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As Tara Marvel tells it, "One time I asked Fred what his favorite food was. He unhesitatingly replied, 'Muskrat stew.' A little chill ran over me. I felt a whole way of life was embedded in that remark.
"This proved to be true. Trapping muskrat for food and fur was an important part of traditional Penobscot life. Muskrat stew seems to be a kind of Penobscot soul food, something eaten in hard times, when there wasn't much else to eat, but remembered fondly as a taste of the old ways."
Fred Ranco, a citizen of the United States and the Penobscot Indian Nation, tells the story of his life growing up during the Great Depression on a small Indian reservation in Maine. His stories relate the good and the bad, the fun and the hard times. He remembers fondly how his father taught him to hunt. Fred loves hunting. He remembers his grandparents who spoke to him in his native tongue and taught him to make baskets and canoes and various handicrafts for trade. He also recalls prejudice, racism, and economic hardship.
This little book provides a glimpse into the life of an ordinary man living extraordinary circumstances. It reveals the strength of the human spirit and the healing power of human love.
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