Franco-American Women’s
Institute celebrates 15 years
Portland Press Herald, "Close to Home," section online
written by Juliana L’Heureux
February 23, 2011
Resources about Franco-American women for teachers and
others
Franco-American Women’s Institute celebrates 15 years
http://www.fawi.net/
Rhea Cote Robbins of Brewer developed the idea to create a
Franco-American Women’s Institute over 15 years ago while
she was writing in her journal.
Her goal was to figure out a way to pool the creative
resources of the diverse women who share the
Franco-American cultural experience.
She wanted to bring these women together.
In 1996, she launched the institute and the electronic
magazine “ezine” called moé pi toé (Me and You).
Publications posted on the institute website and in moé pi
toé include hundreds of stories told by Franco-American
women. Many write about their cultural heritage. This year,
the institute is celebrating its 15th anniversary.
After a generation of being invisible, many Franco-American
women are now engaged in the institute because they are
encouraged to express their culture in creative ways. They
create literature and use their other artistic gifts to
reflect their special cultural experiences. Collectively,
their body of work becomes part of the institute's
archives.
“Franco-American women have preserved the culture,” says
Cote Robbins.
“Women worked in the mills and on the farms to help their
people prosper. They have become the women of the future in
their own right,” she says.
The institute is a community of academic, professional,
Québécois, Acadian, Métis, and Mixed Blood, from varied
geographies, and more, says Cote Robbins.
“We are the same spirit with different gifts,” she says.
Cote Robbins sees the institute as a cultural “net.” Women
are able to “net” or capture their special culture while,
at the same time, release their individual creativity.
On the institute website at www.fawi.net, a list
celebrating all women writers is among the special
collections posted.
“Women write every imaginable type of work,” she says. The
institute promotes awareness of the breadth and variety of
women's writing.
Cote Robbins grew up in Waterville’s South End bilingual
Franco-American neighborhood called “down the plains.” Her
undergraduate academic career began at the University of
Maine at Presque Isle and at the University of Maine. She
was the editor of “Le Forum,” the University’s
Franco-American bilingual journal.
In 1997, she received the Maine Chapbook Award for her
nonfiction book titled “Wednesday’s Child.” Her sequel to
"Wednesday’s Child" is “Down the Plains."
In 1997, she received a master's degree from the University
of Maine. Her lifetime achievements were honored in 2004,
by the University of Maine at Farmington, when she received
an honorary doctorate of human letters in recognition of
her community work. She is a poet, lecturer, women’s
historian, teacher, mentor and writer.
Doris Provencher Faucher, of Biddeford, is among the
Franco-American writers inspired by Cote Robbins.
“Rhea gave me a lot of encouragement and valuable advice as
I sought to publish my first book. I am forever grateful to
her,” says Provencher Faucher.
Provencher Faucher published a series of four novels about
her family’s Quebecois history.
Lanette Landry Petrie of Bradley, Maine, was encouraged to
publish the artistic memoir “My Mother’s Walls” as a result
of working with the institute.
“Rhea gave me the confidence to write my story,” says
Petrie. “It amazes me how many people are touched by what I
wrote, thanks to Rhea’s support,” she says.
In a photographic story, Petrie described the love her
mother showed for her family when she decorated the walls
of her house with a gallery of family pictures.
Cote Robbins says she is grateful for the support women
have given to the Franco-American Women’s Institute over
the past 15 years.
“Without the participation of the women, the FAWI does not
exist,” she says.
http://www.pressherald.com/people/cth/Juliana-LHeureux-Franco-American-Womens-Institute-celebrates-15-years-with-Rhea-Cote-Robbins.html