1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello Hello again. I'm Eves and you're listening 3 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:10,559 Speaker 1: to This Day in History Class, where we examine the 4 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: past from the present. Today is November Seen. The day 5 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: was November sevent nineteen o three. Mary Alice Nelson, also 6 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: known as Molly Spotted Elk, was born on the panop 7 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:36,320 Speaker 1: Scott Indian Island Reservation in Maine. Molly was a dancer, actress, 8 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:41,200 Speaker 1: and writer. The poop Scott Reservation was near Old Town, Maine. 9 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: The pop Scot are people's indigenous to the northeastern United 10 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: States and Maritime Canada. They are a federally recognized tribe 11 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: in Maine and are part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. Traditionally, 12 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 1: their subsistence was rooted in hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plants. 13 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:03,160 Speaker 1: They moved seasonal to have access to food, but, as 14 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:06,679 Speaker 1: with other indigenous peoples in North America, life changed for 15 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:10,760 Speaker 1: the panop Scott when Europeans arrived on the continent. Disease 16 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: reduced their population and Europeans dispossessed them of their land. 17 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,400 Speaker 1: By the time Molly was born, tourism and entertainment were 18 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:23,400 Speaker 1: a big part of the panop Scott economy. Molly Dellis 19 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:26,679 Speaker 1: was the name that her parents called her. Her mother 20 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,319 Speaker 1: was a basket maker and practice traditional medicine, and her 21 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: father was a political leader. He was also the first 22 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,960 Speaker 1: pop Scot to attend Dartmouth College, and both of her 23 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:41,679 Speaker 1: grandfathers had been tribal leaders. Molly had seven younger siblings, 24 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: whom she helped raise. She and her siblings sold their 25 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 1: mother's baskets in tourist towns, and Molly learned traditional dances 26 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: to help support her family. Tourists often gave panop Scott 27 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 1: children changed to dance. Molly enjoyed dancing, and she took 28 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: jobs cleaning houses so she could have Ford ballet lessons 29 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: in Bangor. When she was thirteen years old, she completed 30 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: her last year at Old Town Junior High and over 31 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: the next few years she worked as a governess, joined 32 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: a vaudeville company, and worked as a counselor at a 33 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,919 Speaker 1: summer camp for girls. She was in and out of 34 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 1: high school over the years, but after going to live 35 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: with Frank Speck, a University of Pennsylvania anthropologist, she was 36 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: able to go to Swarthmore Preparatory School and audit classes 37 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: at the University of Pennsylvania. She contributed to spec study 38 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,560 Speaker 1: of the Panop Scott called Pannop Scott Man The Life 39 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: of a Forest Tribe in Maine. It's not entirely clear 40 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,919 Speaker 1: whether she graduated from the university, but when she left 41 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,120 Speaker 1: she joined an Old West show, touring the country and 42 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,640 Speaker 1: working at a ranch in Oklahoma. It was around this 43 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: time when she started going by the name Molly Spotted Elk, 44 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,359 Speaker 1: but soon Molly turned back to dancing. To gain notoriety 45 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: and success, she moved to New York, saying that once 46 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: she became famous, her mother would no longer have to 47 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,800 Speaker 1: make baskets. There, she worked as a nude model for artists, 48 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,519 Speaker 1: gave dance lessons in modeled footwear. All the while, she 49 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 1: saved money for school, sent money back to her mom, 50 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: and read a lot. She joined the Foster Girls chorus 51 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,640 Speaker 1: Line and worked with an all Native American troupe that 52 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: performed on the Keith Albie Vaudeville circuit. Between shows, she 53 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 1: wrote poetry and stories. Eventually, she began doing solo performances, 54 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:35,120 Speaker 1: mixing traditional indigenous dances with contemporary ones like the Charleston 55 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: and the Black Bottom. In Night, Molly landed a big 56 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 1: role in the silent film The Silent Enemy, which was 57 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: released in nineteen thirty, but it wasn't as big of 58 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: a financial hit as she hoped it would be, and 59 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 1: it didn't make her a huge star, even though it 60 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: helped her by her family a new house. The year 61 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 1: after the film was released, she went to France as 62 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:58,560 Speaker 1: a part of the ballet core of the International Colonial 63 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: Exposition and part of a Native American jazz band called 64 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: the United States Indian Band. She stayed in Paris for 65 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: a while, working with anthropologists, attending lectures at the Sorbonne, 66 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: and she taught ballet there. She met John Aschambeaux, whom 67 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 1: she later married. After the Great Depression hit and the 68 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:20,359 Speaker 1: couple had trouble keeping work, a pregnant Molly moved to 69 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 1: the United States without John. She had her daughter there, 70 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:28,119 Speaker 1: and she landed roles in several Hollywood films, including Last 71 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:31,039 Speaker 1: of the Mohicans and The Charge of the Light Brigade. 72 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,440 Speaker 1: In nineteen thirty eight, she and her daughter went back 73 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: to Paris to reunite with John, but her family's time 74 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:41,559 Speaker 1: there was turbulent. Work was scarce. Her second child died 75 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:45,480 Speaker 1: as an infant, in World War Two was beginning. Molly 76 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: went back to the US and got a job dancing 77 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 1: and maintaining costumes for a touring company, but her husband's 78 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: health was declining, and he died in October of nineteen 79 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 1: forty one. In the States, Molly went back and forth 80 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: between Indian Island and New York take king small jobs. 81 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:04,919 Speaker 1: She spent time in a mental institution, and she wrote 82 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:08,839 Speaker 1: stories and made dolls. By the early nineteen fifties, she 83 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,039 Speaker 1: had settled in Indian Island, where she remained for the 84 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: rest of her life. She died in nineteen seventy seven. 85 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,080 Speaker 1: Molly left behind her diaries, a book of traditional panop 86 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:23,279 Speaker 1: Scott stories, and the Dictionary of the panop Scott Language. 87 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: I'm Eve Jeff Coote and hopefully you know a little 88 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:30,160 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. To learn 89 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 1: more about Molly, you can listen to the episode of 90 00:05:32,279 --> 00:05:35,239 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class called Mary Alice Nelson 91 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:38,039 Speaker 1: a k A Molly Spotted Elk. The link is in 92 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: the description. I want to impress your Internet crush, show 93 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 1: them your history smarts by sharing something you learned on 94 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: the show. Don't forget to tag us at t d 95 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:52,280 Speaker 1: I h C podcast, or you can go the old 96 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 1: fashioned route and send us an email at this day 97 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 1: at i heart media dot com. Thanks again for listening 98 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:06,560 Speaker 1: and we'll see you again tomorrow. 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