I did a little digging for you, but since I'm not quite sure what you needed, I've probably included a wider variety of material than you had in mind.
I found two items recently enough published that you could still buy them, but they may not be the most comprehensive. I have only read this one:
RunningWolf, Michael B. On the trail of elder brother: Glous'gap stories of the Micmac Indians. New York: Persea Books, 2000. This purports to be the only story collection written directly by Micmac authors. It is selective, rather than comprehensive and has only 16 stories, all focused on Glouscap.
Robertson, Marion. Red Earth: Tales of the Micmac, with an introduction to the customs and beliefs of the MicMac Indians. [s.l.]: Down East Publications, 2003. I haven't seen this title, but it is the most recent publication I found and seems to have been fairly widely purchased by libraries, so it may suit you.
Whitehead, Ruth Holmes. Stories from the six worlds: Micmac legends. Halifax: Nimbus Pub., 1988. I liked this volume. It had a short introduction that provided a synopsis of the world view presented in the legends and a good bibliography and notes. It also had stories written with a good rhythm to them and did a nice job of representing the oral tradition. 29 stories, more varied in subject than RunningWolf.
Then there are two great historical collections that I wouldn't call basic, but are probably the most comprehensive and go the farthest back in time to represent the oral tradition. The first is: Rand, Silas. Legends of the Micmacs. New York: Longmans, 1894. As was the case with many collectors of Native American legends, Rand was a missionary who wrote down the legends he heard from his congregants. This is a much bigger collection than the previous titles I listed, but as might be expected, the language and attitudes are a bit dated.
The other great collection is: Leland, Charles Godfrey. The Algonquin legends of New England: or, Myths and folk lore of the Micmac, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot tribes. Detroit: Singing Tree Press, 1968. Reprint of an 1884 Houghton and Mifflin book. Leland was a journalist and an amateur folklorist who also interested himself in Gypsies. His book is very much in the nineteenth century style. Leland used Rand's work as well as a number of Passamaquoddy sources for his tales, but he also used questionable sources like tourist brochures. Sometimes his journalistic instincts encouraged him to prefer a popularized story (as in standard Victorian) approach over a more authentic one. I don't know if that matters to you.
I hope this is of use to you. J. Ahronheim University of Michigan
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Wabenaki legends
(Anonymous) 2005-11-14 08:02 am (UTC)(link)I found two items recently enough published that you could still buy them, but they may not be the most comprehensive. I have only read this one:
RunningWolf, Michael B. On the trail of elder brother: Glous'gap stories of the Micmac Indians. New York: Persea Books, 2000.
This purports to be the only story collection written directly by Micmac authors. It is selective, rather than comprehensive and has only 16 stories, all focused on Glouscap.
Robertson, Marion. Red Earth: Tales of the Micmac, with an introduction to the customs and beliefs of the MicMac Indians. [s.l.]: Down East Publications, 2003. I haven't seen this title, but it is the most recent publication I found and seems to have been fairly widely purchased by libraries, so it may suit you.
Whitehead, Ruth Holmes. Stories from the six worlds: Micmac legends. Halifax: Nimbus Pub., 1988. I liked this volume. It had a short introduction that provided a synopsis of the world view presented in the legends and a good bibliography and notes. It also had stories written with a good rhythm to them and did a nice job of representing the oral tradition. 29 stories, more varied in subject than RunningWolf.
Then there are two great historical collections that I wouldn't call basic, but are probably the most comprehensive and go the farthest back in time to represent the oral tradition. The first is:
Rand, Silas. Legends of the Micmacs. New York: Longmans, 1894. As was the case with many collectors of Native American legends, Rand was a missionary who wrote down the legends he heard from his congregants. This is a much bigger collection than the previous titles I listed, but as might be expected, the language and attitudes are a bit dated.
The other great collection is:
Leland, Charles Godfrey. The Algonquin legends of New England: or, Myths and folk lore of the Micmac, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot tribes. Detroit: Singing Tree Press, 1968. Reprint of an 1884 Houghton and Mifflin book. Leland was a journalist and an amateur folklorist who also interested himself in Gypsies. His book is very much in the nineteenth century style. Leland used Rand's work as well as a number of Passamaquoddy sources for his tales, but he also used questionable sources like tourist brochures. Sometimes his journalistic instincts encouraged him to prefer a popularized story (as in standard Victorian) approach over a more authentic one. I don't know if that matters to you.
I hope this is of use to you.
J. Ahronheim
University of Michigan
Re: Wabenaki legends