Princess Red Wing
Princess Red Wing (1896–1987) was a Narragansett Indian historian, folklorist and museum curator. She was considered by many to be an expert on Native American history and culture and once addressed the United Nations.
Biography
Princess Red Wing was born on March 21, 1896 in Sprague, Connecticut.[1] Her birth name was Mary E. Congdon. She said that her mother chose to call her Princess Red Wing after the red wing blackbird "to fling her mission far with grace, for ears that harken for the uplift of my race."[2]
Her mother was Wampanoag and her father was Narragansett. Through her mother, Red Wing is related to prominent Indians in American history such as Simeon Simons (who fought with George Washington) and Metacomet (a.k.a. "King Philip") who led a war against English colonists in New England in the 1670s.
She was the co-founder and editor of The Narragansett Dawn tribal newspaper which was published from 1935 to 1936.
She became Squaw Sachem of the New England Council of Chiefs in 1945, a position which allowed her to preside over sacred ceremonies and festivals.[1] She was also a prominent storyteller in the Narragansett community, keeping alive the oral traditions of her tribe. She also preserved their history by founding the only Native American museum in Rhode Island, the Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum.[2]
From 1947 to 1970 she served as a member of the Speaker's Research Committee of the under secretariat of the United Nations.
In 1975 she was awarded an honorary doctorate of human affairs by the University of Rhode Island.
In 1978 she was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.
She was the subject of a feature article in the Christian Science Monitor on November 28, 1980.
Princess Red Wing died in 1987 at the age of 91.[1] She was buried in Pascoag, Rhode Island.