University press republishes Penobscot history ‘Red Man’

INDIAN ISLAND – When Charles Norman Shay was a boy, he was aware of a small, green book his mother kept in her writing desk. On the spine, in gold letters, were the words, “The Red Man,” and just below, “Nicolar.” Shay knew his grandfather had written the book, and that it was one of only a few copies. But it wasn’t until 1949, when Shay was 25, that he picked up the 147-page volume and started reading.

In it, he found a rich history of his tribe, the Penobscot Nation.

“I found it very interesting,” Shay said. “It was very detailed. It required a lot of concentration.”

Shay returned the book to his mother, not knowing that one day it would be considered a literary masterpiece, the most coherent narrative of its kind written in English in the 19th century by a member of an Eastern Algonquin-speaking tribe.

On March 1, Duke University Press republished the book, “The Life and Traditions of the Red Man,” by Joseph Nicolar. Originally printed in 1893 by C.H. Glass & Co. of Bangor, the book transcribes the history of the tribe as it was passed down in the oral tradition of the Penobscot Nation. Nicolar weaves together stories of creation, feats of shamanism and ancient prophecies about the coming of the white man.

Nicolar, an elder and political leader of the Penobscot Nation, self-published the book less than a year before he died at age 67. The grandson of the Penobscots’ most famous shaman leader, Old John Neptune, Nicolar attended school in Rockland and then later in Warren, Brewer and Old Town. He probably had the best education of all Penobscot Indians of his time, Shay said. Nicolar served six terms as the tribe’s elected representative to the Legislature.

“The Life and Traditions of the Red Man” has not been widely available until now, largely because most of the few hundred copies that were printed were destroyed in a warehouse fire.

Annette Kolodny, a professor of American literature and culture at the University of Arizona, Tucson, ordered a rare copy of the book in 2000 from a library in Canada. Kolodny hoped to use the book as a source for her research on American Indian encounters with vikings.

“I Xeroxed it and read it cover to cover … I was blown away,” Kolodny said in a telephone interview Saturday. “There is nothing else like this book written by a Native American in the 19th century.”

Kolodny immediately had the idea to republish the book and sent a copy to her editor at Duke University Press. Because it was so old, the text had entered public domain, meaning anyone could redistribute it. Regardless, Kolodny took up the task of tracking down James Nicolar’s descendants and in June 2005 traveled to Indian Island to meet with Shay, other relatives, tribal council members and historians.

“I felt strongly that this had to be a project that they approved of,” Kolodny said. “I’m not a member of the Penobscot Nation. I didn’t feel I had the right to do this without their approval.”

Shay was the oldest living relative of James Nicolar and, coincidentally, had moved back to Indian Island in 2003 after living most of his adult life in Vienna, Austria. Shay was much in favor of republishing his grandfather’s work, as long as Kolodny agreed not to alter the original text. He also asked her to include a factual history of the Penobscot Nation.

“I find it very noble of her to come up here and ask permission of the family and the tribal government,” Shay said at an interview in his home Saturday. “That book has just been lying in the state of Maine, dormant. Now it’s being distributed nationally.”

Shay and Kolodny agree that Nicolar probably wrote his book in an urgent effort to pass on Penobscot cultural heritage to subsequent generations of the tribe and to reclaim American Indians’ right to self-representation.

James Eric Francis Sr., tribal historian for the Penobscot Nation, said the republishing of the book is a great honor for the tribe.

“I think that this is a really important piece of literature by a Penobscot person at a time when there weren’t a lot of educated Penobscot people,” Francis said. “It is our legend that he retells in that book. It’s great to see those stories be brought to the forefront again.”

Francis plans to make Nicolar’s book the anchor for an American Indian literature curriculum that will be taught in public schools across the state. The book contains numerous annotations to provide historical context and to explain unfamiliar words and phrases.

In addition to the annotations, Kolodny included a summary history of the tribe and an introduction. The book also contains a preface by Shay and an afterword by Bonnie D. Newsom, former director of the Penobscot Nation’s Department of Cultural and Historic Preservation.

Kolodny has arranged for the book’s profits to go to the Joseph Nicolar Higher Education Fund for Penobscot Nation students who want to attend graduate school.

Next week, Kolodny and Shay will travel to the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mount Pleasant, Mich., to present the book and discuss their collaboration at the annual Native American Literature Symposium. When asked whether he is proud of the work he and Kolodny have done, Shay said he is proud of his grandfather.

“He died 30 years before I was born,” Shay said. “But I feel a spiritual connection to him. I feel a spiritual connection to all of my ancestors. I’m very busy keeping their memory alive.”