Book Title and Author: Women of the Dawn by Bunny McBride
Status? : Finished
My overall rating of the book : 10/10
How does this book relate to my magickal practice?: As a witch with a region-based practice, this book is a collection of historical accounts of four Abenaki women in Maine who lived from the late 1700s to the 1970s. Their stories all connect in one way or another, and reading about the places they lived, where they travelled, and how they lived with the land is inspiring in more ways than one. Several of the places mentioned in the book are all within a dayâs trip for me, and I think Iâd like to take a few days this summer and explore some of them, both to get out and explore, but also to honor the Indigenous Women who walked this land before me.
My personal thoughts/opinions: Okay, so I had already typed this all out in a conversation with someone else, so Iâm just going to copy/paste it under a read-more because it got kind of long 
rambly thoughts on the book here
Itâs hard to describe how the book is written and how everything connects together, but the fact that itâs about four women all named Molly is just the first step of that connection. Each one before Molly Dellis, the narrator of the book, has something to teach her as she researches and learns about their lives.
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Molly Mathilde (1665-1717): The daughter of a great Wabanaki chief, her husband was a French man who helped bond the French settlers with the Wabanaki people of her tribe. The town of Castine, Maine, bears his name. (This place is about an hour and a half from me.)
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Molly Ockett (1740-1816): A healer by nature, Molly Ockett found herself trapped between her rage and her better nature. She mentioned several times in her journals that it boosted her confidence to know that the people responsible for the loss of her peopleâs independence were dependent on her for their care. She successfully lived as traditionally as she could during the period of colonization because of the relationships she built with white settlers who became dependent on her medicine and healing. She is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Andover, Maine. There are even local signposts that show locations she is associated with, like Molly Ockettâs Cave. (This place is about two hours from me on the border of Maine and New Hampshire.)
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Molly Molasses (1775-1867): Later in life, Molly Molasses was the picture of the stubborn, grouchy old woman. She had what the Wabenaki called mâteoulin â magic. In her younger days, she earned a living by traditional Indigenous crafts, such as baskets and weaving. She refused to give up her nomadic life, continuing to move about until she was in her 90s and could no longer move. Like Molly Ockett, Molly Molasses struggled with the white settlers and their contradictions. She said that âthe enemy seemed to have two faces: one cold and selfish, the other kind and helpfulâ, and she defied every role that was placed on her until she died. She lived and died in Bangor, Maine, somewhere that Iâve been to many times and actually have to travel to frequently for my daughterâs orthodontist appointments. The pictures I shared in Fun Friday are actually from Bangor. Now, I just need to find her grave, or somewhere associated with her.
- Molly Dellis (1903-1977): Molly Dellis (also known as Molly Nelson) is the âmain characterâ of the book. She gathered information about the other three women, searching for connection with her ancestors through their stories. Itâs so fascinating how their stories all connect and are similar in different ways. Molly Dellis was a dancer in New York, and her stage name was Molly Spotted Elk. She married a French man and her story aligns a lot with Molly Mathilde in that respect. She lived on Indian Island, the reservation north of Bangor, and is buried there.
Anyway, there are places Iâve been inspired to visit now, thanks to these women. Sorry, I geeked out and just kept writingâŠ
And I learned while searching for the links and stuff to put here that not only did Molly Molasses know Henry David Thoreau, he actually wrote quite extensively about her and other topics regarding the Maine wilderness! 
Thereâs this one here, so now I know what else Iâll be reading soon lol
An interesting quote from the book: There was one section in particular that I found interesting, and though itâs just one quote, the sentiment is echoed by each of the women in various forms.
Tufts was not the only person to make demands of Molly Ockett. On one occasion, a destitute settler from Fryeburg came to her Bethel camp to ask for a loan. After scolding him for trying to borrow from âa poor Indian despised by white people,â she gave him eight pounds - a considerable sum in those days â and made him promise to return the next winter to hunt furs in order to repay her. This he did, in contrast to many less fair-minded folk. Time and again, Molly Ockett tried to call up the balance of give and take, but almost invariably settlers focused only on their own needs. They wanted her to see their plight and relieve their pain, yet they turned a blind eye to the fact that her way of life was unraveling right in front of them. As they saw it, it was her job to adjust to them and their habits. Remarkably, however much anger or frustration she felt toward colonists who pursued their own happiness at the expense of her people, she repeatedly acted on their behalf as a healer and even a peacemaker.
my note on this passage
Itâs interesting to see that this is mentioned here because I also always go back to this idea of reciprocity. Thereâs a give-and-take that is necessary in nature, and one of the complaints of Christianity, when it was being imposed on Indigenous peoples, at least from my perspective, was the fact that there is no reciprocity. The white settlers and the colonists were very selfish and that is the kind of idea that has continued in the Western world. And it has, in my opinion, led us to where we are now, with capitalism and consumption and not caring about the land we live on or the other people that live here with us.
Although reluctant to entrust themselves to someone who was not only Indian but Catholic, frontier folk often found that Molly Ockett was their only source of help. They may have missed the irony of this, but Molly did not: the individuals asking her to cure them were related to the very people who had earned bounties for killing and scalping her relatives and friends; the descendants of those who had brought epidemics to her people now asked her to heal them of diseases. How should she, who had lost so much, respond to a call for help from those who had done the taking? Focused on survival, Molly Ockett had little space for contemplating the dilemma of revenge versus forgiveness. She was a pragmatist and understood that doctoring provided a means of supporting herself and her daughter. Yet there were times when human suffering worked on her heart, and she could not help seeing her common humanity even with those who had attacked her people. Grace overcame her in these moments - as it did when she attended and cured the wife of John Evans, a former scalp hunter.
my note on this passage
Iâm not sure if could reconcile with what Molly is dealing with. Having to treat the people who harmed her people must have been extremely conflicting, even if she saw their shared humanity and gave them grace.
All in all, would I recommend this book?: Yes - with the caveat that it is very regional, but if the topic is something you find interesting and want to learn about, then I fully recommend it.
