Woven Through the Sweetgrass: Memories of a New England Abenaki Family

This book contains essays written by Claudia (Mason) Chicklas (1926-2008), a mixed-race daughter of an Abenaki Indian woman and an “Old Yankee” white man. Claudia grew up in the Marlboro/Keene, NH area and lived her middle and later years in Massachusetts. The book has been compiled and edited by her 2 daughters, Joyce (Chicklas) Heywood and Margaret (Chicklas) Perillo to include family history and experiences of the Native American side of the family, dating from the 1870s to the late 1990s. It takes the reader through the beginnings of Claudia’s grandfather, Israel Sadoques’ married life with Mary (Watso) Sadoques; their beginnings on the Indian reserve (Odanak) in Canada; their journey to CT and their subsequent arrival in Keene, NH; to stories of their 12 children (8 of whom survived to adulthood); to Israel and Mary’s children’s old age; and right on to Claudia’s own older years. It depicts not only how their race affected their lives and how they worked to overcome discrimination to become accepted and respected as valuable members of their community, but also their everyday experiences which all people, no matter what their race, have in common. It is both serious and lighthearted, written in a style reminiscent of James Herriot’s, All Creatures Great and Small. This family became well-known in the area of Keene, NH, with perhaps Claudia’s mother, Elizabeth being the best known today. Elizabeth had a page about her in the Winter 2008 edition of Minority Nurse Magazine, titled "Who really was the first American Indian RN?" These essays, along with the many accompanying photographs will expand on the known information for this family, as well as give readers and researchers alike, a chance to get to know and appreciate them better. Read more