Wabanaki Lessons & Resources - Print and Printable Resources
Print Available Online | Recommended Books | A Wabanaki Pre-Contact Garden Library
Print Available Online | Recommended Books | A Wabanaki Pre-Contact Garden Library
Print Resources & Bibliographies - see also Books below
Davistown Museum Bibliographies (link downloads a .pdf file)
Diana Scully
Abbe Museum Resources
for EducationIncludes books, websites, videos and other resources
History and Culture of the River
by Butch Phillips
(link downloads a .pdf file)Bibliography of print resources
Resources for the general study of Native culture and stereotypes - includes Wabanaki-specific titles
from the Wabanaki Studies Commission -
clicking the link downloads a .pdf fileBooks: (this is a personal list - find bibliographies in the resources above)
Joseph Bruchac novels: Bruchac is a Western Abenaki, but his narratives are about New England tribes and imaginary tribes, some modeled on Maine nations. These novels are excellent "anti-stereotype" narratives:
Dawnland - there is some sexuality in this book, but its recreation of Pre-Contact life is wonderful - available on tape
The Arrow Over the Door
The Winter People (historical)
The Heart of a Chief (contemporary YA fiction - lesson plans are being developed for this novel).1491 (Mann) - 2005 Knopf - Eye-opening and important look at the reality of Native technologies, culture and life pre-Columbus. This includes a wonderful chapter on the "real" 1st Thanksgiving story.
American Indians: Stereotyes & Realities (Mihesuah) 1996 Clarity Press - short chapters debunk significant stereotyping statements - suitable for Middle School reading - references for each.
An Upriver Passamaquoddy (Sockabasin) - 2007 Tilbury - a memoir containing a fair amount of information about reservation life in the last century - useful when used as reading selections
A Wabanaki Guide to Maine (Maine Indian Basketmaker's Alliance) - order this by mail from the Alliance.
Changes in the Land (Cronon) - 1983 Hill and Wang - eye-opening, readable study of changes in New England ecology post-Contact - includes quite a bit of detail about Native lifestyle and culture
Dawnland Encounters (Calloway, Colin G., ed.) 1991 University Press of New England - short, readable primary document selections that target 1st encounters, treaties and meetings, war & proclamations, reservation-forming - the unifying narration is a middle school text all by itself (chapter introductions) - can be purchased used from Amazon.com.
Family of Earth & Sky (Elder & Wong) - Beacon - Contains several Gluskabe stories and is wonderful for providing comparative tales (worldwide).
Forest and Shore; Legends of the Pine Tree State (Ilsley) - 2006 Afterflight - annotated reissue of an 1856 text - the Scout stories provide a great "read-aloud" for teachers wishing to share Maine-made stereotyical material with students; good accompaniment to the Hands-on Box and the 1908 Cartoons lesson. Appendix 3 is a readable short summary of Wabanaki history in Maine (some contradictions with The Wabanakis of Maine & the Maritimes).
Indian Double Curve Secrets (ed. by Tom Raven Ford) - Audenreed Press - this stencil guide is an excellent inspiration for a hands-on lesson related directly to worldview - includes designs from each of the Wabanaki nations
Indian School (Cooper) - 1999 Clarion - middle school students will be able to read this short history of Indian schools, which includes primary source materials - does not include Canadian or New England schools, but is important for its history
Maine Speaks -1989 Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance - contains retellings of Glooskap legends as well as an excerpt from Champlain and some poems that can be studied at the end of the unit.
Mayflower (Philbrick) - 2006 Viking - Traces the early contacts with Pilgrims (and their followers) through King Philip's War. Important for understanding many European actions and viewpoints, as well as some myth-debunking.
Micmac Medicines; Remedies and Recollections (Lacey) - 1993 Nimbus - illustrated uses of indigenous plants, but not a "how-to" - the recollections are good short reading passages for middle school
The Mi'kmaq Anthology (ed. by Rita Joe and Choyce) -1997 Pottsfield Press - poetry and prose suitable for middle and high school, including memoirs, fiction and traditional stories - Highlights: the essay on economic change by Marie Battiste, "Rewards and Punishments" in Indian schools by Isabelle Knockwood, and the essay on "Values, Customs and Traditions" by Murdena Marshall
Native American Games and Stories (Bruchac) – 2000 Fulcrum – Interweaves stories with games (rules, description, illustrations), from many Indian Nations.
Penobscot Man (Speck) - 1997 University of Maine Press - reprint of 1940 edition - I don't know for sure, but I bet that this is the primary source for Speare's Sign of the Beaver
Playing Indian (Deloria) - 1998 Yale University Press - historical review and commentary on white man's serious "Indian dress-up," including events often found in US texts.
Stories from the Six Worlds; Micmac Legends (Whitehead) - 1988 Nimbus - This book has an excellent introduction for educators.
Twelve Thousand Years Ago; American Indians in Maine (Bourque) - 2001 University of Nebraska Press - illustrated cultural and political history, not for middle school readers (most), but good for teacher or library reference.
Unsettled Past, Unsettled Future; the Story of Maine Indians ( Rolde) - 2004 Tilbury House - unromantic history that is especially good in terms of 17th and 18th century treaties and land "claims" - also good for contemporary history - illustrated
The Wabanakis of Maine & the Maritimes – The following lessons and readings are recommended for Middle School:
• Interviews: 5 (C-62), 32 (C-94)
• Excerpts from History Books – B-21
• Guiding Questions – B-16 – 17 – these can be used effectively with the Hands-on Stereotypes Box
Elizabeth Sky-McIlvain
Updated 3/31/08
