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The
Sign of the Beaver Elizabeth
George Speare's The Sign of the Beaver (1983) is a popular
children's book commonly used in the classroom as a way of introducing
students to the Native Peoples of Maine. Aspects of the material
culture of Maine's Native People presented in The Sign of the
Beaver can be explored through the Hudson Museum's exhibit,
Penobscot Primer Project and through the Hudson Museum's
online exhibits on this website. Objects
that appear in both the book and the exhibit include, crooked knives
(39-40), a fish spear (49), a bow (61), birchbark canoes (77), birchbark
wigwams (78), examples of Penobscot dress for men and women (78),
a beaded collar (79), sweetgrass (96), birchbark containers (100),
a waltes game (100), and snowshoes (116). Speare's
discussion of Maine Indian tales may be enhanced by sharing Creation
legends published in The Wabanakis of Maine and the Maritimes
(1989) with your students. To order this and other educational
resources that support the teaching of Maine Indian History and
Culture, please visit the Maine Indians: Curriculum
Resource List for links to web-based resources and a selection
of recommended books, videos and audio support material. As part
of the gallery program for the Penobscot Primer Project ,
students may view the traditional Penobscot tale, The Frog Monster
. This video, by students at Indian Island School, recounts
Gluscabe's encounter with a water-greedy frog. The production, a
clay and paper animation, shows scenes of traditional Penobscot
life as well as telling the story of the creation of the Penobscot
River.
Students visiting the Penobscot Primer Gallery will also
learn about and listen to the Penobscot language through an interactive
computer program. Learn more about the project and hear a sample
of the Penobscot language spoken by Madeline Shay, the last fluent
Penobscot speaker by visiting the Penobscot
Primer Project online.
Speare makes the point in The Sign of the Beaver that
objects the Penobscots traditionally used were handmade from natural
resources immediately available to them. By the late 1700s, the
Penobscots had readily adopted many objects—metal tools, guns, knives,
iron kettles, cloth and glass beads—brought by European settlers
and incorporated them into their culture. During onsite visits,
students may look at the Hudson Museum's exhibit, which features
objects made in the 19th and 20th centuries, and determine which
objects were made from indigenous resources and which were not.
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For
Classroom discussion:
The
Sign of the Beaver , a historical novel published in
1983, focuses on the relationship of two boys, one the son
of a Anglo settler and the other a Penobscot boy. The book
centers on how the two exchange aspects of their culture,
teaching one another to survive. Since the book was published,
aspects of the book merit special discussion with your classes.
Teachers should caution students about the derogatory nature
of the word “squaw” and discuss recent Maine legislation pertaining
to the use of this term. Students should also review the commentary
“Squaw…It's Dehumanizing Effect and Origins” by Donald Soctomah,
Passamaquoddy Representative to the Maine Legislature on this
matter at: http://www.yvwiiusdinvnohii.net/Articles2000/Soctomah991220Squaw.htm
Students should also discuss how Native People are portrayed
in the book. Native American characters in The Sign of
the Beaver speak in “pidgin.” Historical documents from
the 1760s clearly indicate that Maine's Native People spoke
“proper” English and engaged in complex negotiations with
non-Native peoples. Examples of letters written by Maine Indians
and transcripts of negotiations between Maine Indians and
Europeans and Americans are to be found in vols. 23 and 24
of the Documentary History of Maine , edited by James
Phinney Baxter. For
further discussion about Native American stereotyping prevalent
in the book, please read The Sign
of the Beaver: The Problem and the Solution by Sanda
Cohen published in American Indian Stereotypes in the
World of Children: A Reader and Bibliography , second
edition, Arlene Hirschfelder, Paulette Fairbanks Molin and
Yvonne Wakim, editors, The
Scarecrow Press, Inc. , Maryland, 1999.
The Sign of the Beaver ends with the Native Peoples
who traditionally lived in central Maine moving further inland
as white settlers encroached on their traditional territory.
The impression left is that of a culture in decline and disappearing.
Teachers can use The Wabanaki of Maine and the Maritimes
to discuss Maine's four Federally recognized tribes
today, as well as visiting websites for each of the tribes
and the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance.
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In
using The Sign of the Beaver in your classroom, we hope
you will consider:
• incorporating the suggestions in this Curriculum Connection,
• visiting our Curriculum Connection for Maine
Basketry ,
• visiting our Curriculum Connection Trees
and Traditions: Maine Indians and the Forest ,
• utilizing our Maine Indians: Curriculum Resource
List ,
• visiting the Hudson Museum for a Penobscot Primer Project
tour and gallery program. See our programs
page for information about scheduling tours and programs,
• borrowing The People of the Dawn or Penobscot Images
classroom exhibits. To learn how, visit our classroom
exhibits page, and
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