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CHARLES NORMAN SHAY


Shay shares his stories with his publisher, Polar Bear and Company in Solon, Maine while finalizing his book. Until 2007 he never spoke of his experiences in WWII, even to his beloved wife Lilly. “It was best left unspoken. But now new generations need to recognize what we fought for and why. We need to tell our stories. I could not vote but was proud to serve my country. Democracy should never be taken for granted.”


“After 40 years living in Vienna, when I returned home it was like


night and day. I had left a city with a population of well over one mil- lion and returned to a small reservation with about 500 souls. I’m proud of my heritage. It was always my desire to return home.” But he couldn’t stay in retirement, as he felt it was his responsibility


to step forward into the public light to make sure the sacrifices Natives had made during the wars would be remembered. In doing so he has become a tireless promoter of the Penobscot Nation, passing on his cultural heritage. “We are very fortunate as a people to live in this great democratic


land, where we enjoy freedom of speech and religion. Many other countries enjoy these privileges too, but some people are forced to exist under suppression and live under the will-power of a minority, which creates much unrest in the world,” says Shay. “Our youth should always be proud of and never forget their heritage.


They should always be prepared to step forward, should always protect our way of life and the land we live in, should another threaten us.” Shay went on to write Project Omaha Beach: The Life and Military


Service of a Penobscot Indian Elder, published by Polar Bear & Company, an imprint of the nonprofit Solon Center for Research and Publishing. “My book is a journey into the past, a past that I would prefer to wipe out of my memory, but this is not possible.”


38 AMERICAN INDIAN SUMMER 2018


He also facilitated the publication of a new edition of his grand-


father Joseph Nicolar’s book, The Life and Traditions of the Red Man. “I’m trying to do whatever I can to promote my Native American


culture, to promote what my ancestors have done. For a small com- munity, we have many artists – people that do very fine beadwork, basket makers, painters, woodcarvers, sculptors, not to forget au- thors. I’m proud of our young people, many of whom have attained degrees. It is my hope that our tribe will continue to prosper and that we will eventually be treated on an equal basis, on the state/tribal administration level.” A white-shingled teepee stands beside his house, erected by his


aunt Lucy Nicolar Poolaw, known on the stage as the dancer Princess Watahwaso. Shay has transformed the teepee into a museum he runs, preserving family and Penobscot history. He remembers performing Native dances for tourists and giving


them tours of Indian Island, while he was growing up. “I liked it, we earned money for the family.” In 2009, Governor John Baldacci of Maine honored Shay and other


American Indians by proclaiming June 21 Native American Veterans Day in the state. The date was specifically chosen because it’s the an- niversary of the day the Wabanaki joined the American Revolution in 1775. The Penobscot Indian Nation is one of four tribes in Maine that


PHOTO BY RAMONA DU HOUX


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