Joseph Laurent
{{Short description|Canadian-born Abenaki chief}}
{{about||the French amateur astronomer and chemist|Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Joseph Laurent
| native_name = Sozap Lolô
| native_name_lang = abe
| image = Joseph_Laurent.jpg
| caption = Laurent, from The Boston Globe in 1901
| office = Chief of the Abenaki reserve (1880–1892)
| birth_name =
| birth_date = c. 1839
| birth_place = Odanak, Lower Canada
| death_date = {{Death year and age|1917|1839}}
| death_place =
| occupation = Odanak Nation leader, teacher, trader, linguist
| years_active =
| known_for = New Familiar Abenakis and English Dialogues (1884)
}}
Joseph Laurent ({{langx|abe|Sozap Lolô}}; c. 1839–1917), was an Abenaki chief, best known for authoring an Abenaki language dictionary. He also established a trading post in New Hampshire that is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Biography
File:New Familiar Abenakis and English Dialogues.png
Laurent was chief of the Abenaki reserve of Odanak in Quebec, Canada, from 1880 to 1892. He was a teacher and leader in his Algonquian community, and the Odanak Nation throughout his life.{{cite web| title=Conseil des Abenakis| url=http://temp.caodanak.com/en/| website=Conseil des Abenakis| accessdate=14 April 2015| url-status=dead| archiveurl=https://archive.today/20150404121607/http://temp.caodanak.com/en/| archivedate=4 April 2015}} Laurent is best known for the publication of his book New Familiar Abenakis and English Dialogues. The book is a dictionary that translates Abenaki to English, and was the first of its kind. The structure of the dictionary is what widely sets it apart from others. His translations are set up as a journey through their land as opposed to a standard list. He takes the reader on a trip from Quebec and throughout New England through linguistics and language education. Despite Laurent's upbringing of speaking fluent Abenaki and French,{{cite book| last1=Brooks| first1=Lisa Tanya| title=The Common Pot: The Recovery of Native Space in the Northeast| date=2008| publisher=University of Minnesota Press| isbn=9780816647835| pages=411}} he not only created a dictionary to teach English to Abenaki people, he more importantly created the substantial text in an effort to preserve the Abenaki language and culture. The Abenaki language was oral, and little to no written documents had been recorded. New Familiar Abenakis and English Dialogues was vital in taking the number of a hundred-plus speakers to the rest of the Abenaki population as they continued to be a part of an English-speaking world, and it is still widely used today.{{cite book| last1=Belman| first1=Felice| title=The New Hampshire Century: Concord Monitor Profiles of One Hundred People Who Shaped It| date=2001| publisher=UPNE| isbn=9781584650874| pages=[https://archive.org/details/newhampshirecent00feli/page/101 101]| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/newhampshirecent00feli/page/101}}
Laurent was also an entrepreneur. He purchased goods from Odanak members and took them to his trading post in Intervale, New Hampshire, to sell to tourists. The camp was located in a grove of white pines known as Cathedral Woods, across from the scenic overlook that resides on the border of North Conway and Intervale.{{cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form |url={{NRHP url|id=91000218}} |website=nps.gov |publisher=National Park Service |date=1991 |accessdate=16 April 2015}} They sold things like baskets, Victorian goods, and miniatures.{{cite book| last1=Nash| first1=Alice N.| title=Daily Life of Native Americans from Post-Columbian Through Nineteenth-century America| date=2006| publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group| isbn=9780313335150| page=251}} It was not only a business opportunity, but was also a way for his family to practice speaking English. The trading post remained for 33 years, until Laurent's death in 1917. In 1991, the trading post was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as "Abenaki Indian Shop and Camp".
Stephen Laurent (1909–2001),{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64255164/stephen-laurent-abenaki-tribal-elder/ |title=Stephen Laurent: Abenaki Tribal Elder Preserved Language |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |page=B15 |date=June 3, 2001 |accessdate=November 29, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} the youngest of Joseph Laurent's 18 children,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64254738/abenaki-indian-preserves-heritage-of/ |title=Abenaki Indian preserves heritage of words |first1=Shirley |last1=Elder |first2=Richard L. |last2=Lyons |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=NH3 |date=September 18, 1988 |accessdate=November 29, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} was also an accomplished writer/linguist, and resided in Intervale from 1940 until his death.{{cite book| last1=Heald| first1=Bruce D.| title=A History of the New Hampshire Abenaki| date=2014| publisher=The History Press| isbn=9781625849656| page=41}}
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite web |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=78682 |title=In Memory of Joseph Laurent: Abenaki Chief |website=HMDB.org |accessdate=November 29, 2020}}
External links
- [http://eco.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.08895/5?r=0&s=1 New Familiar Abenakis and English Dialogues], the first ever published on the grammatical system (1884)
- [http://westernabenaki.com/sources.php "Western Abenaki Dictionary, WAR Radio, and Online Lessons: Home of the Abenaki Language."] Accessed March 31, 2015.
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