Gertrude Alice Lamb-Richmond (; August 5, 1931 – April 26, 2021) was an American educator and author belonging to the

Schaghticoke Tribal Nation The Schaghticoke ( or ) are a Native American tribe of the Eastern Woodlands who historically consisted of Mahican, Potatuck, Weantinock, Tunxis, Podunk, and their descendants, peoples indigenous to what is now New York, Connecticut, and Mas ...

. She was involved in Native American educational and political issues.

Biography

Lamb-Richmond was born on August 5, 1931 in Bridgeport, Connecticutas the eldest daughter of Margaret (née Cogswell) and John Ray Jr. She was raised in the Schaghticoke reservation in northwestern Connecticut, Her storytelling and teachings are shared among other tribal members in southern New England. A graduate of Long Island University with a master's degree in Anthropology from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

and a master’s in Education from the

Bank Street College of Education Bank Street College of Education is a private school and graduate school in New York City. It consists of a graduate-only teacher training college and an independent nursery-through-8th-grade school. In 2020 the graduate school had about 65 full ...

, Richmond was a Native storyteller who frequently gave seminars in Ledyard, Connecticut, and elsewhere in New England. She served as Director of Public Programs for the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center, on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation, and was the Director of Education for the Public Programs for the Institute for American Indian Studies in

Washington, Connecticut Washington is a rural town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. The population was 3,646 at the 2020 census. Washington is known for its picturesque countryside, historic architecture, and active civi ...

from 1988 to 1993 and its assistant director ''from 1993 to 1996. In 1974, she co-founded American Indians for Development (A.I.D.), serving as its Assistant Director until 1986. In 1987 the Governor of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

( William O'Neill), appointed Richmond to a task force on Native American issues. Richmond was also a member of the Connecticut Indian Affairs'' Council (C.I.A.C.) from 1974 to 1985, and served on the Native American Heritage Committee as a legislative appointee. In 2010, Richmond retired as the Director of Public Programs at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center after fifteen years. She died aged 89 on April 26, 2021 in the home of her daughter Erin Lamb-Meeches.

Awards

* The First People's Fund Community Spirit awarded Trudie Lamb Richmond for her lifetime work as an educator and Native storyteller.

Literary works

Additionally, Richmond has consulted and collaborated with a number of scholars, including Lucianne Lavin, Amy Den Ouden, and Russell Handsman She has also published many essays of her own, relating to her tribal heritage.

Books

* The Spirit of the Drum'' (1986) and ''Perspectives: * Authentic Voices of Native Americans'' (1996).Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center - Staff Biographies
* With fellow tribal member Ruth Garby Torres, she edited the Schaghticoke section of ''Dawnland Voices: Writing from Indigenous New England''(2014), in which her essay on Schaghticoke elder and culture keeper Eunice Mauwee (1756-1860) appears.

Video Links

Native Storytelling

Schaghticoke Rally and Protest, Jan. 29, 2009 in Hartford CT

Mashantucket Pequot Museum, 2010

Social media

Trudie Lamb Richmond Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/trudie.lambrichmond

References

External links

Schaghticoke Tribal Nation

Institute for American Indian Studies

Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center

Ct. Dept. of Environmental Protection - Ct. Indian Affairs Council
*

Schaghticoke Tribe The Schaghticoke ( or ) are a Native American tribe of the Eastern Woodlands who historically consisted of Mahican, Potatuck, Weantinock, Tunxis, Podunk, and their descendants, peoples indigenous to what is now New York, Connecticut, and Ma ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamb-Richmond, Trudie Algonquian peoples Native American academics Native American women academics American women academics Bank Street College of Education alumni Native American people from Connecticut 20th-century American women 21st-century American women Schaghticoke tribe People from Bridgeport, Connecticut Academics from Connecticut 21st-century Native American women 21st-century Native Americans 1931 births 2021 deaths