simultaneously challenged and preserved Mohegan iden­ tity. The following b a dbcussion of the fateful convergences that created this paradoxical situation, centering around the life of Gladys Tantaquidgeon. As thb essay b based on oral hbtory in­ terviews, it necessarUy involves Gladys' perceptions.2 Her words are modest and tend to downplay the pivotal nature of her role, therefore quotes are used sparingly. Yet, although she would never presume to present herself as a rival to Uncas or Occum for a premier position in tribal history, she does concede that she is their philosophical heir. Gladys believes that the pru­ dent utilization of non-Indian resources b essential to Mohegan continuity. The last speaker of the Mohegan-Pequot dialect was Fidelia Fielding, also known as "Jeets Bodernasha", or Flying Bird. Al­ though the reservation was terminated in 1861, Fidelia never overcame the feelings of bolation instUled in her by that system. She even continued to live in the last reservation-type "tribe house" (log dwelling) until her death in 1908. Gladys notes that Flying Bird's reclusive nature stood in sharp contrast to This article was researched through interviews conducted by the author with Gladys Tantaquidgeon at the Tantaquidgeon Indian Museum from June 20 to July 15, 1983. These tapes are stored at the Center for Oral History at the University of Connecticut. THE ROLE OF GLADYS TANTAQUIDGEON 137 the outgoing, friendly personalities of her other relatives. Miss Tantaquidgeon explains that "Aunt Fidelia did not participate in church projects...(as did other family members)...she was not pleased with non-Indian neighbors." Memories of "punbhment for speaking the native tongue" kept FideUa from teaching her niece the language. However, seeing merit in the traditional­ ism of the Tantaquidgeon family, she did choose to teach young Gladys the ways of the woodland little people or "makiawbug." Gladys vividly remembers having been greatly impressed by one family dinner at which Great Aunt Fidelia abruptly excused her­ self to talk to these magical mbchevious beings. In her last years, Mrs. Fielding presented her niece with a beaded belt that had belonged to Fidelia's grandmother and language mentor, Martha Uncas. That gift was a symbol of Gladys' position as guardian of the traditional culture. She has always treasured that belt, well aware of the responsibility borne by the bearer. Gladys' three "grandmothers", Lydia Fielding, Emma Baker and Mercy Ann Mathews trained her in folklore and related medicine skilb. WhUe only the former was in fact a grand­ mother, and the latter not even a blood relative, all were cher- bhed equally. They too had Uved through the reservation pe­ riod, yet their Uves were not as clouded by the past as was that of Fidelia. When overseer-rule ended in 1861, these women set about to rejuvenate the ancient Thanksgiving for the Corn Har­ vest, known as "The Green Corn Festival" or "Wigwam". That revived version was held in conjunction with the Mohegan Con­ gregational Church. Indian and non-Indian craft work and foods were sold at thb two-day event. Their concern with tradition led these three grandmothers to choose precocious young Gladys to become the next Mohegan Medicine woman. Gladys recalls that her grandmothers took her to the fields at five years of age to gather herbs and that the adventure kindled a spark which even­ tually led to her research and pubUcations in the field of Algo­ nquian medicine. She also remembers that in casual conversa­ tion, perhaps about the weather, these women would comment on folklore. However, the deeper meaning of their comments 138 MELISSA FAWCETT regarding Moshup or Granny Squanit did not become fully ap­ parent until she began to study neighboring tribes later in her life. With her selection as cultural custodian by both FideUa Field­ ing and her grandmothers, Gladys' responsibUity to the Mohegan was established. Yet, both of these sources had conveyed infor­ mation to her at such a young age that non-Indian education and broader experience with other tribes was necessary for her fully to organize and develop what she had been taught. It was anthropologist Frank Speck who introduced Gladys to broader Indian and non-Indian influences. Speck first en­ countered the Mohegan in 1902 as a young Columbia University student. He and Professor J.D. Prince planned a research trip to the tribal land base in UncasvUle, Connecticut. Speck was profoundly impressed with the imminent loss of the language, medicine and folk beliefs among the Mohegan. While Gladys was only an infant at the time, she remembers her elders later saying that they Uked him very much due to his friendly personality and non-aggressive mannerisms. Gladys contrasts Speck's appeal with that of a Bureau of Indian Af­ fairs fact-finder she observed while working with the Penobscot in the 1930s. Miss Tantaquidgeon remarks that "she was so ag­ gressive, I know for a fact that they (the Penobscot) were not telling her the truth." Gladys beUeves that it was not merely Speck's charisma that allowed him to succeed where the govern­ ment worker faUed. She credits hb success to the fact that hb theories were in their formative stages. He was to participate in a give-and-take relationship with her people. Even the ec­ centric Fidelia Fielding responded to thb dynamic rapport and allowed Speck to record the language. While she in no way wishes to diminish thb latter accomplishment, Gladys believes that Speck's greatest and most lasting contribution to the Mo­ hegan (and to other tribes as well) was that hb work made them Indian-conscious. For example, the Tantaquidgeon family re­ turned to their original name, which they recently anglicized to "Quidgeon". THE ROLE OF GLADYS TANTAQUIDGEON 139 By the time Gladys was a young girl, Speck became aware of her chosen position and potential. He made her education his responsibility. Formal high school training was not available to Gladys. But, Dr. and Mrs. Speck began to take her on trips to various east coast cities from the time she was eleven years old. More importantly, she began spending her summers at the Speck cottage on Cape Ann, Massachusetts. On what Gladys called her "learning vacations" she Uved with a menagerie of artists, professors, and assorted Algonquian Indians. Had she not sought non-Indian contact, she might never have met these numerous related Indian people. For Algonquian group organization was weak, and Gladys' family never associated with other tribes. Her worldview was profoundly affected by these summers with the Specks. She had never known any Indians outside of her own tribe. At Cape Ann, Indian chiefs and medicine women were no longer uncles and aunts. They were Gabe Paul, the Penobscot, or Joe Little Bear, the Micmac. Suddenly, she was Gladys Tantaquidgeon, the Mohegan. Even more significant in the long run were the similarities she discovered between herself and these Indians. The elementary fieldwork she conducted on these vacations during day-trips to neighboring tribes led to an increased sense of Algonquian identity. Thereafter she would refer to the Gay Head, Mashpee and others that she vbited as "our friends" or "our cousins". Not only was she now part of a larger Algonquian identity, she abo saw herself as somehow different from non-Indian children. WhUe she had never been treated differently by her white playmates at home, the non- Indian children on these summer trips expected her to perform feats of athletic prowess as a result of her ethnic background.