Dawnland Voices: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from New England

The Pursuit of Happiness

547 sensationalist journalism is certainly not the ultimate goal of the Union Weekly’s efforts? I’m sure the mission is to deliver relevant and meaningful news without bias to the student body; unfortunately, this article fell short. Not only were the efforts of a student group not honored, but an entire people, their cultural lifeways, and religious beliefs were disrespected. (2011) The Pursuit of Happiness (2005) As this chapter has suggested, Narragansett people have often written collaboratively , whether as members of a student body, or as contributors to a periodical, or as members of a family committed to educating tribal youth and the broader public. In 2005 the Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum received a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Humanities to produce a lecture series and booklet, “The Pursuit of Happiness: An Indigenous View: The Narragansett People Speak.” The booklet included writings by many of the people represented in this volume, plus Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas and Medicine Man Lloyd “Running Wolf” Wilcox. We have chosen selections from Ella Sekatau, Dawn Dove, and Lorén M. Spears to complement some of the themes raised in the entries above. Dr. Ella Sekatau and Dawn Dove⁸ from wunnigin nuwadchanumunuwut kuttoowonkongashut (happiness in our own words) Manit Upeantamooonk Man it up e an tam oo onk The Great Spirit’s Prayer Nooshun keesuqut Noosh un kee su qut Our father in sky world 548 narragansett Quttianatamunach kooweesuonk Qut ti a na tam un ach koo wee su onk We honor your name Peyaumooutch kukketassootamooonk Pe yau moo utch kuk ke tas soo tam oo onk Come your Great Land Kutunantamooonk nee enatch ahkeeut neanee keesuqut. Ku tu nan tam oo onk nee e natch ah kee ut ne a nee kee su qut. Your will let that be so on earth as in sky world. Numeetsuwongash asekesukokish assamainnean yooyoo keesuqut Nu meet suw on gash a se ke suk ok ish as sa ma in ne an yooyoo kee su qut Our food day by day give us to eat this day Kah ahquontamaiinean nummatcheseongash Kah ah quon tam ai in e an num match es e ong ash And do not think about our wrongdoings Neane matchenukqueageeg nutahquontamauounnonog. Ne an e match e nuk que ag eeg nu tah quon tam au o un non og. As wrongdoings pointed at us we do not think about. Ahque sagkompagunniinean een qutchishonganit Ah que sag kom pag un ni in e an een qut chish on ga nit Do not lead us unto bad things Qut pohquohwussinean wutch matchitut; Qut poh quoh wus sin e an wutch match i tut; But deliver us from wrongdoings; Newutche kutahtauun ketassootamooonk kah New utch e ku tah tau un ke tas soo tam oo onk kah For to you belongs the Great Land and Menuhkesuonk kah sohsumooonk micheme. Neenaj. Men uh ke su onk kah soh sum oo onk mi chem e. Nee naj. The power and the shining forth forever. Let it be. The Pursuit of Happiness 549 The Nahahiganseck language holds the key to our self-preservation, to our happiness. We are who we are in accordance with how we believe or how we understand our universe to be. Our ancestors held on to our language for the seven generations yet to come, which is also our responsibility. The state and federal governments established policies of genocide and then assimilation—cultural genocide to end our existence as Nahahiganseck people, but our Kuttoowonkongash (words) still stand. We give thanks to our ancestors as we continue to share these Kuttoowonkongash with our children and the next seven generations. We remember the Elders speaking. . . . The Nahahiganseck people have held on to their language for all of this time by holding on to words that various families held as sacred. A tribal Elder told me long ago that the language is not dead as long as one person knows one word. In our community many people have held on to words that have been passed from generation to generation. Our grandmothers told us that the Elders used to go to the Meetinghouse—the Indian church—to have gatherings where important issues were discussed and our language was used. The ancestors feared repercussions from the government for using our language, so they went to the sanctuary of the Indian Meetinghouse where they could freely speak—where the words of our ancestors could continue...