Belonging(s): “A close relationship among a group and personal or public effects”

“Asco wequassinummis, neetompooag” (Hello my friends)!

Hello! Welcome back to another installment of the From the Archives series where Collections and Archive Manager Anthony Belz shares some of the more interesting materials in the Tomaquag Museum archival collections. In this installment, we will be taking a look back exactly 50 years to Maple Sugar Thanksgiving March 3, 1973.

Maple Sugar Thanksgiving Ashaway, Tomaquag Valley, 1959. Chester Brown (left), Redwing [Mary Ella Gongdon] (center) and Pine Needles [Adele Rhodes] (right)Tomaquag Museum Archives.

To begin, I would like to give you a brief look back at the history of Maple Sugar Thanksgiving at the Tomaquag Museum. The very first Maple Sugar Thanksgiving was held the second year the museum was in existence (1959) when it was located in Ashaway, Rhode Island in Tomaquag Valley, the location for which the museum was named. This photograph, one of three in the archives from the Maple Sugar Thanksgiving from that year also has the distinction of being the earliest photographic documentation of not only Maple Sugar Thanksgiving at the museum, but any Thanksgiving (the second oldest are four photographs of Strawberry Thanksgiving June 1960). This first Maple Sugar Thanksgiving was held even before the museum opened its doors to the public on August 30, 1959. In this photograph Redwing, then Program Director, stands in front of a maple tree, (to her right Chester Brown, to her left in the background is Pine Needles) and is surrounded by children.

As I began researching for documentation of Maple Sugar Thanksgiving in the archives, I discovered inconsistent representation of materials for each Thanksgiving that were held in the past. In the earliest years of the museum from 1958-1986 (the year Redwing retired at age 90), and unlike today, the museum celebrated four Thanksgivings a year. The four Thanksgivings were Maple Sugar, Strawberry, Green Bean, and Cranberry (and sometimes Nikommo). Today, the museum celebrates three Thanksgivings, Strawberry, Cranberry and Nikommo. However, the lack of documentation does not mean the museum didn’t celebrate these four (or five) Thanksgivings every year, it’s just that the archive does not have documentation for each Thanksgiving, which usually includes photographs, Redwing’s handwritten scripts for the events, or flyers advertising the events. The very last documentation for Maple Sugar Thanksgiving at the museum was in 2009, so we know these Thanksgivings were held for fifty years, but we simply don’t have a complete record of them in the archives.

That being said, one Maple Sugar Thanksgiving in particular has considerably more documentation than others. As I was browsing through the boxes that contain the museum’s history, I discovered that Maple Sugar Thanksgiving March 3, 1973 was particularly well documented with a handwritten script by Redwing, six photographs, 16 photographic slides and a newspaper article covering the event. By this time, the museum had relocated to Dovecrest in Exeter-where it is currently located- after the death of founder Eva Butler and was rededicated to her memory by Redwing on June 12, 1972.

Below you will find the Maple Sugar story, a transcription of Redwing’s script, a gallery of photographs, a newspaper article by the Westerly Sun covering the event and a flyer from 1982.

Thank you for reading and if you remember attending Maple Sugar Thanksgiving at the Tomaquag Museum, please comment below. We’d love to hear your memories!

Maple Sugar Thanksgiving story. From a 1982 flyer. Tomaquag Museum Archive.

Note: The transcription below contains antiquated/offensive terminology

March 3, 1973

Chief Strong Horse

Red Deer Kathita

Broken Arrow Necia

Zara

Bill Eva

Driver Winona

Mr. Vickers Mrs. Vickers

Battle Hymn of the Republic

All join the chorus (audience & all)

First Sat. In March

Thanksgiving for the Maple Trees

The Drum speaks and calls the circle together, and the attention of the audience.

ALL Welcome Dance

Narrator - greetings and appeal to the Great Spirit

Chief Broken Arrow - The winds are changing, the sun draws nearer, and the days grow longer. The sap in the trees respond to the changing seasons. So it is good for us to pause and give thanks to the Great Spirit for the Maple Trees, that give us the sweet sap, which we can stew into syrup or sugar. The Shaman will please give thanks.

Shaman Chief Strong Horse - A great and mighty Spirit, curator of the universe, giver of every good etc.

All Chant - The Maple trees stand tall & straight

They are the friend of man, their roots

caress dear Mother Earth.

Their branches give to little things,

a sweet and lovely birth.

The shade is cool in the Thunder Moon,

They gather nectar all day long which

later man may drain.

Narrator - Put tobacco in ash tray to make smoke we have offered our sacred tobacco. His smoke rises toward heaven and attracts the attention of the Great Spirit. Let the little one be heard first

1st child Elizabeth

2nd child Lorén

3rd child Gary

4th child Shawn and David

5th child Heidi

6th child Adam

Shaman - Yes, the trees supply us with many things; bark for canoes, logs for dug outs, bark for wigwams and to-day boards for our homes, and paper to write on. We are the children of the forest. We give thanks etc -

Solo - Song to Great Spirit - Princess White Flower

1st Squaw Lavina - Let us give thanks for the warm sunshine that helps the trees to grow. For the sun that warms Mother Earth and makes her able to feed her children.

2nd Squaw Princess Winona - We will also give thanks for the showers of spring, that waters the dry earth and makes it more productive. We are thankful that the rains keep the ponds and rivers full of water, that animals and man can keep clean and healthy. There is nothing so refreshing as to drink from a cool spring on a hot, summer day. We are indeed thankful for the gentle rains from heaven.

Chief Broken Arrow - a thankful people are a happy people. Let us remember that the Great Spirit sees and hears everything, and never forgets. Let’s all do a thanksgiving dance

ALL DANCE singing Mother Earth thy children tend while to heaven

Narrator - Now we will listen to our chiefs and braves.

First Red Earth - Let us show our thanks by the puff of smoke from the sacred tobacco. We will smoke the Calumet, after which the braves will do the Calumet Dance.

Strong Horse (lights the pipe and passes it)

Calumet Dance

Red Deer Speaks - Since time, and ages ago, our forefathers, often met together in ceremonies. Most of them were religious, some were social and some counciled for war. But did you know that every moon they had some reason to thank the Great Spirit for some gift or blessing. Etc.

Chief B.A. - Strong Horse if you will do the song and drum for me, I do the “Hunter’s Dance.”

Strong Horse - Drums and sings and then all get into the Round Dance