Ella Sekatau facts for kids

Ella Wilcox-Thomas Sekatau (born May 10, 1928, died April 7, 2014) was also known as Firefly-Song of Wind. She was a talented poet, historian, and Medicine Woman for the Narragansett Indian Nation.

Ella played a huge role in helping the Narragansett Nation gain federal recognition in 1983. She was a strong leader in her community. She also helped other Native American groups in New England.

Sekatau was one of the first Native American interpreters. She worked with Brown University's Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology. She also helped with the Wampanoag history program at Plimoth Plantation, now called Plimoth Patuxet.

Early Life and Role

Ella Sekatau was born in Charlestown, Rhode Island in 1928. She came from a long line of sachems, who were important leaders in the 16th and 17th centuries.

From a young age, Ella learned about Narragansett history, language, and medicine. Her parents, grandparents, and other elders taught her everything.

In the 1970s, Ella began to work officially for the Narragansett people. She was named an ethnohistorian and medicine woman. She received this important role through her father's family line.

Gaining Federal Recognition

In 1880, the state of Rhode Island took away the official tribal status of the Narragansett people. This is called detribalization.

In 1978, the Narragansett Nation began working to get their federal recognition back. They won a lawsuit, which meant the federal government agreed with them. As part of this agreement, 1,800 acres of land were returned to the Narragansett.

The Narragansett argued that Rhode Island had bought their land illegally. This was because the state broke the Nonintercourse Act of 1790. This act says the federal government must approve any sale of tribal land.

Thanks to this ruling, the Narragansett Nation regained federal recognition in 1983. This was almost 100 years after they lost it. Ella Sekatau was very important in preparing all the documents needed for this big step.

What is "Documentary Genocide"?

Ella Sekatau wrote about something she called "documentary genocide." This term describes how records were changed to erase Native American identity.

During the 1700s and 1800s, people who kept records, like census-takers, often changed "Indian" or "Narragansett" to "African," "Black," or "Negro." This happened even if it wasn't true.

Ella Sekatau explained that Native Americans kept their identity. They knew the English government system sometimes worked against them. They also found ways to use that system to their advantage.

Sekatau believed that people tried to erase Indigenous people from history. This started with conquest and colonialism, using disease and violence. Later, after King Philip's War, a new method was used.

Instead of swords or guns, the new "weapon" was a pen. Sekatau said this "documentary genocide" began after the conflict in 1675. It continued until the Narragansett were detribalized in 1880. Even though their "Indian" identity was removed from records, these Native Americans did not disappear.

Historian Jean O'Brien also wrote about this issue. She noted that records often changed "Indian" to "Negro," "Black," or "Person of color." This made it harder to prove Indian populations. It happened as they lost land and property due to colonialism.

This way of trying to make a whole group of people disappear was not new. The Portuguese and Spanish had used it before. Slave traders in Africa would call enslaved peoples "Negro" or "black." This was to remove their connection to their homelands, kingdoms, or tribes.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, officials in Rhode Island did something similar. They used this label for Native Americans in the area. This was a way to take away their rights to their land.

Ella Sekatau wrote: "The war did not end in the Great Swamp." This means the fight for identity continued. When records don't show Indigenous people, historians use other fields like anthropology. This helps them understand these periods of time.

Later Life and Legacy

Even in her late sixties during the 1990s, Ella Sekatau continued to teach. She trained young Narragansett how to keep their history alive. They learned through oral tradition, which means passing down stories by speaking.

As an ethnohistorian, she worked with many scholars and historians. She shared her knowledge through oral history. Many books and papers about the Narragansett people have been published thanks to her help.

See also

• Ellison Brown
• Princess Red Wing
• Linda Coombs
• Lorén Spears
• Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel