Biography
Joseph Nicolar was
born February 15,
1827,
during a time of turmoil for Native Americans, especially for his
Eastern
Algonquin family affected by the Indian Removal Act. During his youth,
Nicolar
was exposed to the government pressure on the Penobscot Nation to sell
of more
land for very little money (Kolodny 41). Nicolar was well aware of the
difficulty
his tribe faced for survival and preservation.
He stated that “beginning with my early boyhood days” he spent
his time
in, “the researches of my people’s past” (Kolodny 35).
Growing up exposed to the pressures of the
government, Nicolar knew he had to protect his heritage.
As a boy, Nicolar
was educated not only through his tribe, but he also attended primary
and
secondary schools around Maine
(Kolodny 39). During his younger years
Nicolar was exposed to the history of his famous relatives. Half-Arm Nicola, Nicolar’s ancestor, was a
famous Native American who survived an ambush by Europeans. His grandfather, John Neptune, was a
Penobscot Chief and shaman that passed his oral traditions on to
Nicolar’s
mother. Nicolar’s rich heritage was not
the only reason that led him to preserve his tribal traditions (Kolodny
38-39).
As a six-term
representative of the Maine Legislature, Nicolar became perceptive to
the
politics of the European settlers (Abbe Museum). During this time, Nicolar became the
correspondent to the Indian
Island newspaper
as well
as becoming “the lawyer” representing his tribe (Kolodny 36, 39). He was also interested in current events,
especially with the Indian Appropriation Act of 1871 that compromised
the
sovereignty of Native American nations.
This act declared that tribal nations were no longer independent
and the
U.S.
government would not participate in treaty negotiations with them. Then, in 1887 the Dawes Act pressured Native
Americans to assimilate into white culture (Kolodny 36).
Nicolar was aware that these Acts were not
widely understood as undermining his people, as the majority of white
Americans
viewed Native Americans as relics of the past (Kolodny 38). Nicolar
noted that
his people were characterized as “living museums” or as an interesting
exhibit
for entertainment purposes (Kolodny 37).
Nicolar was aware
of another threat to his Native American heritage.
Nationally, Native American children were
being forced into boarding schools. Reporters
described these places as “the only place in America
where good Indians are
really turned out” (Kolodny 38). This
dehumanizing
view discontented Nicolar as he viewed his people as “one of the most
numerous
and most powerful race[s]” (Kolodny 35). Nicolar
further stated that as an Indian, it
was his duty to interpret and educate the white learned world about his
Penobscot
Nation’s traditions and culture (Kolodny 36). Nicolar
believed that the ways of Indians were
so unique that outsiders would be unable to document this culture, as
many
ethnographers were trying to do (Kolodny 35-36). Nicolar
strove for self-representation for
Native Americans as well as preservation of their traditions.
The pressure to
assimilate drove Joseph Nicolar to become one of the first Native
Americans to
begin documenting the oral traditions of his tribe.
His book, self- published in 1893, The
Life and Traditions of the Red Man, was an urgent appeal to save
the
practices of his Eastern Algonquin tribe.
This book reveals the prophecies, myths, and history of the
Penobscot
Nation. Tragically, the original one
hundred copies of the book were lost in a fire shortly after Nicolar’s
death in
1894 (Duke University Press). The book
has resurfaced recently with help from his family and the Penobscot
Nation. Because of the interest that the
Penobscot
Nation has shown about this history of its people, Maine has legislated that Native
American
history will be included in the education of young people (Shay xi). Without Nicolar, this history would never
have been recorded.
The
Life and Traditions of the Red Man
Joseph
Nicolar
began writing The Life and Traditions of the Red Man in 1892
with the
intent of rewriting his people’s history as well as encouraging them to
remain
Native throughout the turmoil they faced.
This book narrates not only the traditions of the Penobscot
Nation, but
integrates their Catholic religion, which they had been converted to
long ago
(Kolodny 40).
Nicolar uses many
of his narratives to depict the origins of his people as well as their
traditions. One of the most important
myths that Nicolar addresses is the story of Creation, stating that
“the Great
Being” is both the creator and the soul of life. He
incorporates Catholic teaching into his
Creation narrative by comparing “the Great Being” to God and “the Great
Spirit”
to the Holy Spirit (Kolodny 41-42).
Nicolar also describes a scene in the Penobscot Creation story
where
Klose-kur-beh, the great hero of the Penobscot, hearing a supernatural
voice,
that of “the Great Being,” saying, “Let us make man in our own image”
(Kolodny
46). This statement is similar to the
Christian teaching that Europeans are familiar with.
Nicolar was trying to illustrate that the
religion of his people is not any less sacred or important than that of
his
white counterparts. Some may see his
book as a response the criticism and stereotypes that many white
Americans had
about Native Americans. In The Life
and Traditions of the Red Man, Nicolar was able to successfully
preserve
the Penobscot traditions as well as respond to the assimilation forced
upon his
people.
Works
Cited
Abbe Museum. “Celebrating Maine’s Native
American Heritage.” 9
September 2007. http://www.abbemuseum.org/shop_books.html
Duke University Press. Review of The Life and Traditions of the Red
Man. 9 September 2007. http://www.dukeupress.edu/books.php3?isbn=978-0-8223-4028-7
Nicolar, Joseph. The Life and Traditions of the Red Man. Edited. Annette Kolodny. Durham and
London 2007.