Chief Big Thunder (1827-1906): The Life History of a Penobscot Trickster

Abstract

Harald E.L. Prins is a native of the Netherlands, where he was trained in anthropology and history. Currently a professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University, he taught previously at Bowdoin, Colby, and the University of Nijmegen (Netherlands). From 1981 until 1991 he served the Aroostook Band of Indians as staff anthropologist in its successful bid for federal recognition and land claims settlement. In addition to writing The Mi’kmaq: Resistance, Accommodation; And Cultural Survival, he has produced a documentary film on Mi ’kmaq basketmakers ( “Our Lives in Our Hands, ” 1986), co-edited a book on the contact period, American Beginnings: Exploration, Culture, And Cartography in the Land of Norumbega, and authored numerous articles and book chapters on the Wabanaki.