Chief Peter Barlow, interviewed by Frederick Pratson

Series

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

Independent collection of folklore material contributed to the Maine Folklife Center by Frederick Pratson. Contains interviews in connection with donor’s “Oral and Visual History and Talent Development Program Among Indians and Inshore Fishing People of the State of Maine, The Canadian Maritime Provinces, and Quebec,” done under the sponsorship of the New England-Atlantic Provinces- Quebec Center at the University of Maine (Orono), 1972. The interviewees were a group of Nova Scotia fishermen, a Maine lumberjack, and a Micmac chief living on the Indian Island Reservation in New Brunswick.

Dates

Creation: 1972

Conditions Governing Access

For digitized items free from access restrictions, we are working to upload this material (pdfs, mp3s, jpgs) for public access, but it is an ongoing project. If you don’t find what you are looking for here, contact Special Collections (um.library.spc@maine.edu).

Extent

From the Collection: 3 items

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Abstract

0714 Mi’kmaq Chief Peter Barlow of Indian Island, New Brunswick, Canada, and unidentified man, interviewed by Frederick Pratson, September 19, 1972, at the Indian Island Reservation in Rexton, New Brunswick. Barlow and the unidentified man discuss Barlow’s childhood at Indian Island Reservation in the 1920s and 30s; food; farming; innate nature of leadership; qualities of a leader; Andy Paul’s efforts to gain Indian rights and claims to government aid; land rights; moral obligations of white Canada to Indians; possible economic programs that would benefit Indians; their views on ‘Indian mentality’; stereotypes and prejudices; story of an old Mohawk raid; Indian involvement in French-English colonial fighting; spiritual philosophy; Barlow’s relationship with his father; his premonitions and visions of ghosts; discrimination in the Army; anger at government and the police; militant Indian organizations as gangs; loss of Indian languages; and Indian identity and inability to be white. Recording was made in preparation to write an autobiography. Text: 97 pp. transcript (has significant gaps). RESTRICTED. Recording: T 0458 – T 0461 2 hours.