Subject Guides: Native American Studies: Wabanaki Studies

Who are the Wabanaki?

The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Aroostook Band of Mi'kmaqs, the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township, the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point, and the Penobscot Nation are the Maine Wabanaki tribes, or "People of the Dawnland." You'll find more information on each of these federally recognized tribes, their communities, cultural centers, and governing bodies, at the Tribal Pages and Online Resources section further down this page.

Wabanaki Resource Center

The Wabanaki Center is a valuable educational resource and service to UMaine and beyond, with a commitment to: "building and sustaining a mutually beneficial relationship between the University of Maine and Native American communities. It is a gathering place for indigenous scholars engaged in advancing Wabanaki studies through teaching, research and publication."

Location:
5717 Corbett Hall, Room 208
University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5724

Film and Video

Passamaquoddy films online

In Season One of the Reciprocity Project, storytellers and community partners created films in response to the question: What does 'reciprocity' mean to your community? Two of the films are from Passamaquoddy communities.

Selection of films/videos by and about Wabanaki communities in URSUS (UMaine's library catalog)

Abnaki, the native people of Maine
Through personal reminiscences and narration, describes the persistence of the four Indian tribes of Maine, which culminated in the settlement of a huge land claim by two tribes for two-thirds of the state. Videocassette.
Dawnland
This film documents the work of the first government-sanctioned truth and reconciliation commission in the United States as the members travel across Maine, gathering testimony on the impact of the state's child welfare practices of removing children from Wabanaki families for placement in foster homes with white families.
The frog monster and other Penobsot stories
Three animated movies of Wabanaki legends retold by students in grades 3-8, Indian Island School, Penobscot Nation, Maine.
Gabriel women Passamaquoddy basketmakers
Mary Gabriel, one of the most accomplished basketmakers of the Waponahki peoples in the Passamaquoddy Indian Township of Princeton, Maine, tells her story of learning basketmaking from her grandmother and passing it on to her two daughters. Theresa Hoffman, executive director of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, Joseph Nicholas, curator of the Waponahki Museum in Pleasant Point, Maine, and Kathleen Mundell, traditional and community arts associate of the Maine Arts Commission also add their comments. Videocassette.
Kanehsatake: 270 years of resistance
On a hot July day in 1990, an historic confrontation propelled Native issues in Kanehsatake and the village of Oka, Quebec into the international spotlight and into the Canadian conscience. Behind Mohawk lines that gruelling summer, producer and director Alanis Obomsawin, herself an Abenaki Indian, endured 78 nerve-wracking days and nights filming an armed standoff between the Kanehsatake Mohawk people of First Nations, the Quebec police and the Canadian army
The Penobscot: Ancestral River, Contested Territory
This film illustrates the history of Penobscots' tenacious fight to retain their territory and their inherent, treaty-reserved sustenance fishing rights for future generations.
The Story of the Acadians: a tale of discovery, tragedy, and determination
Spans 170 years beginning with the arrival of the French at Isle St. Croix in Maine in 1604 and ending with the construction of the Acadian Line in France in 1774. Specially composed music is by Harry Roper and traditional Wabanaki music is performed by Laura Lee Perkins and Ken Green.
Voices from the barrens: akonutomahtuwok 'cey ihtolahkikhotimkil = native peoples, blueberries, and sovereignty
Documents the wild blueberry harvest of the Wabanaki People from the USA and Canada. The film focuses on the Passamaquoddy tribe's challenge to balance blueberry hand raking traditions with the economic realities of the world market, which favor mechanical harvesting. Each August, First People of the Canadian Wabanaki, the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet tribes, cross the US/Canada border into Maine to take part in the tradition of hand raking blueberries with their Passamaquoddy brothers and sisters. This crossing to Maine's blueberry barrens isn't considered "agricultural labor," but is a part of the traditional harvest from the earth.
Wabanaki: A New Dawn
Cultural survival and revival of Wabanaki of Maine and Maritime Canada. Interviews, music, dance. Produced on behalf of Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission.
more...less...
Also on Vimeo, https://vimeo.com/6928369.
Wabanaki film & video at Northeast Historic Film: a selection
Compiled and annotated by Micah Pawling.
We have to find our voices: Transforming Passamaquoddy communities
A group of Passamaquoddy Indians use drama to examine issues surrounding the decline of their native language.

Tribal Pages and Online Resources

Aroostook Band of Micmacs
Resources for and information about the Aroostook Band of Micmacs.
Asticou's Island Domain: Wabanaki Peoples at Mount Desert Island 1500–2000, volume 1
Full text of Harald Prins' 2007 ethnographic study of the Mount Desert Island Wabanaki.
Asticou's Island Domain: Wabanaki Peoples at Mount Desert Island 1500–2000, volume 2
Full text of Harald Prins' 2007 ethnographic study of the Mount Desert Island Wabanaki.
Four Directions Development Corporation
"The mission of the Four Directions Development Corporation (FDDC) is to improve the social and economic conditions of the four Native American tribes in Maine — the Maliseet, Micmac, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot — through education and investment in affordable housing, tribal business ventures, and Native entrepreneurship."
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians
Website with resources for and information about the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians.
Hudson Museum Exhibits
Wabanaki and Northeastern exhibits
Maine-Wabanaki REACH
Cross-cultural collaborative comprised of staff from the State of Maine Office of Child and Family Services and Wabanaki child welfare programs, Wabanaki Health and Wellness, and the Wabanaki Program. Established the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth & Reconciliation Commission.
Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance
MIBA aims "to preserve the ancient ash and sweetgrass basketry traditions among the Maliseet, Micmac, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot Tribes of Maine."
Maine Native Studies: Maine Department of Education
Resources for integrating Native Studies into Maine schools.
Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre’s Archives
Online archive of audio and video featuring Mi'kmaw elders discussing their knowledge of history, language, culture & spirituality, residential schools, politics, and more.
Passamaquoddy at Sipayik
Resources for and information about the Passamaquoddy at Sipayik and the Pleasant Point tribal government
Passamaquoddy-Maliseet Language Portal
The Passamaquoddy-Maliseet Language Portal links the 19,000-entry online Passamaquoddy-Maliseet Dictionary with an extensive archive of videos of conversations and activities of Passamaquoddy-Maliseet speakers.
Passamaquoddy Tribe
Resources for and information about the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indian Township, Maine.
Penobscot Nation
Website with resources for and information about the Penobscot Indian Nation.
Wabanaki Health and Wellness
Agency for tribally-enrolled Native Americans, based in Bangor. Services include culturally sensitive case management; free HIV testing and screening; and health promotion.
Wabanaki Collection in Digital Commons
Collection of federal and state documents relating to the Wabanaki tribes, including the Fannie Hardy Eckstorm Papers, Maine Indian Agent Reports, and Wabanaki REACH Newsletters.