ssipsis (birth name Eugenia T. Thompson) (June 10, 1941 – October 27, 2015) was a

Penobscot The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic pr ...

poet, social worker, visual artist, writer, editor and storyteller. Much of her work was focused on and inspired by the advancement of

Indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

Life

ssipsis' mother, Dorothy Phillips, was Mohawk and her father, William Thomas, was

. Her traditional name is Penobscot for "little bird". She was raised by Eugenia Mary Thomas on Indian Island where she spent most of her life. ssipsis earned a sociology degree at

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanthr ...

where she met her husband Kenneth C. Thompson. ssipsis and Kenneth had four children together. ssipsis, a member of the Penobscot Nation, always fought for the rights of her people; most notably, she led a protest in 1970 in Old Town, Maine regarding a Penobscot treaty agreement. ssipsis is also known for her birch-bark etchings and for her work on the preservation of Penobscot art and culture. Her art often reflected her dedication to tribal rights, including hemmed pieces to make political statements. ssipsis was also the editor of the Maine Indian Newsletter, an independent publication that ran through the 1960s and 1970s and served the native peoples of Maine, along with other subscribed readers outside the local community. She typed each twenty page newsletter herself on a typewriter, often recirculating pertinent articles from local, state, and national newspapers, including many other American Indian periodicals.

Bibliography

Books

* ''Molly Molasses and Me: A Collection of Living Adventures'', Robin Hood Books, 1990 * ''Prayers, Poems, and Pathways'', Robin Hood Books, 2007.

Examples of art

Birch Bark Turtle Shell
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References

External links

ssipsis video interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:ssipsis 1941 births Native American novelists Native American poets Postmodern writers Penobscot people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists Native American short story writers 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets American women novelists American women poets American women short story writers 2015 deaths 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Native American women writers 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native American writers 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women 21st-century Native American artists