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Peter Paul / Nicholas Smith Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MF220

Scope and Contents

This collection includes a series of taped interviews of Dr. Peter Paul, conducted by Nicholas N. Smith between 1970 and 1985. The recordings include spoken Malecite language as well as the oral history and descriptions of Malecite traditions known by Paul who was born in 1902 on the Woodstock Reserve in New Brunswick, Canada. This collection includes 25 tape recordings, 24 photographs, and exhibit text used to create the 2003 Maine Folklife Center display, "Collaboration: Peter Paul and Nicholas Preserving Maliseet Culture." Collection also includes a text summary, and background information about the two men, including obituaries, collected by library staff as supplemental material.

Dates

  • Creation: 1970-2003

Creator

Language of Materials

Malecite

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

1 box (half-sized) : Hollinger metal edge document storage box.

Biographical Note

During the mid-20th century, Malecite ethnographer, Dr. Peter Lewis Paul (1902-1989) worked with Dr. Nicholas N. Smith (1926-2022), a white man and ethnographer, to preserve the language, tradition, and "tribal lore" of the Wabanaki community in and around the Woodstock Reserve, New Brunswick, Canada. In 1963, the two men canoed from Meductic, New Brunswick, Canada, to Indian Island, Maine by rediscovering and documenting the Old Meductic Trail. Paul was born on the Woodstock Reserve and was a native speaker of the Malecite language. Between 1970 and 1985, Smith worked with Paul to record the spoken Malecite language as well as the oral history and descriptions of Malecite traditions known to Paul. This collection includes 25 tape recordings, text, and photographs used to create the 2003 Maine Folklife Center display, "Collaboration: Peter Paul and Nicholas Preserving Maliseet Culture."

Existence and Location of Copies

Located at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress: AFC 2012/047 https://lccn.loc.gov/2013655211

Related Materials

The researcher may also want to consult the Nicholas Smith Papers (Spc MS 1788) held in Fogler Library's Special Collection Department.

Materials Specific Details

Audio files are the primary source material. Transcriptions are the transcriber's best effort to convert audio to text, but should be considered secondary to the audio.

Title
Guide to Peter Paul / Nicholas Smith Collection
Status
In Progress
Author
Kimberly J. Sawtelle
Date
September 2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for uncoded script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History Repository

Contact:
5729 Raymond H. Fogler Library
University of Maine
Orono ME 04469-5729 United States
207.581.1686