Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections, 2015.196.796b, Connecticut Historical S…

Trudie Lamb Richmond

Schaghticoke, 1931 - 2021

BiographyTrudie Lamb Richmond, Kekiokwashawe, was a highly respected carrier of native culture in Connecticut, coming from the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, one of five Indian tribes in the state. She co-founded in 1974 and served as Assistant Director of the American Indians for Development in Meriden, Connecticut until 1986. Her work there included a statewide census of Native people in Connecticut and a conference for Native youth in southern New England that was co-sponsored by Yale University.

A graduate of Long Island University with a master’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Connecticut and a master’s in Education from the Bank Street College of Education, Trudie has written, edited, and served as a consultant for numerous publications and educational projects and exhibits, including “Perspectives: Authentic Voices of Native Americans” (Curriculum Associates, Inc. 1996); “The Spirit of the Drum” (Cobblestone Publishers for the American Museum of Natural History, 1986); and “Local Struggle and Native Women’s Resistance in Colonial Southern New England” published in Interpreting New England Indians and the Colonial Experience edited by Colin G. Calloway & Neal Salisbury, 2003.

She served on several boards and committees over decades of community service. In 1987, Connecticut Governor William O’Neill appointed her to a task force on Native American issues and she was a member of the Connecticut Indian Affairs Council from 1974 to 1985 and later the state’s Native American Heritage Committee. Among other organizations she advised were the New England Museums Association and the Plimoth Plantation Native American Advisory Board. Trudie was also a longtime member of the Schaghticoke Preservation Heritage Committee, whose mission strengthen her people’s relationship to the land.

Trudie’s skills as a traditional storyteller led to her selection as a Master Teaching Artist by the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism Arts Division, and she performed all over the Northeast as well as at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Trudie’s educational work included speaking to thousands of schoolchildren across Connecticut and New England, providing them with information and insight into the values, history, and creativity of Native peoples. She collaborated with other educators, curriculum experts, scholars, and with the State Department of Education to improve the presentation of Native cultures in lesson plans and recommended texts. She was Director of Education at the Institute for American Indian Studies (IAIS), and Director of Education and Public Programs at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, responsible for the Museum’s extensive roster of performances, workshops, tours, and public events. At IAIS, Trudie was part of an interdisciplinary team that planned and developed an innovative new permanent exhibit titled “As We Tell Our Stories,” funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1990, that focused on the history and culture of northwestern Connecticut including Schaghticoke. This exhibit presented oral traditions in an equal place alongside the artifacts of archaeology and the writings of history.

A strong advocate of culturally responsive education as well as experiential learning, Trudie presented at museums, libraries, universities, public and private schools, festivals, community centers. She performed at the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C. for its opening in 2004, and shared the stage with popular puppeteer/storyteller Buddy Big Mountain in the Hartford Civic Center at the Mashantucket Pequot Schemitzun Green Corn Festival. She performed at the Saratoga Native American Festival and was also honored by the Ndakinna Education Center. She collaborated with notable native artists such as Joseph Bruchac, Joanne Shenandoah, and Mohawk clan chiefs Jake Swamp and Tom Porter. She also told stories in more intimate settings, working with kindergartners and college students as well as scout groups. Trudie spent a great deal of time mentoring young people from many of the tribal groups in New England, encouraging them to truly appreciate their heritage and present it to others.

In 2010, the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program at the Institute for Community Research nominated Trudie for the Jennifer Easton Community Spirit Award from the First Peoples Fund, a prestigious national Native-run cultural service organization. The award recognized here work over five decades to create understanding and appreciation for the traditions and history of Algonkian Indian peoples in southern New England, especially those in Connecticut.

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