In this episode of The Indigenous Artways Podcast, we highlight the Tomaquag Museum Honoring Dinner event for 2015. This years event focused on Indigenous Writing, and we have honored four authors who have contributed their talent greatly to Tomaquag Museum, and for elevating indigenous arts to the general public.
The Honorees for 2015 are:
Siobhan Senier grew up in the suburbs of Boston, went to college at Bowdoin in Maine, and to grad school at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She fully intended to be a Victorian literature scholar before taking a class in Native American literature that blew her mind. Her PhD dissertation, later published as Voices of American Indian Assimilation and Resistance, was about U.S. government policies of allotment, and the women writers and oral storytellers who fought against those policies.
In 1997, she started teaching at the University of Maine-Farmington, where she got to meet people like Wayne Newell (Passamaquoddy) and John Bear Mitchell (Penobscot), who started teaching her about the Native writers of this region. In 2000, when she moved to the University of New Hampshire, she got serious about wanting to teach and promote these writers. Around this time she was also fortunate to meet Trudie Lamb Richmond, Paulla Dove Jennings, Dawn Dove, and Lorén Spears—all powerful tradition-keepers who inspired her to start compiling New England indigenous writings into a book.
Dawnland Voices: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from New England took almost 10 years to complete. It was Siobhan’s privilege to work with so many smart and generous tribal editors and authors. Dawnland Voices is now morphing into a website, with places for tribal historians to share the writings they are finding in their own archives, as well as a new online literary magazine, Dawnland Voices 2.0. Siobhan thanks all of these writers for their tenacity and beautiful words, and also thanks her family for all their love and support.
John Christian Hopkins (Narragansett)
John Christian Hopkins, 54, is a member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe; his native name is Paukunnawaw Neepoush (Standing Bear).
A longtime journalist – who once was an editor at USA Today – he is also the author of "Carlomagno, Adventures of the Pirate Prince of the Wampanoag," "Loki: God of Mischief," "Two Guns" and "Writer on the Storm."
He also published a poetry chatbook, "Rhyme or Reason."
Hopkins has also produced country music and oldies radio shows for KGHR in Tuba City, Ariz.
But, writing has been the true love of his life; a career he has wanted to pursue since he was 6-years-old.
"I used to sleep clutching a teddy bear, like other kids held a teddy bear," Hopkins recalled.
He currently resides on the Navajo Reservation with his wife, Sararesa Begay Hopkins.
Dawn Dove Narragansett / Niantic elder. Published author and editor: Through Our Eyes, An Indigenous View of Mashapaug Pond, edited by Dawn and Holly Ewald and most recently Dawnland Voices an anthology of Indigenous writing from New England, edited by Siobhan Senier. Cultural educator and Traditional knowledge keeper, Dawn’s life work is dedicated to the continuation of the culture, language and traditions of her people.
Honoring UPPArts founder & artistic director, coeditor of Through Our Eyes: An Indigenous View of Mashapaug Pond, for her partnerships with Tomaquag Museum and dedication to expressing the history & ecology of Mashapaug & other urban ponds through arts & culture programming that fosters dialogue & initiates change.
