Annotated Bibliography

The author and tour guide Audrey Pictou explain the role of Native American stories during the introduction of a Haunted Bar Harbor tour, allowing guests to prepare for new ideas that may be challenging to their own world views. •

Interpreting Native American Heritage through Ghost Stories

J E N N I F E R P I C T O U ____________________

Native American heritage can be one of the most difficult and rewarding topics to tackle. It can be a source of great interest for visitors, but also one of intimidating ideas and frustration for interpreters. Take heart, because it doesn’t have to be that way! There really is a middle ground and sometimes it comes in unexpected ways.

I am a member of a Federally Recognized Tribe (Aroostook Band of Micmacs), hold the position of Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, and have been interpreting Native issues and heritage for over two decades. I now tackle the issue head on through my own company, which provides an experience called the

“Haunted Bar Harbor” tour. This may seem incongruous, but there is a method to my interpretive madness. I will present here some of the challenges to interpreting Native heritage in Maine and how we deal with them through the vehicle of ghosts and Wabanaki Indian tales of the supernatural using a few simple guidelines.

The biggest challenge to interpreting Native American heritage is authenticity and there is no more contentious subtopic than Native interpreters versus non-Native interpreters. While there is no one better to interpret a cultural topic than someone who is actually part of the resource culture, it doesn’t mean quality interpretation cannot be given by someone

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outside that culture. However, having a representative from the resource culture does give a level of authenticity that many visitors look for. I have often seen interpretive situations where a visitor has said, “I want to talk to the guy with long hair because he is a real Indian.” This does a disservice to both Native and non-Native interpreters, because the non-Native can feel resentful and unacknowledged while a Native interpreter can feel burned out by the burden of so many visitors looking for the “real” Indian. To address this challenge, we have chosen to currently employ Native interpreters for our Haunted Bar Harbor tour due to the sensitive subject of spirit stories while other tours are led by non-Native guides. When possible,

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getting first-voice interpretation can be an invaluable and necessary component but in the absence of such, getting source material from reputable Native tribal resources can be the next best thing.

Finding the right story or cultural context can also be a daunting challenge based on the mission of the interpreter’s organization or program purpose. Connecting those ideas to the content of an interpretive program can be even more difficult. Native American stories and events need to be related to visitors in the same manner as they were originally and culturally intended. If this cannot be accomplished, a Native story or event should not be used to illustrate a point. For example, there are several wonderful Wabanaki spirit stories we do not use because they have no relatable segue to local ghost stories and to use them would take them out of cultural context. We are addressing this by saving those stories for special programs given at events when we partner with local organizations.

Cultivating cultural connections is also a key component of interpreting

Native American heritage and one of the most difficult things to get when creating a program. This deceptively simple idea is the way understanding and connecting with visitors can really happen. Otherwise, the interpreter risks losing authority and validity with the audience. An example of how we address this issue is to connect tribal spirit beliefs regarding the Wabanaki Little People and how many references to little spirits visitors already know, such as Tinkerbell from Disney’s Peter Pan and Dobby the House Elf from the Harry Potter series. By connecting multiple pop culture ideas at once, we allow visitors the opportunity to see how many cross-cultural beliefs have become mainstream, which opens their receptiveness to Native spirit stories having valid and relatable meaning in their own lives.

The idea of Native American imagery is a hot topic these days, when the debate over headdresses and mascots is larger than life. Many visitors come with a preconceived notion of what an Indian should look like so we take great care to bust the ‘buckskin stereotype” by having our

The author uses traditional Micmac storytelling methods to weave tales of a Native spirit world into understandable connections with tangible landscapes and historic buildings for tour guests.

guides dress in period clothing for the eras tours focus on. This means a guide will dress in appropriate garb depicting the Cottage Era of Bar Harbor for this tour because it is the perfect way to educate about cross- cultural borrowing, particularly of clothing styles. Guides keep several historic photo images on hand showing Native women wearing hoop skirts combined with beaded peaked cap designs (a traditional Wabanaki womens’ head covering) and other accessories should a guest address this idea or show confusion as to why we are not dressed “like an Indian.” Part of the fun is continually researching and adding historically correct accessories such as Native beaded bags and jewelry that were popular for Victorian women to wear. These looks are not only culturally appropriate but add dimension and sometimes even a hands-on experience for the visitor when a guide passes around a beaded item for them to hold.

Interpreting Native American heritage cannot be confined to one essay, but a few major guidelines have been discussed here. The topic can be a great addition to interpretive programming if delivered in a manner that makes the cultural context relatable to the visitor and is conducted in a culturally appropriate manner. When in doubt about how to present Native heritage, ask a recognized and respected representative of the resource culture. By combining voices from Native tribes and non-Native elements, an interpretive program can be fun, enlightening, and result in some very interesting consequences such as new cross-cultural understanding, further inquiries, and a return investment of customers and referrals to your organization.

Jennifer is the owner of Dawnland Tours, LLC. She is an NAI Certified Interpretive Trainer, Certified Interpretive Host Trainer, Certified Interpretive Guide, and Certified Interpretive Host, as well as being a historian and Tribal Historic Preservation Officer.

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