Fielding eventually allowed Speck to view her personal daybooks (also called diaries) in which she recorded brief observations on the weather and local events, so that he could understand and accurately record the written version of the Mohegan language. Speck interviewed Fielding, recording notes on the Mohegan language that he shared with his professor, John Dyneley Prince, who encouraged further research. This encounter sparked a lifelong friendship with the Tantaquidgeon family. Speck was in the midst of a camping trip to Fort Shantok, Connecticut, when he met up with several Mohegan young men-Burrill Tantaquidgeon, Jerome Roscoe Skeesucks, and Edwin Fowler-who introduced him to Fielding. Speck recalled, in his own publications and correspondence, that he first met Fielding around 1900, when he was an anthropology student at Columbia University. Speck, as a child, lived with Fidelia Fielding, but there is no evidence to support that in any Mohegan tribal records or oral memories. Many modern sources suggest that anthropologist Frank G. In Uncasville, Gladys and her family founded the Tantaquidgeon Indian Museum, and she became a respected elder herself, working on material and cultural preservation. Tantaquidgeon conducted field work and service work for a variety of Native communities and agencies before coming home to Uncasville. As an adult, Fielding kept four diaries in the language, which later became vital sources for reconstructing the syntax of Mohegan Pequot and related Algonquian languages.įielding was regarded as a nanu (respected elder woman) and mentor to Gladys Tantaquidgeon, a traditional Mohegan woman who also studied anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and served as a research assistant to Frank Speck. Her maternal grandmother Martha Uncas spoke it with family members, and other Mohegan people continued to speak and understand some of the language, but by 1900, few were as fluent as Fidelia and her sister. Mohegan languageįielding insisted upon retaining the everyday use of the Mohegan language during an era when most New England Native peoples were becoming increasingly fluent in English. She was known to be an independent-minded woman who was well-versed in tribal traditions, and who continued to speak the traditional Mohegan Pequot language during her elder years. Fielding (1811–1843), and they lived in one of the last "tribe houses," a reservation-era log cabin dwelling. LYNN MALERBA: We just are still, I guess, awestruck at the fact that we're able to receive her words back into our community.Fort Shantok State Park, Montville, Connecticutįidelia Ann Hoscott Smith Fielding (1827–1908), also known as Dji'ts Bud dnaca ("Flying Bird"), was the daughter of Bartholomew Valentine Smith (c. BEASLEY: It's a privilege and an honor for us. JAMES QUINN: So we're very grateful that they're coming home in such good condition and proper care all these years. BEASLEY: We temporarily look after materials. And then they're consolidated inside the custom-made clamshell box, which gives it physical and chemical protection during that time. MICHELE HAMILL: In preparation for the transport of the collection to Connecticut, every item was given an individual protective enclosure, which helps buffer any changes in the environment that they might experience along that journey. So we're pleased that we'll be able to transfer them. And so her work is extremely important to us, because as we look at restoring our language now, just having her documents and her spirit come home to us is going to be very meaningful to our entire community.ĪNNE SAUER: It was clear that having the diaries with the Mohegan as they work on this language project would be critical for its success. Fidelia knew that she needed to preserve that language and those words. And we knew that Fidelia really wasn't keeping her diaries and her documents for the Mohegans of that present day that she was in, but it really was to leave a legacy behind for future generations. LYNN MALERBA: In our Mohegan beliefs, when someone creates something, whether it's the written word or whether it's a bowl or a piece of wampum, you imbue your spirit into those objects. JAMES QUINN: We've lost so much over the years, and then when you have a chance to bring some of it back, it's just absolutely an amazing gift, really.
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