Date Awarded
2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department
History
Advisor
Andrew Fisher
Committee Member
Fabricio Prado
Committee Member
Paul Mapp
Abstract
Inside and Out: The Culture and Politics of the Wampanoag Language and its ReclamationIndigenous communities like the Wampanoag have historically used language both internally as an affirmation of culture and identity, and externally as a political display of sovereignty. The modern Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project is an extension of this use of language as a tool of power to both strengthen communal bonds and assert sovereignty. Coopting the concept of literacy from English settlers in the seventeenth century, the Wampanoag combined this new instrument with their own language to maintain their autonomy in the face of Euroamerican colonization efforts. In doing so, they established a precedent of resistance and assertions of communal autonomy through language. And, in the wake of the Red Power movement and federal acknowledgements in the twentieth century, the Wampanoag are once again using language to assert their power. Dawnland Power: The Wabanaki Confederacy and Indigenous Exploitation of Imperial Competition in King William’s WarRather than experiencing a slow decline of their autonomy and power after King Philip’s War, the Indigenous nations of the Dawnland continued to exert control over the regions of Maine and southern Canada throughout the seventeenth century. King William’s War is the culmination of this situation, with the Wabanaki Confederacy using imperial competition to fortify their position as the dominant group in the region, waging war against the English for their transgressions and using the French as avenues of material gain. By the end of the conflict, the Wabanaki had once again subjugated English colonists and their governments, as they had decades earlier, forcing them to submit to continued Indigenous regional control in Maine, and dictating how the relationship proceeded from there. Additionally, they continued to play the English and French against one another to ensure they their access to the material wealth of empires remained. King William’s War and its aftermath show that Indigenous power ruled the Dawnland, and that groups like the Wabanaki Confederacy recognized their place within the Atlantic world and exploited European competition accordingly.
DOI
https://dx.doi.org/10.21220/s2-pgt0-fn37
Rights
© The Author
Recommended Citation
Kolenik, Aidan, "Inside And Out / Dawnland Power" (2022). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. William & Mary. Paper 1673281717.
https://dx.doi.org/10.21220/s2-pgt0-fn37
