Walking on Our Sacred Path

Across industries and sectors of our society and business concerns, the balance of power has been, and continues to be, abused to the detriment of Native Peoples. Examples abound in every field as appropriation and exploitation remain unchecked. Publication within academic settings is no exception. In the publication of this book, these issues came into play.

Historically, Native women’s names have been omitted or erased from European and White Settler discussion regarding the Indigenous. In some cases, a woman might choose to have her name omitted from these discussions. There is often peril in being named. In many cases, a woman is forced to be silent. In some instances, a woman chooses to remain anonymous as an act of political defiance against sectors and industries which, proforma, appropriate her identity. And, in other situations, a woman chooses to speak out, with her name and identity front and center.

My intent is not to violate the expressed preferences of the interviewees in the manner in which their voices are heard. In the spirit of this professed intention, and to honor the rights of these women to control their own voices and identities, I have had to omit some names and/or to offer generalized profiles in the use of some of the interview extracts. Although some of the women I interviewed have withdrawn entirely from being presented in this book, I bring, as much as possible, the gist and eloquence of their articulations regarding the challenges and realities represented in this book. Attribution of a credible source is a key ingredient to ethical writing. It is unfortunate that not all of the information about the voices here are revealed. A name brings a stronger story to the reader. However, respect for the choices made by each of these women is of greater import.

Interviewing these women, then negotiating with them and a publisher, has been an exercise in decolonization for me. From the organization of the interview content to the extensive international web of collaboration to agreements in oral and written form to bringing the voices of these women onto the printed page, I was forced to confront myself in regard to appropriation. I had to consider the ubiquitous structural centers of power that might impede their self-representation. Collaborations meant to be deployed in the public arena require questions regarding the control of knowledge production. On virtual platforms such as social media sites, content is often censored or can be deleted. I have had to look hard at my own fissures to see where I must delete, reconfigure, or release information about some of the participants.

My father and uncles were all veterans, my father from WWII, my uncles the Korean War. I heard all these stories that intrigued me. The horror of war never registered in my brain. I was determined to go to Vietnam even though at that time no women were allowed in combat. I ended up going as a Communication Specialist. I handled all the casualty reports for South East Asia. I was there during the TET Offensive. I realized a few years later after I returned home and had been on a return visit to Vietnam in 1995 that I, as a soldier in the Army, invaded that culture just as the Europeans invaded mine. I have been asked why would your people join the military of a Country that is trying to eliminate you? A very fair question. I think to understand why one needs to know something about our history. I will just give a brief example.

On June 21, 1775, Chief Joseph Orono (my great grandfather seven times removed) addressed the Penobscot warriors just before they were to participate in the American Revolution with these words:

The military taught us to dehumanize people in order to consider them animals to kill more easily. It has been my life’s objective since that realization to humanize my people. I have tried many ways to do that. During my twelve years in the Legislature I sponsored a bill that required all Maine Public Schools to teach Maine Indian History. That bill was enacted into law and now all Maine Public Schools are required to teach about our history as Indian people here in this State. There are a few other accomplishments I realized while serving in the Legislature; among those was the State of the Tribes Address to the Legislature. The Tribal Chiefs were never allowed to address the Legislature since the States creation in 1820. I worked over a year for the Chiefs to be able to address the Legislature, and finally on March 11th 2002, the Chiefs were allowed to address a joint session (House and Senate together) of the Legislature. It was a historical event for Maine and the Chiefs’ addresses were carried live on TV and radio and headlined in the newspapers the next day. We were highly visible at least for one day.

Later I put forward to the Legislature a JOINT RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES. It was passed by both Houses unanimously on April 15th 2008. It was the last act of my Legislative Career. Maine was the only State to pass such a resolution. It is one of my key findings that the more the majority culture knows about you as a people and as human beings, the harder it is to eliminate you.

Finally, I want to share my conclusion with you about the lessons I’ve learned. It can be summed up in one example: