Canoe Indians of Down East Maine - by William a Haviland (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In 1604, when Frenchmen landed on Saint Croix Island, they were far from the first people to walk along its shores.

For thousands of years, Etchemins--whose descendants were members of the Wabanaki Confederacy--had lived, loved and labored in Down East Maine. Bound together with neighboring people, all of whom relied heavily on canoes for transportation, trade and survival, each group still maintained its own unique cultures and customs. After the French arrived, they faced unspeakable hardships, from the Great Dying, when disease killed up to 90 percent of coastal populations, to centuries of discrimination. Yet they never abandoned Ketakamigwa, their homeland. In this book, anthropologist William Haviland relates the history of hardship and survival endured by the natives of the Down East coast and how they have maintained their way of life over the past four hundred years.

About the Author

Dr. William A. Haviland is professor emeritus at the University of Vermont, where he founded the Department of Anthropology and taught for thirty-five years. He holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. He has carried out original research in archaeology in Guatemala and Vermont, ethnography in Maine and Vermont and physical anthropology in Guatemala. This work has been the basis of over one hundred publications in various national and international books and journals, as well as in media intended for the general public. His books include three widely used anthropology textbooks, as well as The Original Vermonters, co-authored with Marjory Power, and a technical monograph on ancient Maya settlement. He also served as consultant for the award-winning telecourse Faces of Culture. Besides his teaching and writing, Dr. Haviland has lectured to numerous professional, as well as nonprofessional, audiences in Canada, Mexico, Lesotho, South Africa and Spain, as well as in the United States. A staunch supporter of indigenous rights, he served as expert witness for the Missisquoi Abenakis of Vermont in an important court case over aboriginal fishing rights. Now retired from teaching, Haviland continues his research, writing and lecturing from the coast of Maine. In addition, he has served as president of the Island Heritage Trust on Deer Isle and presently serves on the boards of the Deer Isle-Stonington Historical Society and the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, where he holds the title of secretary of the corporation.