laurent obit 5/31/01

Stephen Laurent, keeper of Abenaki tradition, diesNephew will take over maintenance of Intervale campJoshua WilliamsCONWAY Stephen Laurent, Abenaki Indian elder, passed away on Sunday. He leaves the traditional Abenaki encampment located in Intervale to be maintained by his nephew, Deny Obomsawin, an Abenaki now living in Quebec."It's a sad day for us," Obomsawin said when he learned that Laurent had died at age 92. "He was a great resource for Abenakis and the Abenaki past. It's a sad day."Laurent was one of the last remaining Abenakis living in the area. Born in 1909 on Odanack Abenaki settlement near the St. Francis River in Quebec, Laurent moved to Intervale in 1940. He was Jackson postmaster from 1945 to 1975, and played cello and violin in local chamber music groups.Laurent was known and widely respected for his translation into English of a French-Abenaki dictionary. The original French-Abenaki dictionary is credited to Father Aubery, a Jesuit priest who died in 1755. Laurent worked for 30 years translating Aubery's dictionary into English. In 1995, 500 copies of Laurent's translation were printed. Laurent also recorded the entire book onto tape, to preserve the pronunciation of words as they should be spoken.Laurent maintained a gift shop and cabins in Intervale. The Intervale site is now owned by the town of Conway. The Pequawket Foundation had purchased the land in 1985, and gave it to the town the same year. There is a walking trail on the approximately two acres of property which is maintained by the town conservation commission. The town has an agreement with the Abenaki people to let the Abenaki use the site during the summer. The site is listed on the National Historic Register.Although Laurent did not own the land, he had a life estate deed on the property, allowing him to maintain the buildings until his death. Obomsawin received permission from the town in 1995 to maintain the property and buildings after Laurent's death. The original deed had specified that the property would return to forest land upon Laurent's death, and that the buildings would be taken down. Selectmen decided in 1994 to change the deed to allow the buildings to remain."I will take over," Obomsawin said of the Intervale site. "It's important to our people. It will be open. Because I live in Canada, it will mostly be open on weekends."Laurent's father, Abenaki Chief Joseph Laurent, brought his people from Quebec to Intervale in the summer of 1884, and the Abenaki returned every summer to Intervale for years. Chief Laurent was born in 1839, and died in 1917."It was our area, where we started," Obomsawin said. Chief Laurent "went there to go back to where our ancestors are from."A monument at the Intervale site dedicated to Chief Laurent reads: "In 1884 he led back to the land of their fathers a group of Abenaki and Sokoki Indians and established here in the woods of Intervale a perennial summer settlement of his people." The monument was erected in 1959, "in love and reverence by his children."The Abenakis once populated land across New England and up to the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. Many Abenaki fled north to the Odanack settlement in Quebec, where Obomsawin now lives, to escape the diseases and wars brought by English settlers.Odanack was the site of a 1759 massacre of the Abenaki people that was led by Robert Rogers, in retaliation for a 1745 Abenaki attack that destroyed his Dunbarton homestead. Today, approximately 400 Abenaki live at the Odanack settlement. Furber and White Funeral Home of North Conway will be in charge of arrangements for Laurent. Dates and times for any services have not yet been determined.