#mikmaq — Public Fediverse posts

Some wins and losses for #Maine #FirstNations... Wins include #WabanakiStudies in schools,
#IndigenousPeoples access to #MaineStateParks, and including Wabanaki input in #LandPlanning and #ConservationEasements. Also, #LD1900 , which, "provides authority to the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and the Mi’kmaq Nation to develop tribal power districts to provide electric power within their respective trust lands." In other words, electric power generated by the tribes for the tribes!

Learn more:
https://wabanakialliance.com/132nd-maine-legislature-scorecard/

#MainePol #USPol #WabanakiAlliance #NativeAmericanNews #Mikmaq #Maliseet #PenobscotNation #PassamaquoddyNation #WabanakiConfederacy #CulturalPreservation

Some wins and losses for #Maine #FirstNations... Wins include #WabanakiStudies in schools,
#IndigenousPeoples access to #MaineStateParks, and including Wabanaki input in #LandPlanning and #ConservationEasements. Also, #LD1900 , which, "provides authority to the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and the Mi’kmaq Nation to develop tribal power districts to provide electric power within their respective trust lands." In other words, electric power generated by the tribes for the tribes!

Learn more:
https://wabanakialliance.com/132nd-maine-legislature-scorecard/

#MainePol #USPol #WabanakiAlliance #NativeAmericanNews #Mikmaq #Maliseet #PenobscotNation #PassamaquoddyNation #WabanakiConfederacy #CulturalPreservation

Some wins and losses for #Maine #FirstNations... Wins include #WabanakiStudies in schools,
#IndigenousPeoples access to #MaineStateParks, and including Wabanaki input in #LandPlanning and #ConservationEasements. Also, #LD1900 , which, "provides authority to the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and the Mi’kmaq Nation to develop tribal power districts to provide electric power within their respective trust lands." In other words, electric power generated by the tribes for the tribes!

Learn more:
https://wabanakialliance.com/132nd-maine-legislature-scorecard/

#MainePol #USPol #WabanakiAlliance #NativeAmericanNews #Mikmaq #Maliseet #PenobscotNation #PassamaquoddyNation #WabanakiConfederacy #CulturalPreservation

Some wins and losses for #Maine #FirstNations... Wins include #WabanakiStudies in schools,
#IndigenousPeoples access to #MaineStateParks, and including Wabanaki input in #LandPlanning and #ConservationEasements. Also, #LD1900 , which, "provides authority to the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and the Mi’kmaq Nation to develop tribal power districts to provide electric power within their respective trust lands." In other words, electric power generated by the tribes for the tribes!

Learn more:
https://wabanakialliance.com/132nd-maine-legislature-scorecard/

#MainePol #USPol #WabanakiAlliance #NativeAmericanNews #Mikmaq #Maliseet #PenobscotNation #PassamaquoddyNation #WabanakiConfederacy #CulturalPreservation

Some wins and losses for #Maine #FirstNations... Wins include #WabanakiStudies in schools,
#IndigenousPeoples access to #MaineStateParks, and including Wabanaki input in #LandPlanning and #ConservationEasements. Also, #LD1900 , which, "provides authority to the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and the Mi’kmaq Nation to develop tribal power districts to provide electric power within their respective trust lands." In other words, electric power generated by the tribes for the tribes!

Learn more:
https://wabanakialliance.com/132nd-maine-legislature-scorecard/

#MainePol #USPol #WabanakiAlliance #NativeAmericanNews #Mikmaq #Maliseet #PenobscotNation #PassamaquoddyNation #WabanakiConfederacy #CulturalPreservation

Today’s word of the day in #Mikmaq

Amasgate'lmatl (a·mas·ka·deel·ma·dêl)

Amasgate'lmatl means "He/she feels thoughtful of him/her/it."

Today’s word of the day in #Mikmaq

Amasgate'lmatl (a·mas·ka·deel·ma·dêl)

Amasgate'lmatl means "He/she feels thoughtful of him/her/it."

Today’s word of the day in #Mikmaq

Amasgate'lmatl (a·mas·ka·deel·ma·dêl)

Amasgate'lmatl means "He/she feels thoughtful of him/her/it."

Today’s word of the day in #Mikmaq

Amasgate'lmatl (a·mas·ka·deel·ma·dêl)

Amasgate'lmatl means "He/she feels thoughtful of him/her/it."

Today’s word of the day in #Mikmaq

Amasgate'lmatl (a·mas·ka·deel·ma·dêl)

Amasgate'lmatl means "He/she feels thoughtful of him/her/it."

#Biocultural families: Study centers #Indigenous priorities in connections to #environment

by Seth Truscott, August 11, 2026

"Washington State University horticulturist #JeffreyWall partnered with members of the #Mikmaq #FirstNations people of #Canada to create a new, #IndigenousCentered model of the connections that link humans with plants, animals and the environment.

"Wall interviewed over a dozen traditional knowledge keepers in Unama'ki, the #CapeBreton Island homeland of the Eskasoni Mi'kmaq. He asked tribal elders and allies to describe #BioculturalConnectivity — the relationship between human cultures and local #ecosystems — as they see it. The findings were published in Environmental Science & Policy.

" 'I wanted to show the connective forces that the Mi'kmaq prioritize,' Wall said. 'The goal was to be in tune with their deep #CulturalHeritage, traditions and the #indigenization of the future that they want to promote.'

"With more than 66,000 registered members, the Mi'kmaq are a resilient people native to the U.S. Northeast and Canada's Atlantic provinces who are revitalizing their language and growing their landholdings. Wall's work can guide future mapping and inform the institute's land acquisition strategy.

"The project reflects the concept of #TwoEyedSeeing — understanding the world from both #Indigenous and #Western approaches — introduced by Mi'kmaq elders Albert and Murdena Marshall.

" 'There is a growing understanding that environmental conditions can improve if we bring more Indigenous ways of knowing and being into the conversation,' said Lisa Young, executive director of the Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources. 'Maintaining a #reciprocal relationship with the land is in itself a way to protect and preserve it.' "

Read more:
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-biocultural-families-centers-indigenous-priorities.html

#SolarPunkSunday #EnvironmentalAwareness #EnvironmentalStewardship #TraditionalKnowledge #Technology #TraditionalEcologicalKnowledge

#Gardens that Nurture #Culture

Spring 2022

Excerpt: "Growing one’s own food became more appealing and, in some cases, a greater necessity to many in this pandemic era. #NativePeoples have long tended gardens that have provided their communities with #sustainably grown foods, #MedicinalPlants and #NaturalMaterials. Today these much-needed sources of local, healthy foods are also places to cultivate and preserve #CulturalTraditions.

" 'Even some Native cultures—like #foraging cultures—that didn’t historically garden now see it as a helpful use of land and time and money because they can efficiently produce the kinds of foods that people need to stay healthy,' said Elizabeth Hoover. Of #Mohawk and #Mikmaq descent, she is an associate professor of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at the University of California in Berkeley. Researching this trend, she drove 20,000 miles in 2014 to talk with dozens of #AmericanIndian gardeners and food advocates.

"In western North Carolina, David Anderson works as the horticultural operations supervisor at the #JessieOwleDugan #NativePlant and Greenhouse Facility of the Eastern Band of #Cherokee Indians. The complex includes three #greenhouses, 30 raised growing beds, a 3-acre nursery and 5 acres of fields dedicated to producing crops specifically for their seeds. It also has 330 acres of field that can be leased to enrolled tribal members who wish to garden or farm.

"While the facility does generate funds for the tribe, it also preserves culturally important species to get them into the hands of tribal members to plant. It focuses on growing traditional plants, such as #grapes, #elderberry, #WildStrawberries, #blackberries, #huckleberries sochan and #cohosh. In 2021, the greenhouse also grew #hickory saplings, which once mature, can to provide wood that can be used to make stickball sticks, artworks and other traditional projects. 'We serve our community with plants for home, for farmers, and for restoration,' said Anderson."

Read more:
https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/gardens-that-nurture-culture

#SolarPunkSunday #TraditionalFoods #NativeAmericans #CulturalPreservation #GrowYourOwnFood #Resilience #FoodSecurity #HeirloomPlants #SeedSaving

#BreakingNews! 🚨 #LandBack in #Maine!

Land returned to #MikmaqNation will double tribe’s territory

Nearly 3,400 acres have been returned to the Aroostook County-based tribe.

by Reuben M. Schafir, June 22, 2026

"The #Mikmaq Nation is expanding. The tribe on Friday obtained title to #MesgilgMaqamigew, a nearly 3,400-acre parcel near #BridgewaterME. The land return is so large it will more than double the tribe’s holdings.

" 'For decades the Mi’kmaq citizens have seen their traditional hunting and gathering grounds disappear to development or private ownership not allowing access,' Chief #SheilaMcCormack said in a news release. 'This property will give our people a place for outdoor recreation, a place to teach our children how to hunt and fish, and a place we can pass down the traditions of our ancestors before they are forgotten.'

"Of the four #Wabanaki tribes, the Mi’kmaq Nation received federal recognition last, in 1991. It and the #HoultonBand of #Maliseet Indians hold far less land in Maine than the #PassamaquoddyTribe and #PenobscotNation, which each have more than 150,000 acres.

"#TheConservationFund negotiated a below-market value sale and purchased the parcel last year from #forestry company #HCHayne, then held it on behalf of the tribe. The organization worked with an alliance of tribes known as the Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship, and #FirstLight, a group of non-native, land-based organizations, to secure $1.9 million for project.

" 'Indigenous land return projects are a cornerstone of our conservation efforts,' Tom Duffus, Northeast representative for The Conservation Fund, said in a statement. 'I’m thrilled that this special place is once again managed by the Mi’kmaq Nation, whose citizens have stewarded this landscape since time immemorial.'

"Mesgilg Maqamigew means 'big land,' a name chosen in recognition of the significance to the tribe of a parcel so large, contiguous and lush with resources.

"The property contains #forests, #wetlands and more than three miles of #NorthWhitneyBrook, a stream with a thriving #BrookTrout population, according to Mi’kmaq Environmental Health Director Shannon Hill.

"The tribe has already located #fiddleheads there, and Hill said they plan to use the land for #hunting, #fishing, gathering and timber. Snowmobile and ATV trails are available for public use.

"#RichardSilliboy, a basket maker and former Mi’kmaq vice chief who sits on the commission, is hopeful the parcel has #BrownAsh for weaving — but expects, at least, 'some decent fishing.'

"#MesgilgMaqamigew is the sixth to be completed in a series of projects spearheaded by the commission that are collectively known as the tributary land returns. The tributary returns comprise 52,000 acres in 11 discrete projects involving all five tribal governments in Maine at an estimated cost of $52 million."

Read more:
https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/22/land-returned-to-mikmaq-nation-will-double-tribes-territory/

Archived version:
https://archive.md/Bkbl0

#WabanakiAlliance #Dawnland #ProtectTheSacred #ProtectTheForest #LandConservation #NativeAmericanNews #IndigenousNews #MaineSettlementAct #NativeAmericans #Indigenous #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #LandStewardship #Stewardship #SolarPunkSunday

Mi'kmaw language lessons with Savvy Simon start next month. https://outdoorlearning.com/event/mikmaw-winter-2026/
#SpeakMikmaw #Mikmaw #Mikmaq

Online Mi'kmaw language classes begin again in January.
https://outdoorlearning.com/event/mikmaw-winter-2026/ #language #SpeakMikmaw #mikmaw #mikmaq

Looking for a book on the rules of baseball in Mi'kmawi'simk (the language of the Mi'kmaq)? This one was written by a Capuchin missionary born and raised in France. In the words of one scholar, baseball was, at least in the 20th century, "the great Mi'kmaw passtime."

[Pacifique de Valigny], Altjematimgeoel (1912)

https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.78311/1

#baseball #Mikmaq #mikmaw #Indigenous

Hereditary Mi'kmaq chief Stephen Augustine's missing coat recovered at Montréal—Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau International Airport (CYUL)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/mikmaw-chief-lost-coat-found-9.6983290
- - -
La tunique du chef héréditaire des Mi’kmaq Stephen Augustine a été retrouvée à l’aéroport international de Montréal—Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau (CYUL)

Note: je m’excuse si la traduction est incorrecte. Je ne suis pas certain de la bonne terminologie.

// Article en anglais //

#Montréal #Mikmaq #Mikmaw #CYUL

I found some free Mi'kmaq language lessons. Check them out! https://www.afnts.ca/mikmaw/lessons #SpeakMikmaq #Mikmaq #languages #IndigenousLanguage

Rites of Passage: The Strawberry Ceremony

by Jillian Kerr

"Traditionally, the strawberry ceremony is for girls after their first menstrual cycle. However, today it is offered to folks who identify as #TwoSpirit and to those who didn’t have the opportunity to participate as young people, like me. I didn’t have the chance to go through this ceremony decades ago as an adolescent, and I am eagerly looking forward to my own strawberry ceremony experience this year. In anticipation, I researched the strawberry ceremony and talked to those who had already experienced it to learn more."

Read more:
https://www.wabanakireach.org/rites_of_passage_the_strawberry_ceremony

#RitesOfPassage #GBLTQ #GBLTQAcceptance #Mikmaq #FirstNations #IndigenousNews #TwoSpirits

[Note: This event has passed. Reposting so folks know who Dwayne Tomah is].

#Wabanaki Voices: Their Stories, Their Art

Friday, August 1, 2025
6:00 to 9:30 PM
Camden Hills State Park
280 Belfast Road #CamdenME 04843 / (207) 236-0849

The Wabanaki Presenters:
Dr. #DwayneTomah — #Passamaquoddy language keeper
#LaurenStevens—Passamagquoddy singer & writer/poet
#IsaacSyliboy—#Mikmaq & Passamaquoddy dancer & singer
#RichardSilliboy—Mi'kmaq basket maker
#JanPaul — #Penobscot storyteller & education specialist

"Experience an evening of Wabanaki art, dance, song, history, and culture.
Each presenter will share their expertise, followed by a short Q&A session.

One night only! Don't miss it.

Be sure to bring a lawn chair or blanket and a picnic with you. All ages are welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Cost: Programs are free with park admission. Day use: $1.00 ages 5-11, $4.00 Maine residents age 12-64, $6.00 non residents age 12-64, $2.00 non residents 65+; persons under 5 & Maine residents 65+ free

Sponsored by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.

#MaineEvents #Maine #WabanakiNations #WabanakiConfederancy #PreservingCulture #NativeAmericanArt #NativeAmericanStorytelling #NativeAmericanPoetry #PreservingLanguage #NativeAmericans #MaineFirstNations

I posted the whole article because of the paywall. I listened to #EllenMacDonald at the #APCAW conference on #EmeraldAshBorer earlier this week. She and #JohnDaigle of #UMaine were facilitating the workshop. This article contains a lot of the same information I learned at the workshop! Seed banks + teaming up with the Wabanaki peoples - modern technology meets traditional knowledge!

Native seeds preserved, protected to counter surging invasives

Calling all home gardeners and eco enthusiasts! Lend a hand this spring: Assist Wabanaki tribes and scientists fighting to save ash trees or partner up with statewide neighbors through local seed banks.

March 17, 2025

"The sun radiated overhead as Tyler Everett surveyed the green hills of the Mi’kmaq Nation in Presque Isle.

"Ash trees, mainly brown ash, are cultural keystone species for Wabanaki communities and wetland ecosystems in the Northeast. However, they’re under threat due to the spread of the emerald ash borer.

"This collective of forest caretakers works together to raise awareness of ash trees’ significance and the efforts, such as seed banking, to conserve them. It continues the work the Brown Ash Taskforce set forth 20 years ago after tribal members detected early signs of the invasive pest.

" 'Emerald ash borer was discovered by basket makers who noticed the trees, whose bark they relied on, looked very unhealthy,' Everett said. 'Our work today still centers around our tribal partners who first sounded the alarm.'

"#APCAW resembles a national movement, the #IndigenousSeedKeepersNetwork, cultivating solidarity within the matrix of regional grassroots seed #sovereignty projects — collecting, growing and sharing #HeirloomSeeds to promote cultural diversity.

"Here’s a look at some of the seed lending and preservation happening here in the Maine, from brown ash to Wabanaki flint corn.

" 'It may be no Doomsday Vault (also known as Svalbard Global Seed Vault),' said Emily Baisden, seed center director at #WildSeedProject. "But we’re doing some great work.'

"So, what’s a seed bank? Picture a temperature-controlled vault with billions of period-sized seeds in foil packets.

"Through storage, the goal is to preserve genetic diversity for future use, protect rare species and develop new crop varieties. Not only do seed banks play a role in food security, but also, at their best, they can restore plant communities after natural disasters like droughts or fires and provide valuable insight on how best to combat environmental stress.

"#SeedBanks operate at the community, national or global level — such as the #PetalmaSeedBank in California, which preserves the region’s agricultural diversity, or the #SvalbardGlobalSeedVault, the global backup for all other seed banks.

"In the far reaches of the Nordic island of Spitsbergen, the aforementioned 'Doomsday Vault' provides the world’s genebank, kept safe in case some catastrophe threatens the planet’s crops. If seed banks are a computer’s filing system, where documents are stored, Svalbard is the external hard drive.

"Enter Maine’s Wild Seed Project, an APCAW partner organization. The group hand collects and distributes 3 million seeds representing over 100 species of Northeast native plants yearly.

" 'Long-term seed banking requires #cryopreservation, akin to flash freezing,' Baisden said. 'It allows seeds to last for decades, if not longer. … We try not to store seeds for more than four years at Wild Seed. We dry them, place them in jars and label them by location. The newest are sold, and the older ones are used in our Seeds for Teachers program.'

"Baisden acknowledged the correlation between landscape management and biodiversity. When native plants disappear, likely through urbanization, the insects that depend on and coevolve with them also decline, as do the animals that rely on those insects (like birds).

" 'Most seeds sold in garden centers are propagated through clonal reproduction,' Baisden said. 'This minimizes genetic diversity, and as we know, #biodiversity is crucial for communal stability.'

"For a long time, the horticulture industry pushed to introduce non-native species that lacked natural predators and could quickly reproduce. Later, when forests were clear-cut in the 1900s, trees like the brown ash fell to the wayside, and non-native vegetation crept in.

" 'Maine, so far, is the only state with non-quarantine habitats free from emerald ash borer,' Baisden said. 'Studying these helps us plan ahead and learn. We hope that by working with #BasketMakers, foresters and scientists, we can store or distribute emerald ash borer–resistant seeds.”

Management shaped by Indigenous wisdom

"The spread of emerald ash borer has already caused 99% brown ash tree mortality in parts of Turtle Island, a small island between Mount Desert Island and Schoodic Point.

"As a group committed to science-informed strategies that align with Wabanaki priorities, APCAW has been collecting seeds (viable for up to eight years) from 46 healthy ash trees to store in a refrigerator at the University of Maine in Orono.

"As Everett noted, Indigenous people have long used brown ash as the primary material for #basketry, valuing its soft, splinty texture as ideal for weaving. The brown ash tree is also part of one of the #Abenaki origin stories.

" 'Brown ash was the root from which all #Wabanaki people emerged,' Everett said.

"The species’ decline evokes deep emotion. Recognizing this, Indigenous communities are at the forefront of APCAW outreach and land-management strategies.

"Program registration links are first shared with tribal partners, and they are often invited to co-facilitate or lead the event discussions. Occasionally, exclusive gatherings are held to allow basket weavers to connect in a more intimate setting.

" 'My job is to engage in a dialogue with our tribal partners and address any reactions they have,' Everett said. 'There’s a strong sense of responsibility to save brown ash, but opinions vary. Some hesitate about allowing the seeds to be stored outside the community.'

"Everett is currently drafting a document to serve as a resource for the #HoultonBand of #Maliseet Indians, #Mikmaq, #Passamaquoddy and #PenobscotNations. By spring 2026, he hopes to publish a public report acknowledging the priorities of Maine’s #Wabanaki people.

"#EllaMcDonald, a colleague of Everett, has centered her master’s thesis on the effectiveness of APCAW’s outreach efforts in inspiring action that benefits both the Wabanaki people and their native forests’ ecosystems.

" 'Out west, we’ve already seen devastating mortality rates of brown ash,' McDonald said. 'It’s just a matter of time before our situation escalates.'

"The group is focused on a project that will test the resistance of native trees to the emerald ash borer next fall in collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service. This involves working with private #landowners, who will be asked to grow ash seeds and monitor their growth over time to assess their survival capacity.

"McDonald encouraged readers to get involved. The UMaine website will soon feature a map with priority areas for seed collection and locations where kits with all the necessary materials can be picked up. Those curious can contact [email protected] or sign up for the newsletter to receive updates on upcoming events.

" 'We are witnessing an unprecedented change,' McDonald said. 'What inspires me is to see groups across sectors working together to prepare. So many people genuinely care about our environment. … Together we can make a difference.'

Get involved

"Wild Seed Project held its first online seed-sowing demonstration in November 2021. Now, it offers a range of in-person programs and community events. Courtesy of Wild Seed Project

"There are a few options to join the movement.

"Locals can donate resources to area seed banks, like the Wild Seed Project, or research projects, like APCAW.

"Or harness the power of the dollar and purchase #NativeSeeds for a #rewilding project or #AbenakiFlintCorn, a product that honors seed keepers of the past and pays royalties to APCAW.

"To get involved through volunteerism, the Wild Seed Project actively seeks #SeedStewards to collect, clean, process and package seeds.

" 'The nonprofit is also building a first-of-its-kind Native Seed Center at Cape Elizabeth Land Trust’s Turkey Hill Farm, where plants will grow among natural seed banks, along the woodland edge and throughout the farmstead meadow. To donate, visit wildseedproject.com/the-native-seed-center.

Source [paywall]:
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/03/17/native-seeds-preserved-protected-to-counter-surging-invasives/

#SolarPunkSunday #TraditionalEcologicalKnowledge #NativeAmericanBasketry #Sustainability #IndigenousStewardship #CulturalPreservation #InvasiveSpecies #EAB #PreservingNature #Biodiversity #PreservingTheSacred #PreservingTheForest

Returning land to tribes is a step towards justice and #sustainability, say #Wabanaki, #EnvironmentalActivists

by Emily Weyrauch, December 1, 2020

"Last month, the Elliotsville Foundation gave back 735 acres to the #PenobscotNation, a parcel of land that connects two Penobscot-held land plots. While this return of land is a significant milestone in terms of the work of conservation groups in Maine, it also reflects a larger shift in thinking about land ownership, from property and caretaking toward #IndigenousStewardship.

"Before European settlers arrived, the land in Maine was stewarded by the Wabanaki people—a confederacy of five nations including Penobscot, #Passamaquoddy, #Maliseet, #Mikmaq and #Abenaki.

"Early treaties between Indigenous tribes and settlers were signed, but not upheld. Early Maine court cases set the precedent for #LandTheft. The state legally prohibited treaty obligations from being published in its constitution. Ever since the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act, the state government has significantly limited tribes’ sovereignty and access to ancestral lands. Now, the Maine legislature is preparing to take up a bill that would make 22 law changes to the 1980 act to promote Wabanaki sovereignty and correct the impacts of the 40-year-old piece of legislation that placed Wabanaki people in a separate category from other federally-recognized tribes.

"Currently, a vast majority—90 percent—of land in Maine is privately owned, unlike in states like Nevada, Utah and Idaho, where the vast majority of land is owned by the U.S. government. Less than one percent of Maine land is owned by #Wabanaki people.

"To many Indigenous people, the legacy of white-led conservation groups in Maine and nationwide represents a failure of true environmental stewardship.

"'Across the country, land conservation groups and land trusts participated in depopulating, cutting off Indigenous access to certain lands and resources,' said Dr. Darren Ranco, associate professor of Anthropology and coordinator of Native American Research at the University of Maine.

"Dr. Ranco said that the history of environmental protection in the U.S. starts in the 19th century and focuses on two movements: conservation and preservation.

" 'On the one hand, you have people saying, ‘You want to use the public lands wisely’ — and that often led to extreme forms of exploitation through oil and gas contracts. The other side of it was, ‘Let’s just keep it wild and preserve it as-is, as a wild space,' " said Dr. Ranco, who is a member of the Penobscot Nation. 'Ironically, both of those approaches in the 19th century sought to displace Indigenous people.'

" 'A lot of the [conservation] practices in the past actually marginalized native people, and didn’t allow for their voice to be heard, and discouraged their voices,' said Suzanne Greenlaw, a #Maliseet forestry scientist and PhD student at the University of Maine.

" 'The native approach is very much in the center—we do harvest, but we harvest in a sustainable way that actually forms a relationship with the resource,” said Greenlaw, who conducts research on the sustainable harvesting of sweetgrass by Indigenous people.

"In fact, the way that Indigenous people understand land is markedly different from western ideas of ownership.

" 'The idea of private property puts us in this framing where the land, the water, and the air, and the animals, and everything else—all our relations—are meant to serve us, they are things below us, things to dominate and control and take ownership over,' said Lokotah Sanborn, a Penobscot activist.

" 'For us, it would be absurd to say ‘I own my grandmother,’ or ‘I own my cousin,’ or ‘I own my brother.’ You don’t talk about things like that. And so when we’re talking about land ownership, it’s that same idea —these are our relations, these are things that hold a lot of significance to us,' said Sanborn.

"While the planet’s Indigenous people make up less than five percent of the global population, they manage 25 percent of its land and support 80 percent of global biodiversity, research shows.

" 'We’ve been led down this path toward climate catastrophe and the extinction of millions of species, all to drive #ExtractiveIndustries,' said Sanborn. 'If we wish to reverse these things, we need to give land back into the hands of Indigenous peoples and to respect our ability to protect those lands,' said Sanborn.

"This growing recognition of Wabanaki #stewardship is part of the mission of First Light, a group that serves to connect Wabanaki people with conservation organizations who seek to expand Wabanaki access to land. Currently, 50 organizations are participating, including #MaineAudubon and #TheNatureConservancy.

"Lucas St. Clair, president of the Elliotsville Foundation, participated in First Light’s year-long educational program before fulfilling a request by #JohnBanks, Natural Resources Director for the Penobscot Nation, to return the 735-acre property to the Penobscot Nation. This comes four years after the foundation gave 87,500 acres of land to the federal government for the establishment of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. St. Clair said the foundation currently holds 35,000 acres of land.

" 'In the grand scheme of things, this is not a lot of land,' said St. Clair, about the foundation’s recent transfer of 735 acres. 'It was more about justice, relationship-building and awareness.'

" 'You see this move toward Indigenous knowledge and practices of management and conservation that have existed for hundreds of years, and this possibility with land conservation groups and Wabanaki people having a more central role in understanding and managing the lands is coming to the fore,' said Dr. Ranco.

"And while organizations undergo the learning and transformational processes that precede giving back land, and as the legislature and courts are taking up questions of Wabanaki sovereignty and stewardship, people are working on the ground everyday to re-imagine relationships with land.

"Alivia Moore, a Penobscot community organizer with the #EasternWoodlands #Rematriation collective, said that a crucial part of the work of expanding Indigenous access to land in Maine is recognizing and restoring the history of matriarchal Indigenous societies.

" 'To restore land to Indigenous #matriarchies is to make sure that everybody has what they need on and from the earth. There’s enough for everyone,' said Moore

"With #EasternWoodlandsRematriation, Indigenous people are growing their connections to #RegenerativeFoodSystems. Whereas cultural use agreements are more formal ways Indigenous people can access resources from the private land of people and organizations, Moore said other relationships can form and strengthen even informally.

"Years ago, a white farmer offered land to Indigenous women to use for farming to restore their connection to the land. That has been an ongoing relationship that became one of mutual exchange of information and resources, shared learning and shared meals, said Moore.

"The movement to give land back to Indigenous stewardship is not confined to a single organization, legal battle, or project. For Indigenous people—and a growing number of environmental organizations—it is a step toward justice and a sustainable future.

"'Land back is not just about righting past wrongs. The point of land back is that it’s the future, if we wish to adequately address and avoid further global devastation from climate change,' said Sanborn."

https://mainebeacon.com/returning-land-to-tribes-is-a-step-towards-justice-and-sustainability-say-wabanaki-environmental-activists/

#LandBack #WabanakiConfederacy #Wabanakik #WabanakiAlliance #MaineFirstNations #Maine #TraditionalEcologicalKnowledge #IndigenousPeoplesDay

My Mi'kmaw great grandmother, Martha Parsons. She was from the Micmac community at Gander River, Newfoundland. #ancestors #mikmaq #mikmaw #indigenous #Newfoundland

Reflecting on Change, by the #WabanakiREACH Board

August 8, 2024

"REACH has been through many changes and transitions over the years, evolving from an idea of #decolonization to becoming an official non-profit with a board, staff and many volunteers. It has been quite the journey thus far and we continue to transform to meet the emerging needs of the people in the #Dawnland.

"Many of the same individuals who formed #Wabanaki REACH gathered in 1999 to improve the state’s compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act (#ICWA). When tribal and state child welfare professionals first came together for that purpose, they did not envision the impact they would continue to have twenty-five years later.

"The Tribal-State ICWA Workgroup initiated the historic #Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission to further the work of increasing ICWA compliance and honoring tribal self-determination. As the Commission was launched, REACH began to form as an organization, first with a fiscal sponsor to help us gain access funding and administrative support for our work. Then in 2018, REACH became an official non-profit organization.

"In 2015, the Truth Commission’s final report spoke to the importance of the Tribal-State Workgroup and Wabanaki REACH. The Commission's recommendations continue to guide their respective work.

"The Tribal-State ICWA Workgroup continues to meet regularly to practice co-case management of ICWA cases and provide support to tribal child welfare partners; they recruit, train, and support community members to serve as ICWA Qualified Expert Witnesses; they provide a day-long educational experience for caseworkers, assess and update state child welfare policy, provide #ICWA education to Guardians ad Litem, attorneys, judges, and other service providers, and they helped create the new state law Maine Indian Child Welfare Act in 2023.

"REACH’s decolonization work centers on how to restore Wabanaki lands, water, culture, and people by:

- Continuing truth-telling initiatives. Beyond the Claims:Stories from the Land and the Heart is completing its work that sought to deepen understanding of the experiences and impacts of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act. We are focusing on what needs to come next.

- Supporting Wabanaki wellbeing through education, building and celebrating community, reclaiming Wabanaki ways, and protecting the earth we share. REACH supports Native inmates with newsletters, books, peace and healing circles, and sweat lodge ceremonies. Food sovereignty work has been focused on creating medicine gardens, restoring clam beds, supporting food pantries, and partnering on events to increase awareness of protecting the fisheries. We hold wellness gatherings and provide direct support to community members in need. This summer, REACH supported sending 21 Wabanaki youth to summer camp.

- REACH has developed and provides impactful educational programming, believing that when people more deeply understand what happened in this territory they wish to be part of writing a different history for our grandchildren.

"The truth and reconciliation commission has truly helped people understand intergenerational trauma and strength and the process of truth, healing, and change that is now taking place in many forms in both Wabanaki and non-native spaces. We are so heartened to see these planted seeds of decolonization sprouting all over Wabanaki territory."

https://www.wabanakireach.org/reflecting_on_change_wabanaki_reach_board

#IndigenousPeoplesDay #WabanakiAlliance #TruthAndReconcilation
#Colonization #BoardingSchools #MaineSettlementAct #NativeAmericans #PenobscotNation
#Maliseet #Passamaquoddy #Mikmaq #FirstNations #MaineTribes #TruthTelling

A #CulturalReclamation is underway in the #Mikmaw community of #Sipeknekatik in what we now call #NovaScotia. The #FirstNation is situated just eight kilometres from the site of the former #Shubenacadie Indian #ResidentialSchool. The #IndianDaySchools operated on the reserve from 1894 to1996. During centralization in the 1940s, the federal government #ForciblyRelocated many #Mikmaq from around Nova Scotia to two reserves, one of which was Sipekne’katik.

Together, these #colonial policies tried to strip Mi’kmaq of connection to land, language, culture & dentity. But the Mi’kmaq are still here, still strong.

#StudentJournalists in the Reporting in Mi’kma’ki course – a collaboration between the University of King’s College & Nova Scotia Community College – headed to Sipekne’katik to learn more.

They met #community members who shared their time & expertise to pass on teachings, from ribbon skirts to medicines to culture & language in the classroom.

https://www.aptnnews.ca/ourstories/reclaimingculture/

#Indigenous #NativeCulture #Reclamation #Decolonization #Maritimes #Canada

Update - Unfortunately Gov #JanetMills vetoed this bill! Now she's trying to make nice!

#Maine Legislature vote expands #sovereignty for #NativeAmerican tribes

Story by DAVID SHARP, Associated Press, June 22, 2023

"Native American tribes in Maine took an important step toward greater sovereignty as the state Legislature voted to let most federal laws apply to #Wabanaki tribes, putting them on the same footing as other federally recognized tribes across the country.

"Both the Maine House and Senate approved the bill with enough support [from both Democrats and Republicans] Wednesday to overcome a potential veto of the bill.

“Today signifies a landmark victory in the pursuit of Wabanaki self-determination," Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis said Thursday in a statement. The Penobscot are one member of the Wabanaki Nations, which encompasses Indigenous peoples living in what is now Maine.

"Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has opposed the bill, sponsored by House Speaker #RachelTalbotRoss, expressing concerns that it could lead to confusion and lawsuits. Her office had no immediate comment on the legislative action.

"#Tribes in Maine are set apart from the other 570 federally recognized tribes across the country because of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act, which stipulates they’re bound by state law and treats tribal reservations much like municipalities. That 1980 settlement for the #Passamaquoddy, #Penobscot and #Maliseet, along with a 1991 agreement for the Mi’kmaq, set the tribes apart from others in the country."

Read more:
https://apnews.com/article/maine-tribes-federal-law-sovereignty-f18ce758d9d8918ef0cd00f05ee741f5

#MainePol #NativeAmericanNews #Sovereignty #MaineSettlementAct #Mikmaq #FirstNations #LandBack

Time for a fresh #introduction!

My name is Sean and I live on unceded territory of the #Wolastoqiyik, #Mikmaq and #Peskotomuhkati peoples. I detest colonialism and strongly support #landback.

I run the sound department at #nonprofit #imperialTheatre, an 850 soft-seater built in 1913. I'm in #union #iatse local 680 Ia

I do lots of projects from programming and studio recording to carpentry a week long solo hikes.

I have #longcovid #mecfs and a host of other fun. #wearAMask #covidIsStillHere

An #introduction #scifi #startrek #firefly #doctorwho #theexpanse #starwars

into #permaculture & what it means in my immediate world

active in #politics, I am a #progessive

into #photography, weddings, corporate, music shows

#pagan #irishpagan #druid

living on the unceded land of the #Mikmaq of the #WabanakiConfederacy which includes the #Mikmaq #Wolastoqey #Peskotomuhkati #Pαnawάhpskewi (Penobscot) and the #Wαpánahki (Abenaki) peoples centred in what is known as Atlantic Canada & Maine

Some tags:
#18thcentury
#Bologna
#C18
#C18Studies
#Decolonization
#LearningItalian
#MaterialCulture
#Menahkwesk
#Mikmaq
#NewBrunswick
#ReproductiveJustice
#SaintJohnNB
#Scriptoria
#Wabanaki
#Wikipedia
#WIR (Project to address the gender imbalance in Wikipedia articles)
#Wolastokuk
#WritingMaster