A new map project between renowned cartographer and MacArthur Fellow and the Canadian-American Center at the 91±¬ĮĻ is now complete.

ā€œThe Cold in Inuit Nunangatā€ includes two maps centered on Inuit Nunangat, the Inuit homelands in Canada, and an accompanying booklet. The maps juxtapose the ways in which Inuit and their relatives steward the cold on their homelands,Ģżwhile outsiders interfere with that stewardship and Inuit self-determination through carbon emissions and other pollutants.

The maps will be available for purchase beginning Monday, Feb. 23 on the Canadian-American Centerā€™s website.

Pearce will also present the project in the Bangor Room located on the second floor of the Memorial Union at noon on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

Douglass, associate professor of climate at Columbia University, will present an illustrated public lecture on her research, which explores the dynamic co-evolution of people, land and seascapes. Visit the Hudson Museum website to learn more about this free event. 

The event comes less than a month after the announced that Douglass received the MacArthur fellowship, which are often referred to as “genius” grants and recognize people with exceptional creativity and dedication across disciplines.

Douglass is also a 2021 Carnegie Fellow, a Smithsonian Institution research associate and a leading voice in climate-centered archaeology.

Sutton, who holds appointments with 91±¬ĮĻ and 91±¬ĮĻ Cooperative Extension, also co-wrote an op-ed with  in which he highlighted the report. The op-ed also discusses the impact the elimination of fish species has had on the Wabinaki Nations and the factors that limit their access to fisheries.

These efforts intersect with several of the key issues impacting the well-being and cultures of Indigenous nations. This includes issues of environmental and economic justice, food sovereignty and health. As a practice, land returns are being done by land trusts without easements or restrictions. Scholars have also recognized that Indigenous leadership, knowledge and decision-making in conservation work also represent conservation best practices ā€” resulting in the most effective ways to conserve lands productively for resilience and biodiversity.

Panelists include Chuck Loring, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation; Betsy Cook, the state director for the Trust for Public Land; and Darren J. Ranco, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation, professor of anthropology, and chair of Native American Programs at the 91±¬ĮĻ. 

All talks in the Mitchell Centerā€™s Sustainability Talk series are free and are offered both remotely via Zoom and in person at 107 Norman Smith Hall on the 91±¬ĮĻ campus in Orono. Registration is required to attend remotely; to register and receive connection information, see the event webpage.

To request a reasonable accommodation, contact Ruth Hallsworth, 207.581.3196 or hallsworth@maine.edu.

During the 30th annual Wabanaki Winter Market, more than 50 Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Maliseet and Miā€™kmaq artists will showcase and sell their basketry, jewelry, beadwork, wood carvings, birchbark work and other artwork. The free event will also feature brown ash pounding and demonstrations, childrenā€™s workshops, traditional music, drumming and dancing.

The 91±¬ĮĻ Hudson Museum, located inside the CCA, will be open during the event and feature a special anniversary exhibit, piləwihasəwal wəlatahkewĪ±kanal/Transforming Traditions. The exhibit will feature the basketry of Theresa Secord and her son Caleb Hoffman; Gabriel Frey and his mother Gal Frey; Dolly Barnes and her late mother Molly Neptune Parker; and members of the Neptune family ā€” Kenny Keezer, Debbie Nicholas, Peter Neptune and his daughter Maggie Dana. All are engaged in the intergenerational transfer of traditional cultural knowledge in the face of threats from climate change and an invasive insect, the emerald ash borer. Each artist is exploring new directions for this artform, such as incorporating nonlocal weaving materials, creating baskets that are collaborations with other artists or innovating weaving techniques.

The market is hosted by the Hudson Museum and supported in part by grants from the and .

To request a reasonable accommodation, email Hudson Museum Director Gretchen Faulkner at gretchen.faulkner@maine.edu.

Images, a full press kit and additional information are available online.

Schedule of Events

• At 9 a.m., doors will open to the public.
• From 9:30-10 a.m., there will be a welcome ceremony.
• From 10-10:30 a.m., Kelly Demmons, Penobscot, will sing traditional Penobscot songs on the first floor of the CCA. 
• From 10:30-11 a.m., Eldon Hanning, Miā€™kmaq, will host a brown ash pounding demonstration on the first floor of the CCA.
• From 11-11:30 a.m., Wendy Little Bear, Penobscot, will hold a childrenā€™s doll workshop in the Hudson Museum. The event is limited to 12 children.
• From 11:30 a.m.-noon, Hawk Henries, Nipmuc, will play flute music on the first floor of the CCA. 
• From 1-1:30 p.m., Peter Neptune, Passamaquoddy, will hold a basket demonstration on the first floor of the CCA. 
• From 1-2 p.m., there will be a book discussion of Morgan Taltyā€™s ā€œNight of the Living Rezā€ and ā€œFire Exitā€ with Robin Wood in the Hudson Museum.
• From 2-2:30 p.m., Barry Dana, Penobscot, will host a childrenā€™s birchbark ornament workshop in the Hudson Museum. The event is limited to 12 children ages 8-12.
• From 2-3 p.m., the Burnurwerbskek Singers will perform on the third floor of the CCA.

Contact: Marcus Wolf, 207.581.3721; marcus.wolf@maine.edu

A citizen member of Penobscot Nation, Daigle created the Ash Protection Collaboration Across Wabanakik in 2023. The group works to raise awareness of the cultural and ecological significance of black ash trees and provide strategies to protect them from invasive species, specifically the emerald ash borer. 

ā€œI’ve been really pleased to see the interest by so many in learning more about how black ash trees are threatened by the emerald ash borer, the implications to cultural traditions of our indigenous peoples in the Northeast and the vital ecological roles of ash trees in our forests,ā€ Daigle said. ā€œAs people learn more about the value of ash trees, I think this helps trigger more interest and support in efforts to sustain ash trees as an important component of our natural forests. Iā€™m truly honored to be recognized by this award, and I greatly appreciate Native Plant Trust for shedding more light on this regional concern.ā€

Daigle will accept the award and present his research, “Building a Community of Interest and Response to an Invasive Species, Emerald Ash Borer, Threatening Maine’s Ash Trees and Wabanaki Cultural Lifeways,” from 3:30-5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Boston Public Library Central Library in Copley Square.The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required and available .

The Dawnland credential was created by John Bear Mitchell, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation who serves as a lecturer and outreach and student development coordinator for 91±¬ĮĻā€™s Wabanaki Center and the Systemā€™s Native American Waiver and educational program coordinator. His goal was to better prepare the stateā€™s educators to teach Wabanaki Studies, as has been required by Maine law since 2001. That law was sponsored by then Rep. Donna Loring, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation, 91±¬ĮĻ alumna and now member of the UMS Board of Trustees. 

To earn the Dawnland credential, learners must demonstrate their own knowledge and ability to communicate to others about Indigenous movement and ways of life during the Ice Age and prior to the arrival of European settlers, early interactions with European settlers and current political and cultural issues facing the citizens of the Wabanaki Nations. That content is covered and assessed in four online modules, which typically take about 10 hours total to complete.

All teacher education students at 91±¬ĮĻ and the 91±¬ĮĻ at Augusta now earn the Dawnland credential before starting their student teaching.

ā€œIt’s great to see there is so much interest in this credential. My hope, for those who take it, is for them to teach about the tribes that lived on this land before and since Maine became a state from our perspective,ā€ said Mitchell. ā€œTo learn about us and to teach about us makes all of Maine a better place to live. By taking away misunderstandings and misrepresented ideology, we can create a true sense of place.”

In addition to the Dawnland credential, all 91±¬ĮĻ educator preparation students take a specific three-credit course in the teaching of Wabanaki studies, also developed by Mitchell. The course provides them with lesson plans and supplementary materials to take into their own classrooms. Other UMS universities require content-relevant courses for pre-service teachers, like Native American Cultures or Wabanaki Studies. 

Read the full story on the . 

Contact: Samantha Warren, 207-632-0389, samantha.warren@maine.edu

At the 91±¬ĮĻ, that inevitability is not met with despair, but hope, thanks to years of interdisciplinary research supported by the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions. Together, the Wabanaki Nations, 91±¬ĮĻā€™s dedicated researchers and the collaborating state entities responding to EAB have been able to develop innovative management and adaptation strategies that integrate Indigenous knowledge as a guiding influence to deal with the invasive pest ā€” and, hopefully, preserve ash trees for generations to come.

The legacy of EAB research

EAB devastates ash trees from the inside out, burrowing into the inner bark and cutting off the circulation of nutrients and water until the trees wither away. There is no saving a tree once EAB has really dug in, and, as of right now, thereā€™s no way to stop the spread of the invasive species in the United States.

The bright green bug feasts on all types of ash trees, from white ash that is prized for quality furniture to hardy green ash like the trees that shade the 91±¬ĮĻ Mall. However, EAB favors brown ash, also known as black ash, which is the best material for traditional Indigenous basket making.

In 2009, 91±¬ĮĻ researchers, including those affiliated with the Mitchell Center, started looking at the potential impact of EAB on Maineā€™s ash trees, and how to address it in a way that integrates Indigenous perspectives and interests. Even though there was no EAB detected in Maine at that point, researchers, foresters, and Wabanaki basketmakers alike were anxious to get ahead of the issue. They heard about the EAB devastation in places like Michigan, where the pest wiped out nearly all ash trees in the state.Ģż

John Daigle, 91±¬ĮĻ professor of forest recreation management, and Darren Ranco, professor of anthropology and chair of Native American Programs, have been involved with the project since its inception. They are both Mitchell Center faculty and citizens of the Penobscot Nation.

A lot has changed since 2009. EAB was first detected in Maine in 2018, but the efforts of 91±¬ĮĻ researchers paid off. Thanks to the establishment of the EAB-Brown Ash Task Force in collaboration with Maineā€™s Wabanaki Nations and the state Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry (DACF), policies like quarantine zones and firewood bans have helped slow the spread of EAB across the state.Ģż

ā€œThe majority of our ash is still healthy in the state of Maine. Being proactive with policy, outreach and other things has made a difference,ā€ Daigle said.

Ranco said that success also comes from EAB discussions centering Wabanaki voices and interests from the beginning.

ā€œThis also meant that 91±¬ĮĻ, and the Mitchell Center more specifically, could serve as a key convener of both Tribal and statewide scientific and policy response, and could contribute in productive ways,ā€ Ranco said.

But now that EAB is here, the work has entered a new era: adaptation. 91±¬ĮĻā€™s Ash Protection Collaboration Across Wabanakik (APCAW) network is leading the way.

Preparing the forest for EAB

Tyler Everett, a Ph.D. candidate at 91±¬ĮĻā€™s School of Forest Resources, is using forest management to prepare the next generation of ash trees for the inevitable wave of EAB.

Everett, who is Mi’kmaq, interned for the Passamaquoddy Forest Department as an undergraduate at 91±¬ĮĻ, and worked there after graduation. The department encouraged him to pursue further education in the field. After enrolling in the Master of Forestry program at 91±¬ĮĻ, he attended a Brown Ash Task Force meeting. After witnessing the integration of Indigenous knowledge into forest management firsthand, he wanted to be a part of it.Ģż

During his master’s program, Everett inventoried ash trees to find good quality brown ash sites. For his Ph.D., he focuses on managing forests in a way that will make them more resilient to EAB outbreaks, removing weaker ā€œlow vigorā€ trees that would attract and build up EAB while also creating gaps in the canopy.Ģż

ā€œBrown ash is shade intolerant; by creating these gaps, weā€™re promoting natural regeneration,ā€ Everett said. ā€œHopefully, that natural regeneration would be that cohort that survives the initial wave of emerald ash borer and gives us time to manage that site.ā€

Daigle notes that Everettā€™s silvicultural research pairs well with other management methods, such as selective insecticides and the use of natural EAB predators includingĢż nonnative and stingless parasitic wasps, a biocontrol method that the Maine Forest Service is testing.

Everett also hosts discussions with Wabanaki communities about EAB management; he has held meetings with three of the five tribes in Maine and hopes to meet with the others this summer.

Everett says one of the greatest experiences for him has been getting to learn more about basket making over the course of his research. He even made a miniature pack basket that the flower girl used in his wedding, with sweetgrass woven into the rim.

ā€œI have been finding out a lot about my culture through my research,ā€ Everett said. ā€œBasketmakers say that thereā€™s no replacement for brown ash when it comes to basketry, and until you get a chance to hold it in your hands and work with it, you canā€™t appreciate how true that is.ā€

Collecting ash seeds for the next generation

In addition to preparing the next generation of ash trees for an EAB invasion, researchers at 91±¬ĮĻ are collecting ash seeds to preserve the genetic diversity of the trees. For example, Daigle said some trees show more resistance to EAB, and scientists may be able to build a more resilient tree through grafting.

Over the years of her Ph.D. program at 91±¬ĮĻ, Emily Francis has led the development of a seed collection manual for ash. The guide was created in partnership with Les Benedict of the Akwesasne St. Regis Mohawk Tribe in present day New York, and speaks to the strength of 91±¬ĮĻā€™s EAB partnerships.Ģż

ā€œThat seed manual would not have happened without him,ā€ Francis says. ā€œThere hasnā€™t been the care and time within the science community to dedicate to brown ash the way there is with other species. It was very frustrating for me to find information, . I couldnā€™t imagine trying to be a private landowner who wants to help or somebody who wants to collect seed.ā€

Francis just hopes that the seed collecting guide has arrived in time; ash trees only produce seed every 5 to 8 years, and the last banner year for seeds was as recent as 2022.Ģż

But Everett is confident that these initiatives are, in fact, right on time.Ģż

ā€œThis year, early forecasting of brown ash seed development has been positive, giving us all hope that collections of brown ash seed this fall will be numerous,ā€ he said. Community members who want to get involved should follow the APCAW website for seed collection events.

Plus, they have the next generation on their side. The has incorporated ash seed collection kits into their curriculum, and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute will bring seed kits into the classroom. The is also partnering with APCAW to bolster their capacity to collect ash seeds.

Francis also spent her Ph.D. studying what has made Maineā€™s EAB network successful, and how states can apply the model to deal with other invasive species.

ā€œI was really interested in learning about how a group can come together so far in advance of a threat and stick with it once the threat is present,ā€ Francis said.

Francis also worked with Everrett to survey landowners, foresters and loggers about their understanding of EAB, what their forest management responses might be, whether they would be interested in allowing for cultural access by Wabanaki basket makers, and what the barriers to allowing that access might be. Between their two surveys, there were over 800 respondents and plan to publish the results.

ā€œOn the whole, people want their forests to be healthy,ā€ Francis said. ā€œThey want to take part in adaptive management strategies, but they want to know what the costs are. They want to see that their neighbors and peers have had success with this and they can see success as well. Itā€™s not a perfect world, there are no guarantees, but the fact that people are willing to take part is exciting.ā€

Communicating EAB strategies

Communication ties all the interdisciplinary research together into actual change; thatā€™s where masterā€™s student Ella McDonald comes in.Ģż

McDonald joined APCAW in fall 2022 as a graduate student in the Ecology and Environmental Sciences Program. Through their masters program, McDonald has conducted education and outreach efforts across various stakeholder groups. During 2023, McDonald organized 10 events both online and in person around different topics of protecting ash trees in Maine, reaching over 900 people.Ģż

ā€œI think often environmental issues feel daunting because itā€™s often focused on individual choices. Something exciting about outreach is that itā€™s an opportunity to make this work collective, and connect people who also care deeply about these issues and want to make a difference,ā€ McDonald said.

McDonald surveyed event participants to see what the impact of these events has been, like whether participants are collecting seeds or caring for their ash stands, to figure out how to better support and encourage citizen science efforts.

In addition to the events, McDonald created a website and a to provide the public with information about ash inventory and seed collection, and was featured prominently, along with Francis, in a .Ģż

ā€œThat gathering was great to not only shed light on the importance of collecting ash seed, but how to do it. I hope that people can see that it can be really fun to go out into the forest with a group of people and collect seed,ā€ McDonald said.

In the coming years, Daigle says that maintaining communication with landowners, Tribal Nations and the general public will be critical to ensure that protecting ash in the face of EAB is not seen as a ā€œlost cause.ā€Ģż

ā€œI think itā€™s important to try to sustain that hope,ā€ he says.

A new hope for EAB

The grip of EAB is starting to feel heavy, according to Ranco, and Francis says there is ā€œstill a psychological hump that everyone in Maine is going to have to get over when they see the damage from the ash across the state.ā€Ģż

ā€œThereā€™s going to be loss,ā€ Francis says. ā€œJust because there is loss doesnā€™t mean there isnā€™t a light at the end of the tunnel. We just need to remember itā€™s a very long process. Trees are not agricultural crops. This is a decades-long slog that weā€™re going to have to go through to see ash secure on the landscape.ā€

Everett is emboldened by the strides in research, and the interdisciplinary way the EAB issue has been approached.

ā€œNobody is an expert on all things; it takes everyone collectively in action,ā€ Everett said. ā€œThrough that, and through research, I’ve learned some things that give me hope.ā€

Ģż

Daigle and Ranco also said that the Mitchell Centerā€™s interdisciplinary approach to the EAB issue has been key to the successes that the state has experienced so far when it comes to preparing for and controlling the spread of EAB.

ā€œThe (Mitchell Centerā€™s) ethos is without its equal anywhere I have worked,ā€ Ranco said. ā€œThe values cut to the core of what makes 91±¬ĮĻ great and special, and reflects a deep commitment to Wabanaki homelands, places and sovereignty.ā€

The EAB work has also created a model for other projects addressing invasive species challenges by focusing on relationship building, especially for long-term projects. Daigle said that keeping up momentum, interest and satisfaction with a long-term project that does not show immediate results is challenging, but the EAB team at 91±¬ĮĻ has shown that it is possible.

ā€œYou canā€™t do research and just leave. You have to maintain those relationships. You have got to stay connected,ā€ Daigle said.

Contact: Ruth Hallsworth, hallsworth@maine.eduĢż

Sea level rise, flooding and storms are eroding these sacred and culturally significant places.

The National Park Service (NPS) is launching a new effort to protect Wabanaki archaeological sites in Acadia from climate change using Indigenous and western knowledge and recruited 91±¬ĮĻ anthropologist Bonnie Newsom and archaeology Ph.D. students to help.

Using a ā€œtwo-eyed seeingā€ approach, Newsom, her students and NPS will devise a co-stewardship strategy to manage and preserve Indigenous archaeological sites in Acadia with members of the Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Penobscot and Passamaquoddy nations, all of which are part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The five-year project, which builds on 15 years of collaboration between NPS and Indigenous communities, will involve consultation from tribal historic preservation officers, elders, natural resource caregivers, fluent language speakers and artisans.Ģż

One focus of the new work in Acadia involves protecting millennia-old shell heaps. These deposits of clam shells showcase the culture of the Indigenous people who created them, including what they ate and how they interacted with the environment and each other. The shell heaps, which protect artifacts from Maineā€™s acidic soil, are being washed away by storms, waves and rising ocean levels.

ā€œShell heaps are nonrenewable heritage spaces that preserve both cultural and paleoenvironmental information that is unique to the region. Once they are gone, they are gone for good, as is the information they contain,ā€ said Newsom. ā€œA partnership approach to management brings our best collective thinking to the issue and prepares archaeology students for professional futures that include community partnerships and climate change impacts.ā€

In addition to devising new management strategies, the project will involve creating new materials and curricula about Wabanaki archaeological sites in Acadia that place Indigenous knowledge and priorities at the forefront. It also will involve creating new documentation that incorporates Wabanaki language narratives, video and storytelling.Ģż

The project is part of several efforts to protect the historical and natural resources in Acadia National Park from climate change, funded by a $950,000 award through the Inflation Reduction Act. Out of the overall funding, $675,000 will be allocated to 91±¬ĮĻ, which will support Ph.D. students, a citizen science pilot program and the Indigenous archaeology research and community engagement led by Newsom.Ģż

These efforts in Acadia in hundreds of National Parks.

Visit the .

Contact: Marcus Wolf, 207.581.3721; marcus.wolf@maine.edu

Indigenous Knowledge offers valuable insights into climate change as it encompasses multigenerational understandings of local ecosystems and human engagement with changing environments. This knowledge can reveal patterns of environmental change and new ways of living and coping with a changing planet. By bringing Indigenous knowledge and western science together to address contemporary climate change issues, people can foster new strategies for developing effective and holistic responses to the climate crisis. This presentation introduces the new Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledge and Science (CBIKS), a National Science Foundation-funded center aimed at creating ethical pathways to bring holistic thinking to contemporary climate change issues. Bonnie Newsom, associate professor of anthropology at 91±¬ĮĻ, will present an overview of the goals, values and objectives of CBIKS and highlight the universityā€™s role as the centerā€™s Northeast hub.

Newsom (Penobscot) is an Indigenous archaeologist interested in the pre-contact lifeways of Maineā€™s Native peoples. She seeks to humanize past peoples by exploring the concepts of identity, social boundaries and human agency. Newsomā€™s professional history includes serving as the tribal historic preservation officer for the Penobscot Nation and as assistant director for 91±¬ĮĻā€™s Wabanaki Center. She has a strong public service record which includes serving as chair of the Repatriation Review Committee for the National Museum of Natural History and as a member of the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission. 

All talks in the Mitchell Centerā€™s Sustainability Talks series are free and are offered both remotely via Zoom and in person at 107 Norman Smith Hall on the 91±¬ĮĻ campus in Orono. 

Registration is required to attend remotely; to register and receive connection information, see the event webpage.

To request a reasonable accommodation, contact Ruth Hallsworth, 207.581.3196; hallsworth@maine.edu.

Featuring brief talks from the Collins Center mainstage, video presentations and an informal conversation in the Bodwell Lounge, and exhibitions in the center lobby, ā€œVisions 2024ā€ is sponsored by the Clement and Linda McGillicuddy Humanities Center (MHC) at the 91±¬ĮĻ. 

The event, which will highlight research supported by the MHCā€™s faculty grant and undergraduate fellowship programs, is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

Among the scheduled speakers are professor of history Liam Riordan, who will deliver a brief talk titled ā€œPicturing Maineā€™s Indigenous Context: Colonialism and the Penobscot,ā€ and assistant professor of history and womenā€™s, gender, and sexuality studies Kara Peruccio, who will discuss her work on suffrage movements in the mediterranean. The CCA lobby will feature installations by 91±¬ĮĻ faculty and artists including Susan Smith and Louise Bourne, while the Bodwell Lounge will feature multimedia work by professor of music and MHC director Beth Wiemann, whose site-specific opera and film ā€œI Give You My Homeā€ was supported by an MHC grant. 

ā€œThe McGillicuddy Humanities Center has been able to support faculty from all corners of the arts and humanities at 91±¬ĮĻ, aiding the research of both full- and part-time instructors in these fields,ā€ said Wiemann. ā€œAs director of the center, weā€™re proud of the support weā€™re able to provide, and as a past recipient of MHC faculty funding, Iā€™m thankful for the Centerā€™s investment in the arts and humanities. We are extremely grateful to Clement and Linda McGillicuddy for their tremendous support in this work.”

Also in the Bodwell Lounge will be current and former MHC undergraduate fellows, students pursuing independent research in the humanities under the supervision of faculty mentors. Those present will include Katie Ritchie, a history and secondary education double major from Northport, Maine who is working on a project titled ā€œMapping Education: Using Maps to Teach the Holocaust,ā€ and Sarah Renee Ozlanski, a studio art and English double major whose project examines the matrilineal tradition of pisanki, colorful eggs with images written on them through a wax and dye resistance process. 

The eveningā€™s programming aims to highlight the diverse interdisciplinary expertise and interests of 91±¬ĮĻ faculty and staff involved in research and teaching on campus and outward-facing humanities work. The event also will familiarize the public with the many roles of the MHC ā€” from student fellowships and faculty grants to campus lectures, performances and community outreach.

Established in 2012, the MHC supports excellent teaching, research and public engagement in the humanities to deepen understanding of the human condition. Supported by a naming gift from Clement McGillicuddy ā€™64 and his wife, Linda, the MHC supports programs that foster intellectual curiosity, critical reflection and creative innovation. Central to the centerā€™s work is the belief that study of the humanities inspires compassion across differences, develops empathy, strengthens critical thinking skills and cultivates the emotional and intellectual agility needed to navigate an increasingly interconnected and complex global landscape.

For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact MHC humanities specialist Brian Jansen at brian.jansen@maine.edu or 207.581.1848.

MHC undergraduate fellows receive an award of up to $8,000 over the course of two semesters to pursue an independent research or creative project in the humanities in collaboration with a faculty member.

Campbell, a junior majoring in English from Buxton, Maine, was named the David ā€™64 and Alison ā€™71 Wiggin Humanities Fellow for her proposed research project ā€œGetting To Know A Dead Man: The De-Deification of Brian (A Non-Case Study).ā€ Kirsten Jacobson, associate professor in the Department of Philosophy, and Gregory Howard, associate professor of English, will supervise the study. Campbellā€™s project will draw on the work of philosopher Simone de Beauvoir to explore how the relationships children form with their parents change in young adulthood. 

Cleary-Reuning, a senior in the Honors College from Eliot, Maine who is majoring in marine biology and minoring in journalism, will pursue a project titled ā€œCollege Radioā€™s Continuing Role: How WMEB and Other College Radio Stations Create and Sustain Community,ā€ supervised Michael Socolow, professor of communication and journalism. Drawing on her experience as manager of WMEB, 91±¬ĮĻā€™s student-run radio station, and her interest in media studies, Cleary-Reuningā€™s research aims to explore the recent history of WMEB in the context of the past and contemporary practices of college radio in the United States.

Morgan, a third-year psychology major in the Honors College with minors in philosophy and neuroscience from Perry, Maine, will pursue a project titled ā€œRoots and Resilience: Understanding the Belonging Among Children of Iranian Diaspora in The United States.ā€ Jordan LaBouff, associate professor of psychology and honors, will supervise the project. Morganā€™s work will aim to understand how the underrepresented group of second-generation Iranian Americans experience their perceived belonging in a cross-cultural context of multiple identities.

Reynolds, the Liam Riordan Humanities Fellow and a history major and womenā€™s, gender, and sexuality studies minor from Conroe, Texas, will be working on a project titled ā€œSeparate But Not Equal: The Exclusion of Black Women from First-Wave Feminism in Maine and Louisiana, 1900-1925.ā€ Kara Peruccio, assistant professor of history and womenā€™s, gender and sexuality studies, will supervise the project. By studying different modes of racism in Louisiana and Maine’s suffrage movements, Reynoldsā€™s work will explore how social and cultural differences between Louisiana and Maine impacted the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and its auxiliaries in these states between the years of 1900ā€“1925. Though NAWSAā€™s Maine and Louisiana Woman Suffrage Associations existed under the same national umbrella, their local politics and cultures impacted their statewide activism, who could be involved and how their platform was presented to each stateā€™s respective citizens. Because of implicit and explicit racism found in their state movements, Black women in both states formed their own groups to advocate for themselves.

In addition to honing their research skills and building their academic networks, MHC fellows serve as humanities ambassadors to their peers, the campus and the broader community. For students interested in becoming a fellow, and faculty who might like to nominate one, the next deadline to apply is March 17. Research and creative work of all types across the humanities will be considered. This includes academic papers, art gallery shows, community workshops or films. Applicants do not need to be humanities majors or minors to be eligible. More information, including application instructions, proposal guidelines and a statement of purpose, is available on the .

The MHC supports excellent teaching, research and public engagement in the humanities to deepen understanding of the human condition. It elevates programs that foster intellectual curiosity, critical reflection and creative innovation. At the core of the centerā€™s work is the belief that studying the humanities inspires compassion across differences, develops empathy, strengthens critical thinking skills and cultivates the emotional and intellectual agility needed to navigate an increasingly interconnected and complex global landscape.

Contact: Brian Jansen, brian.jansen@maine.edu

ā€œIt looks like lace.ā€

The placard below the piece reads ā€œWabanaki Fan, C. 1900.ā€ 

Currently on loan at the Hudson from the Penobscot Nation Museum, the fan is one of many ash and sweetgrass pieces that will be recorded in a new web-based lexicon ā€” a vocabulary archive. The lexicon will contain indigenous-authored descriptive language for Wabanaki basketry and is funded by a to the Hudson and Penobscot Nation museums by the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

The creation of the lexicon will take place over the next two years and will be hosted online on the Hudson Museumā€™s website when complete. 

ā€œMuseums haven’t traditionally cataloged basketry collections in collaboration with the weavers who actually made the baskets,ā€ said Gretchen Faulkner, director of the Hudson Museum. ā€œThis lexicon is a mechanism for creating a model for engagement with Indigenous communities. The project will provide a framework for other institutions to have standard terminology for describing different types of baskets, different types of weaves and ornamentation.ā€ For the Hudson Museum, this project builds on nearly 30 years of collaboration with Wabanaki weavers.

The project will focus on the most common form of Wabanaki (Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet and Miā€™kmaq) cultural material in museums nationally: brown ash and sweetgrass basketry. Wabanaki basketry can be found in Maine and New England collecting institutions, as well as museums across the country. They are also central to the collections at Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribal museums on Indian Island, Sipayik and Motahkomikuk. 

The lexicon will contain photos of the items held in collections at the Hudson and Penobscot Nation museums accompanied by descriptions of the name for each style using terms from each Wabanaki community. 

With leading museums closing displays exhibiting Native American objects in response to , this project is a timely example of the evolving relationship between Native communities and museums. Currently, federal regulations are focused on repatriating human remains, associated and unassociated funerary objects and objects of cultural patrimony. The Hudson Museum has no human remains in its collection subject to NAGPRA and continues to consult with Native American communities on cultural material. Faulkner and Neptune view this lexicon as a crucial step in extending the curatorial model to communities systematically and structurally separated from their cultural heritage. 

ā€œThese museums hold things that are really important to us and our communities,ā€ Neptune said. ā€œIn the past, it hasn’t always been easy to access those collections to research or for makers to study their ancestors’ work to recreate or get inspiration from.ā€

Tools to make baskets, such as splint gauges, blocks and molds, are passed down within families. Gauges were used to divide splints into uniform widths for weavers and standards; blocks ensured that baskets were woven in consistent shapes and sizes. These tools were cherished family possessions and ensured the continuity of the tradition from one generation to the next. In addition to the tools used to make the baskets, each basket draws on generations of knowledge.

ā€œSomeone went out and got an ash tree in the woods and cut it down and pounded that ash out to get the splints to make the basket,ā€ Neptune said. ā€œSomeone picked sweet grass in the summer by the salt marsh and picked by hand, one by one, the blades woven into a basket. There are a lot of ties to the materials that we create with, but also ties to places. Our people have places they go where their families have gone to pick sweet grass for generations upon generations. There are a lot of connections in any basket.ā€

Neptune was taught how to make baskets by traditional Penobscot basket makers and has mentored basket makers, including Sarah Sockbeson (Penobscot). Access to the pieces their ancestors made provides not only inspiration for these artists, but also sacred connection to the past.

ā€œSometimes you can’t tell from a photograph or from looking through the glass. Sometimes you have to get under things and count stitches and really look. You have to ask ā€˜how did they tie that off? What does it look like inside?ā€™ to get that detail you need to be able to recreate something,ā€ Neptune said. 

For Neptune and her community, this project works toward reclaiming Wabanaki culture and history. 

ā€œIt’s really important that people from the community get to access these things that their ancestors made,ā€ she said. ā€œThese are not just objects, they have a living spirit that we have to interact with and attend to. Having those doors open up is a really good thing for everybody. For us, the community and the artists, and also for our museums.ā€ 

Contact: Shelby Hartin, shelby.hartin@maine.edu