Tribal dictionary captures language, culture
12/9/08 | 18 comments
A project with real meaning

Tribal dictionary captures language, culture


By Diana Graettinger
BDN Staff
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY BRIDGET BROWN
David Francis, co-author of the Passamaquoddy-Maliseet Dictionary, signs copies of the book for tribal and community members including Fredda Paul (left) on Monday at Pleasant Point. Buy Photo

PLEASANT POINT, Maine — Thousands of years of oral tradition was unveiled in written form Monday with the release of the Passamaquoddy-Maliseet Dictionary — which in Passamaquoddy is Peskotomuhkati Wolastoqewi Latuwewakon.

The nearly 50 people attending a ceremony at the Community Center gave standing ovations to dictionary collaborators David Francis, 91, a Passamaquoddy tribal elder, and Robert Leavitt, a retired professor from the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.

Decades in the making, the dictionary captures not only the language, but also the culture and traditions of the two Indian nations.

“This is my dream,” Francis said shortly before the ceremony began with a prayer by tribal member Gracie Davis and introductory remarks by tribal Lt. Gov. Thomas Lewey.

Francis and Leavitt began working on the project in the 1970s.

Passamaquoddy tribal member Margaret “Dolly” Apt served as the community research coordinator.

Apt praised Francis before the ceremony began. “He felt if we didn’t do something and do something drastic to help save our language when he passed and others like him, it would go with him,” she said.

Francis hired Apt, who spoke the language, about 12 years ago.

“When I saw the book today for the first time all together, it was like this was my baby,” she said. “I helped create this. There is so much feeling and emotion; I don’t feel that I can find the right words to express how I feel about this. To know that it was through David and Robert’s work that I became a team with them. And from there I learned how to read and write my language.”

The University of Maine Press published the dictionary. Michael Alpert, director of the UM press, said before the ceremony that this was the largest book the press has ever published. “And certainly one of the most important if not the most important,” he said.

The dictionary has 39,000 entries in all and contains 1,214 pages with an introduction, history and sketch of the language.

“I think it is a very lyrical book in that it is much more than a dictionary,” Alpert added. “It has many sentences that include a great amount of cultural information. It is looking deeply into the culture so that a person can read this book with real pleasure.”

Leavitt said before the ceremony that the dictionary was a community-based effort. He is one of only a few whites who reads, writes and speaks the language.

The first tribal member to capture the language in written form, he said, was Lewis Mitchell. That was in the 1880s. “He was really the first Passamaquoddy to write down stories from oral tradition,” he added. “He was the representative to the state Legislature in the 1880s. Quite a self-taught entrepreneurial individual.”

Tribal elder Wayne Newell, who heads up the bilingual program at Indian Township, first proposed the idea of a dictionary.

Phil LaSourd, a linguist at Indian University, started the project when he was at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “He came up to do some research and started the dictionary,” Leavitt said. “Then David and I took it on after that program ended in 1979 and we published a small version of the dictionary in 1984.”

The two continued to work on it.

In 1996, they got an infusion of cash from the National Science Foundation “to expand the work on the dictionary and accelerate it,” Leavitt said. “And that is when we were able to hire Dolly.”

The grant ran out in 2003. “After that the tribe continued to support the work through the [Wabanaki] museum [at Pleasant Point] and resource center,” Leavitt said.

The dictionary is just a start; the authors said more words would be added in the future.

Copies may be obtained from local bookstores as well as from the University of Maine Press.

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Comments
18 comments on this item
On 12/9/08 at 1:40 PM, kylie00 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Is there a translation for: Passamaquoddy ( indian town ship ) govenor is thief.

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On 12/9/08 at 1:41 PM, kylie00 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Sorry Ex- governor found guilty

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On 12/9/08 at 7:56 PM, Grammijerri wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Why not just say good job preserving part of history instead of making mean comments?

I for one am impressed to see the old languages, and history being saved before the elders

pass on and take it all with them. Thank You Mr. Francis

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On 12/9/08 at 8:48 PM, frenchloprabbitz wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Good point Grammijerri, part of preserving a culture is keeping the language...of course some people believe the "only" culture is the white Anglo-Saxon Protestants...talk about boring, it would be like eating Wonderbread with Blue Bonnet all the time.

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On 12/10/08 at 12:30 AM, Pozole wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

With so much of the North American native culture and history destroyed by whites in the last 400 years, it's amazing to see that something like this has been saved.

There has been so much more embracing of the ancient culture earlier on the West coast where the whites arrived later and there were many more traces and artifacts left. The Haida never signed a treaty that could (would) later be breeched . Christians couldn't stand the fact that other belief systems might exist and embrace harmony with surroundings, and impressed their monotheism on the natives, to the exclusion and destruction of all else......

Good job Mr. Leavitt, Mr Francis and Ms. Apt

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On 12/10/08 at 8:22 AM, kylie00 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

It`s all the fault of the white man, the opression of the indians was solely cause by the whites. But you don`t mind taking the funds from the great chief in Washington. It`s the whiteman`s fault that your chief divids the fund 2 for you and 1 for my back pocket. keeping a couple bucks along the way

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On 12/10/08 at 10:55 AM, Pozole wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Careful kylie00, your racism is showing. One bad apple doesn't condemn a whole group....

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On 12/10/08 at 11:02 AM, SteveyDee wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Oh no there’s that “R” word again. It pops up so easily.

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On 12/10/08 at 4:34 PM, eveningrain wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Congratulations to the Passamaquoddy and Maliseet Nations for the finalization of their own language dictionary. Many nations have become increasingly concerned about the loss of their native language. Due to forced assimiliation by the US Governement, and forcing Indian children into missionary boarding schools, where they were beaten for speaking their native tongue, the language has dwindled in use and knowledge. We have also lost many of our Elders as they are aged and crossing over, taking with them , much wisdom of the history of their people. So, this could not have come at a better time.

I commend Elder Francis and Professor Leavitt and all the people who have worked so hard to make this a reality. This will prove its value over and over again for the generations now and for those yet to come.

Maine Tribes have proven how far ahead they are compared to nations much larger then their own in preserving what is important to thier nations and to the general population as well. We all win when there is a better understanding. Maine Tribes were one of the very first tribes to ban the term sqxxw from public named places, instituting truth in history and in teaching all students the history of Maine's tribal people in the public school system, and Maine is one of the very few states that has tribal representatives in the state legislature. This is a prime example of what can be done with everyone working together. Native people are the original inhabitants of this beautiful country we call America and it's vital that we all work to preserve truth in history and teach others this truth, especially the children. Only though knowledge and cooperation between natives and the non-native population, will we ever have the opportunity to move forward with respect and understanding for one another's differences.

Congratulations again!

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On 12/10/08 at 5:55 PM, kylie00 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

racism has nothing to do with it. How many funds have been abused over the years?

Maybe that need to be looked into further

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On 12/11/08 at 8:46 AM, mainer2 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Wow there is a lot of names being dropped in this post that have nothing to do with the story of the Passamaquoddy/Maliseet dictionary? Why get off subject like this? I for one am very proud of the time and effort that David/Cozy have put into this book.

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On 12/11/08 at 2:49 PM, mrsjgd wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I am so proud to say that Professor Leavitt is my father. He and his colleagues have put years into this project, as well as their hearts and souls. If people have personal beefs with any of the parties involved, they are in no way relevant to this article, which celebrates an outstanding collaboration between Native and white cultures.

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On 12/11/08 at 3:27 PM, watnext wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Very nice work by all that were involved over the years. TO Tellitasitis: I think you need to get your names straight on your comment about this article, the person that you are referring to at Randy's Variety has never even been in that store or diner........whatever it is. There is another person by that name who lives in the area (Calais or Baring) something like that. Did you check the address on the check..............................maybe you should before you go making accusations about anybody.......you think

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On 12/12/08 at 8:44 AM, mainer2 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

kylie00 why bring this up? get over it and stop being a comic book indian, your making yourself look like an idiot.

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On 12/14/08 at 7:49 PM, myopinionsrmine1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I was thinking...isnt Mr Leavitt white? Yes...mrsjgd just said..a COLLABORATION..a beautiful thing!

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On 12/15/08 at 7:27 AM, mainer2 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

That's correct he is non native. but can speak it better then the younger generation with full understanding....bravo!

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On 12/15/08 at 3:54 PM, Nipon32 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I am proud to be a Passamaquoddy Tribal Member and proud that my people and the Maliseet people who have worked so hard on making this a reality, a job well done. I can't wait to purchase one of my own!

It is too bad that there are people out there who are spiteful and wish nothing good for the Native Peoples. They are jealous, undereducated, and don't have an open mind those are the individuals who need to be prayed for.

Wolion

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On 12/17/08 at 11:07 PM, shamirma wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Dear Mr. Robert Leavitt;

My wife and I wanted to congratulate you and your esteemed colleagues for the excellent job done on "TRIBAL DICTIONARY" of Passamaquoddy. In a world where we are so worried about endangered species, definitely such priority is of importance on the languages spoken from such ancient times. The expression of necessity to record the documentary and keeping a language alive, is beyond the ordinary words for such an extraordinary task. Be assured that your work is going to be helpful for may linguistic scholars for many years to come, specially those who have great interest in folk music and stories.

Those who speak this language must be very proud to have this opportunity given to them by you and your team.

We pray intellectual people like yourself to be around for many more years to come, so we appreciate the fruits of your decades of research and studies.

Irma & Sham Khosroshahi

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