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NATIVE SPEAKER - Nicholas Smith talks to an audience member before giving a lecture on Native American history in the special collections section of the library. |
Susan J. Hunter, associate provost for Undergraduate Education, introduced Smith to the audience by going into some detail about Smith’s accomplishments in the past 50 years.
Hunter explained that Smith has compiled the largest and most comprehensive computerized annotated bibliography on Wabanaki peoples, titled WABIB. The geographic coverage of this remarkable resource encompasses present-day northern New England, the Maritime Provinces, and Quebec, a region that includes the traditional homelands of the Penobscots, Passamaquoddies, Maliseets, Mi’kmaqs, and Abenakis.
At well over 1,000 pages with almost 5,000 entries, WABIB continues to grow. The entries include academic monographs, journal articles, old and current newspaper articles, rare books and original manuscript collections at various archives and other depositories, photograph collections, interviews with Native peoples, and individual field notes.
Smith’s speech was titled “In the Right Place at the Right Time.” He told of many opportunities he had to meet the Wabanaki people and collect their stories. “It was a great opportunity to meet these people in their natural surroundings,” he said.
Smith, who still keeps in close contact with the people he has met over the years, collaborated heavily with the late Maliseet scholar Peter Paul. “There are over 35 years of taped history he provided me with,” Smith said.
When he started the research, Smith knew he would have to teach himself, as there had been no previous research done on the Wabanaki people. “As I was doing the research, several red flags came up if there needed to be more research done in specific areas,” Smith said.
Smith was recently asked to look over some manuscripts regarding similar work. “When a bundle of more than 100 related manuscripts was found at the Museum of the American Indian Huntington Free Library, Smith was asked to assess their research value, organize them, and lead the effort to preserve them,” said Gretchen Gfeller, public relations specialist at Fogler Library.
Smith is also a founding member of the Maine Archeological Society and the Ethnomusicology Society. “I’ve always been interested in history,” Smith said. “Generally, people don’t know too much about these people. I’m very happy to share what I know about them with others.”
“There is a need for a reliable source for Maine Indian information. My research can provide most of it, but there is still much to be done. If no one thinks it’s important, it’s hard to keep going, but I still do,” Smith added.
The special collections department at Fogler Library hosted his lecture and over 30 people were in attendance. “I try to bring interesting speakers from a variety of backgrounds to Fogler Library to speak and share their ideas with the UMaine community and the general public. Smith’s visit is part of that tradition,” Gfeller said.
The event was sponsored by Fogler Library and the Wabanaki Center as well as the Native American Studies Program on campus.
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