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 ella.mcdonald@maine.edu 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

Bipartisan lawmakers, Wabanaki leaders propose next change to Settlement Act

by Emma Davis
Fri, April 4, 2025

"A bipartisan group of lawmakers presented legislation on Friday to prevent the state from being able to seize #Wabanaki land for public use without consultation.

"For the past several Legislative sessions, leaders of the Wabanaki Nations have worked with lawmakers to try to overhaul the 1980 #MaineIndianClaimsSettlementAct that has resulted in the tribes being treated more akin to municipalities than #SovereignNations.

"So far, sweeping change has failed due to opposition from Gov. #JanetMills, but the executive, lawmakers and Wabanaki leaders have successfully made some targeted adjustments, including expanding tribal authority to prosecute crimes last year.

"#LD958 represents the next area of focus, although an omnibus bill is still expected to be considered during the second regular session of the Legislature next year.

"Sponsored by House Minority leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) and bipartisan co-sponsors, LD 958 would amend the #SettlementAct and the 2023 #MikmaqNationRestorationAct — as the Mi’kmaq Nation hadn’t been included in the earlier act — to prohibit eminent domain, a protection already afforded to almost all other federally recognized tribes.

" 'Much of our land contains irreplaceable cultural, spiritual and ecological resources,' said #Passamaquoddy Tribal Rep. Aaron Dana, a co-sponsor of the bill who sits on the Judiciary Committee. 'This bill ensures those places are safeguarded and are not subject to #destruction or #appropriation. Too often in our history, our #TribalLands have been taken, divided and exploited under the guise of progress.'

"The U.S. government can seize private property for public use, known as eminent domain, however that authority is restricted by the #FifthAmendment U.S. Constitution, which requires just compensation for land taken, as well as some federal laws.

"Rep. Rachel Henderson (R-Rumford), a co-sponsor who sits on the Judiciary Committee, questioned whether the bill is in conflict with the Constitution. It is not, Faulkingham, tribal leaders and attorneys explained, because the Constitution outlines when eminent domain can be exercised but not that it can’t be further restricted.

" 'There’s nothing in the Fifth Amendment that prohibits a state from enacting laws that says we won’t do that,' Faulkingham said.

"LD 958 applies to land protected under federal law — trust and reservation land — but fee lands — private property for which the owner owns the title — would still be subject to state power of eminent domain. A constitutional amendment allows states to condemn individually owned plots within tribal reservations.

"Maine has seized Wabanaki land from the start of their intertwined histories, as the state territory today had first been inhabited by the Wabanaki people."

Read more:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/bipartisan-lawmakers-wabanaki-leaders-propose-204713964.html

#MaineSettlementAct #FirstNations #WabanakiConfederancy
#MaineFirstNations #Maine #MainePol #NativeAmericanNews #LandTheft
#PenobscotNation #PassamaquoddyTribe #HoultonBand of #Maliseets #MikmaqNation #Dawnland #TribalSovereignty

#VoicesOfDecolonization - #Wabanaki #Sustenance and #SelfDetermination

by Jillian Kerr, 7 November 2024

"Before #colonization, the Wabanaki region was rich in food; Wabanaki Tribes had excellent knowledge of their environment and knew where to find each resource, when it was abundant, and in what quantities. They utilized natural resources and foods respectfully, creating little or no waste. This sustainable approach to food and natural resources made the Wabanaki among the healthiest people in the world. However, the arrival of Europeans disrupted this harmony, forcing the Wabanaki out of their homelands. Europeans imposed a different understanding of nature and harvesting, which led to unhealthy and unsustainable practices. The Wabanaki continue to strive for the restoration of their traditional foodways as a way to practice #FoodSovereignty.

"To develop food sovereignty and economic stability, the #Mikmaq Nation in Aroostook County constructed an indoor fish hatchery on the site of Micmac Farms in Caribou, Maine. This farm, which previously only grew and sold fresh or preserved fruits and vegetables, now receives Nesowadnehunk Brook Trout eggs from the Maine State Hatchery in Enfield, Maine. The grown fish are then sold back to Maine’s Soil and Water Conservation District for public consumption throughout the state. In addition, they generously donate food to the local food bank and provide discounts for Tribal members, demonstrating a sustainable model for food sovereignty for the Mi’kmaq Nation.

"The Houlton Band of #Maliseet Indians launched a food sovereignty initiative to increase access to nutritious food, improve food sovereignty, and strengthen connections to Wabanaki culture by sharing traditional food production, storage, and preparation approaches. The lessons learned add to current knowledge about developing, implementing, and evaluating a model rooted in the principles of food sovereignty. Opportunities to learn and share knowledge about traditional storage and recipes are provided to community members, and existing partnerships have been leveraged to develop a sustainable model. Additional community gardens were also created to increase food production capacity, increasing food sovereignty for the Maliseet.

"One way the #Passamaquoddy Tribe fights for food sovereignty is by restoring the watershed of the Skutik River, which was renamed the St. Croix River by colonists. The Skutik River is at the heart of the ancestral home of the Passamaquoddy Tribe.. This crucial watershed is the natural spawning ground and ancient homeland for many species of sea-run fish, including Atlantic salmon and sea-run alewife (river herring), a vital food source. Historically, the number of fish swimming up the Skutik River was massive and sustained the Passamaquoddy for thousands of years. Yet now, the alewife population is too small to feed or sustain the Tribe.

"The large amount of pollution produced by colonization upset the productivity and natural balance of the Skutik River and the life cycles of the native fishery, straining the river’s ecosystem. For many years, Maine law blocked sea-run alewives from accessing their natural and ancient spawning ground in the Skutik watershed, which diminished this important traditional sustenance food source and disturbed the cultural practices of Passamaquoddy Tribal members. The Passamaquoddy established the Skutik Watershed Strategic Sea-run Fish and River Restoration Plan to mitigate the damage and find a better way forward. They developed a collaborative of Skutik stewards, also known as the Skutik River Keepers, who work with various agencies to give the river the best chance at restoring the watershed, thereby giving the Passamaquoddy more access to traditional foods and strengthening their food sovereignty.

"The #PenobscotNation fights for food sovereignty in various ways, including rebuilding outlets on Tribal trust lands. The Penobscot ancestral homeland is located within the drainage area of the Penobscot River and its many tributaries, lakes, and ponds. The area was the fishing place for spearing and netting fish, like salmon and alewives. It was a primary nourishing source of food, medicine, connection, joy, and spirituality for the Penobscot during spring and early summer. The mills and mill dams built by colonizers upset the river's natural ecosystem, cutting off fish from places required to complete their life cycle. As a result, the river no longer contained the fish that had historically fed the Penobscot Tribe. The Penobscot successfully rebuilt outlets on Tribal trust lands in Mattamiscontis Stream, and they have completed many stream connectivity projects. This resulted in growing populations of alewives and blueback herring in the newly restored system, making more fish available as a food source for the Tribe.

"The land is a cornerstone of Native life. Before colonization, Wabanaki Tribes had developed an environmentally friendly and communal food system to protect the land and environment, using natural resources without harming the environment that provided bountiful food sources. However, centuries of colonization have separated the Wabanaki and other Native communities from their homelands and traditional foods. Natives were physically, culturally, and spiritually tied to their homelands, and forced relocation into unknown lands made it impossible to access traditional foods and harvest adequate nutrition from the land for survival. The lack of knowledge of unknown lands led to a dependence on government-issued rations and commodities. These rations and commodities consisted of dairy, processed wheat, sugars, etc., all foreign to the Native diet. The government's aim in providing these rations and commodities to Natives was not to provide nutrition but to prevent starvation.

"#ForcedRelocation and other federal policies devastated many Tribes’ food systems, disrupting their hunting, fishing, farming, and harvesting traditions. The disruption continues today as the federal government still decides what foods they will distribute to Native communities. The government also makes agreements with the producers, a system that favors large-scale vendors, leading to missed opportunities for Native farmers. Problems with food quality also still exist; many traditional foods are still unavailable, and it is not uncommon for produce to travel long distances and arrive spoiled. Despite this upheaval, the Wabanaki have shown remarkable resilience and are determined to restore their traditional food practices and reclaim their food sovereignty."

Source [includes references]:
https://www.wabanakireach.org/wabanaki_sustenance_and_self_determination_by_jillian_kerr

#WabanakiConfederacy #MaineFirstNations #LandBack #sovereignty #Wabanakik #WabanakiAlliance #Decolonize

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

With everything that's going on with the #MemoryHole, I suggest everyone archive any articles of interest from US government websites -- while you still can! I found this gem -- and archived it!

Designing Tools and Networks to Support #Wabanaki Adaptive Capacity for #ClimateChange

By Climate Adaptation Science Centers December 31, 2020

"Wabanaki Tribal Nations (#Maliseet, #Micmac, #Passamaquoddy, and #Penobscot) and other Tribal Nations in the #NortheastCASC region will face a disproportionate impact from climate change. These impacts will affect resources such as forestry products, fish, game, wild crops, and water that are important to tribal economies and well-being. To combat this, varying levels of tribal community preparedness and the ability to build effective adaptive capacity to extreme events will be crucial for future resiliency efforts. Furthermore, there is a pressing need to work with partners who have a variety of backgrounds to plan, strategize, build and implement resiliency initiatives in tribal communities and identify innovative ways that integrate local knowledge, technology, and science in a manner that traditional and cultural identities are tied.

"Using Indigenous Research Methods, Native American Programs at the University of Maine will align research questions, data collection methods, outputs, and research protocols with Wabanaki people, knowledge, and values to build a regional tribal network for climate change adaptation and create a Wabanaki Climate Adaptation and Adaptive Management Workbook. This project will work with and inform a Regional Climate Change Tribal Network to identify research and output goals and objectives using indigenous values and science related to both the network building and the Workbook.

"The Regional Network will consist of a diverse group of collaborators representing tribal harvesters, tribal environmental staff, intertribal and regional government entities, academic staff and tribal scholars from the University of Maine, and tribal elders and language speakers from each community to integrate a framework that will include indigenous and traditional knowledge, culture, language and history into the adaptation planning process. The primary output of this work, a Climate Adaptation and Adaptive Management Workbook, will identify examples of culturally appropriate adaptative management in responding to climate change, and identify tools for future Wabanaki Tribal leaders and communities to respond to future climate changes."

https://www.usgs.gov/programs/climate-adaptation-science-centers/science/designing-tools-and-networks-support-wabanaki

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/ssSKw
#SolarPunkSunday #TraditionalEcologicalKnowledge #TEK #ClimateChange #WabanakiConfederacy #ClimateChangeAdaptation #TIK #TraditionalIndigenousKnowledge

[Short film] Weckuwapasihtit (Those Yet to Come)

#GeoNeptune and #BriannaSmith (#Passamaquoddy)

“Our film is about where we fit in within our communities and regaining everything that was taken from us, including our language, our culture, our ceremonies, and our identities as Passamaquoddy people. We’ve had to do a lot of retracing of our ancestors’ steps. It’s okay to be Passamaquoddy, and it’s okay to not know what it means to be Passamaquoddy, but we can do the work to figure it out together. I’m making this film with my good friend Geo, because it’s usually other people telling our stories for us or telling us what to share and what not to share. This time, we are telling our story in our own way. It’s especially important for us to do this for the young in our community." - Brianna Smith.

"On the Eastern reaches of the occupied territory now referred to as North America, the children of Koluskap call upon ancestral teachings to guide them. Revitalizing cultural practices kept from their elders, Peskotomuhkati young people lead an intergenerational process of healing through the reclamation of athasikuwi-pisun, 'tattoo medicine.'"

Watch:
https://www.reciprocity.org/films/weckuwapasihtit

#WabanakiConfederacy #WabanakiPeople #DCEFF #IndigenousStorytellers
#IndigenousFilms #ReciprocityProject
#Reciprocity #IndigenousFilmMakers #IndigenousWisdom #AthasikuwiPisun #TattooMedicine #Tattoos #Peskotomuhkati #Dawnland #PeopleOfTheDawn

#Wabanaki #Educator Receives National #CommunityService Award

by Jillian Kerr, October 10, 2024

"Lynn Amakehs (butterfly) Mitchell, #Passamaquoddy citizen and #Maine Indian Education Facilities Manager, is deeply committed to preserving her community's culture. Her unwavering dedication has earned her different awards, recognizing her service to her community and her passion for preserving language and culture. In September, Lynn was honored with the prestigious 2024 National Indian Education Association Community Service of the Year Award. This award recognizes Native community members who are role models and have served their community.

"Lynn’s journey to become a teacher and active community member is a testament to her passion and dedication. It all began when she became a mother and started participating in school and community activities. Lynn’s involvement in organizations like the Girl Scouts and PTP (Parent Teacher Partnership) marked the beginning of her service to the community before she started her decolonization work and focus on culture and language.

"Her #decolonization journey deepened after she attended the #UpstanderAcademy, where she met a #Micmac woman and spiritual healer from Canada. Their time and conversations inspired her to learn more and share what she knew, leading her to become the community leader she is today.

"After attending the Upstander Academy, Lynn's commitment to promoting cultural engagement intensified. She traveled to different tribal gatherings and immersed herself in culture as much as possible. She aimed to share her experiences and knowledge and motivate others in her community to participate in and learn cultural activities.

"Lynn plays a pivotal role in nurturing a sense of community and togetherness. She does this in various ways, including by planning community gatherings. Lynn planned a large cultural gathering that the Passamaquoddy hosted, but after much planning and organizing, she became ill and could not attend. She said that her falling ill was a 'blessing in disguise' because it resulted in something beautiful…. community members who usually do not participate in community activities took the lead and ensured the gathering went as planned. These individuals continue to be active community members, a testament to Lynn's success in promoting cultural engagement.

"One of Lynn's most significant contributions is mentoring youth, a responsibility she takes very seriously. In community service projects with youth, she saw how they responded positively, which deepened her desire to do more. These projects demonstrate her commitment to the future of her community.

"Currently, Lynn is mentoring a group of girls through their rights-of-passage ceremony. One activity the girls completed was learning how to honor berries. The girls picked berries and then gave some to the elders when they visited. The girls spend much time with the elders, learning from and talking with them. Lynn's commitment to passing this knowledge on to the next generation provides hope for the community’s ability to preserve tribal culture.

This is Lynn's 38th year working for Maine Indian Education. Since being hired, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in College Studies, focusing on Native Studies from the University of Maine at Machias. She enjoyed her courses, and what she learned provided her with the knowledge and skills needed to create the curriculum and served as a basis for the content she uses in her classes.

"Lynn began teaching the #PassamaquoddyLanguage at Calais High School before she graduated. Her classes are extremely popular and usually have a waitlist. Lynn was surprised when her classes began to have a waitlist, but anyone who knows Lynn was not surprised. Her positive energy and love radiate from her and draw people to her. Her dedication to her students and community makes Lynn a perfect recipient of the NIEA Community Service of the Year Award.

"The #NIEAConvention was established to mark the beginning of a national forum for sharing and developing ideas and influencing federal policy. #NIEA was founded in 1969 and incorporated in 1970 to meet the needs of educators, students, and the community. NIEA held its first 'First Convocation of American Indian Scholars' at Princeton University in 1969. During this meeting, several Native educators discussed concerns and issues related to the education of Native children. For many educators, this large meeting was the first opportunity to share, discuss, and learn about ideas critical to Native Americans in the United States.

"Several Natives who attended that gathering wanted an opportunity to continue the dialogue and share ways to improve education. They desired to explore ways to become more effective teachers and better school administrators and discover practical experiences that could improve schools serving Native students.

"Since its incorporation, NIEA has become a massive organization committed to addressing various issues that Native Americans face. These issues include Boarding School Healing, #NativeLanguage Initiatives, and #CulturallyBasedCurricula. NIEA’s mission is to advance comprehensive, culturally based educational opportunities for #NativeAmericans, #AlaskaNatives, and #NativeHawaiians. The organization advocates for policies and creates programs that support self-determination and the development of comprehensive, culturally grounded learning opportunities for Native students.

"National recognition through the NIEA Community Service Award underscores Lynn’s exceptional contributions to Native education and her dedication to serving the community. Lynn’s drive to preserve language and culture in her community is a tribute to her commitment. Her contributions, which go beyond the classroom, are evident in impactful community service projects that profoundly affect the lives of Native students and their families."

https://www.wabanakireach.org/wabanaki_educator_receives_national_community_service_award

#NativeAmericanNews #NativeAmericanEducators #LynnAmakehsMitchell #Decolonize #WabanakiReach

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

#Wabanaki Nations, allies celebrate progress in continued fight for #sovereignty

Emma Davis
Fri, July 12, 2024

"[The alliance] honored the contributions of #RenaNewell, former #Passamaquoddy Tribal Representative to the state Legislature and former chief of the reservation at #Sipayik, and #BethAhearn, who this year retired as director of government affairs for Maine Conservation Voters, a nonprofit focused on protecting the environment and one of the earliest members of the #WabanakiAlliance.

"Newell, who currently serves as interim associate director of the Wabanaki Alliance, said it is not the work of one individual that brings success but the relationships people have with one another that allow for collective learning and movement forward together.

"During her time in the State House, Newell led efforts to expand Tribal-State coordination, including paving the way for greater sovereignty for the Passamaquoddy two years ago. Newell sponsored legislation that provided tribal members at Sipayik, also known as #PleasantPoint, more power to regulate local #DrinkingWater by, among other means, removing barriers in the #SettlementAct that had prevented the tribe from fully accessing federal funds and remediation resources that were available to other federally recognized tribes."

Read more:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/wabanaki-nations-allies-celebrate-progress-113944863.html

#WabanakiConfederacy #WaterIsLife #Maine #NativeAmericans #PassamaquoddyNation

#WabanakiREACH Celebates #OralHistory Exhibit Opening with Gathering at #SipayikMuseum

wikhikonol: stories + photos at the Sipayik Museum, 59 Passamaquoddy Rd., #PleasantPoint, Maine. Exhibit runs June 20 through October at the Sipayik Museum, Point Pleasant Peninsula.

6 June 2024

SIPAYIK | PLEASANT POINT, ME (June 4, 2023)– "Wabanaki REACH has partnered with the Sipayik Museum to present wikhikonol, an oral history exhibit featuring #stories alongside #photography by #Wabanaki artists #NolanAltvater and #MayaAttean. The exhibit, which opens June 20 with a celebratory gathering, is part of Wabanaki REACH’s #truthtelling initiative Beyond the Claims– Stories from the Land & the Heart.

"Wabanaki REACH has recorded and preserved over forty personal oral history interviews from #Wabanaki and #Maine communities in hopes to illuminate the humanity behind the Maine Indian land claims era and demystify the #MaineIndianClaimsSettlementAct of 1980. The organization has been focusing its efforts on building an accessible archive of interviews, creating educational resources for the greater community, and making space for healing and truth-telling to happen.

"wikhikonol marks Wabanaki REACH’s second public offering related to the project following where the river widens, an original community-devised play performed on Indian Island last fall.

"wikhikonol features text and audio of stories that emerged in the interviews, complemented by photographs of Wabanakik and its people. Beyond the Claims is led by Wabanaki ways of being and knowing to further Wabanaki REACH’s crucial work of bringing truth, healing, and change to the #Dawnland.

"'Our intentions were to create a deeper understanding of the Maine Indian #LandClaims, a tumultuous period in tribal-state history that still impacts the Tribes today. We wanted to capture stories from people with lived experiences during this time, uplift stories that exemplify the Wabanaki people's unique relationship to their homelands, and create tools for learning and understanding so we can ultimately move toward a more just and understanding future together', said #MariaGirouard, Executive Director of Wabanaki REACH.

"Wikhikon is the #Passamaquoddy word originally used for #birchbark maps but now refers to book, image, map, or any written material. For this exhibit, it can be understood as a visual tool for storytelling that offers spaces for relations and understandings to emerge from the Land and from the people who are connected to it. It is a term that challenges and resists dominant, western understandings of stories and the Land and the relationships in which they attempt to force Wabanaki people into.

"Nolan Altvater said, 'This exhibit is a celebration of the myriad relations that Wabanaki people have with our homelands. The stories blur the lines between image and word while inviting the audience to critically think and learn with the literacies of our land beyond the claims of the settlement act'.

https://www.wabanakireach.org/press_release

#NativeAmericanHistory #WabanakiHistory #WabanakiAlliance #Maine

As insect invaders approach, researchers use a combination of indigenous knowledge and Western forestry science to save a valuable tradition

By Willy Blackmore Nov 25, 2019,

"Suzanne Greenlaw doesn’t like chainsaws. She moves quickly through the chest-high ostrich ferns, frilly leaves heavy with rain, as the orange saw sputters and then chokes. 'She gets all freaked out,' says Gabriel Frey, laughing as he yanks the starting cord again with one heavily muscled arm, the saw whirring to life. Putting the bar to a trunk of shaggy, gray-tinged bark, he begins to cut, the grinding sound of the saw echoing through the damp, green-lit stand.

"The felled tree is one of three that Frey and Greenlaw carefully picked out of the woods on the cool, damp July day in far northern #Maine. Plenty of logs are hauled out of the forest there, in #AroostookCounty, which is home to a chunk of the #NorthMaineWoods, a 3.5 million-acre expanse of commercial timberland. But Frey and Greenlaw, and the stand of gray-barked trees, are part of a tradition that’s far older than any timber camp or lumber mill. The trees are #FraxinusNigra, commonly known as #BlackAsh or #BrownAsh, which have forever been at the hearts of the lives of Maine’s indigenous tribes.

"Greenlaw, a #Maliseet forestry scientist working on her PhD at the University of Maine, is at the forefront of the effort to protect the state’s brown ash. The trees are at risk of being wiped out by the emerald ash borer, an #InvasiveSpecies that has been killing ash trees in North America for the better part of 20 years. With the help of Frey, a renowned #Passamaquoddy basket maker, as well as the broader #Wabanaki basket-making community, the married couple is fighting to preserve the rich tradition the tree supports."

https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/25/20976144/emerald-ash-borer-baskets-wabanaki-invasive-pest-maine-tradition-trees

#IndigenousTraditions #IndigenousWisdom #EmeraldAshBorer #SaveTheTrees #ClimateChange #InvasiveSpecies #MaineWoods

#MDOT Plans New #SearsIsland Road and Rail Access Corridor Through Current #ConservationLand

Published by
#allianceforsearsisland

on May 23, 2024

"Can we hold the Maine Department of Transportation accountable for bull-dozing their way toward developing Sears Island and industrializing #PenobscotBay, along the way breaking promises, rewriting environmental protection law, changing the Sears Island conservation easement, withholding from the public important development costs and impacts and avoiding open, honest, transparent public involvement?

"We might be tempted to begin our list of facts illustrating MDOT’s abuse of authority and public trust with the illegal filling of Sears Island #wetlands and construction of the causeway, apparently in violation of its permit, in the 1980’s. But let’s keep to the more recent offshore wind record of broken promises and undisclosed development activity.

"During the Governor’s announcement in February, [#GovJanetMills] claimed, without supporting data, that Sears Island development 'will cost less' and 'is expected to result in less environmental harm' than would development of a state-owned but privately operated offshore wind facility at Mack Point.

"The 'cost less' assertion raised major questions not yet answered in part because, a few months earlier, at the last OSWPAG meeting, we were told, 'The total project cost for construction is very similar for both MP ($460 Million Total Project Cost) and SI ($470 Million Total Project Cost).'

"Sears Island’s current #undeveloped, natural condition, provides important ecological services to the region and state, especially for fisheries, #CarbonSequestration and publicly accessible recreation. #MackPoint does not provide these ecological services. According to a reliable source, every acre of intact Sears Island forest locks up between 80 and 100 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year – #CO2 that cannot harm our #climate.

"Developing Sears Island proposes removing all vegetation and life from more than 100 acres on Sears Island, nearly one-third of which is existing or historical #wetland, and then harvesting 1.4 million cubic yards of soil to create an impermeable, nearly level work area. Doing so constitutes radical, permanent, irreparable ecological damage, forever eliminating current upland and associated marine #environmental benefits. This exactly flips an appropriate climate-change response and dramatically undermines any claim that developing Sears Island instead of Mack Point represents the least environmentally damaging choice.

Broken Promises

"In 2007, the state promised to choose #MackPoint as the preferred location for future marine transportation development. The Sears Island agreement, signed by 38 stakeholders including the Maine Department of Transportation, and adopted as state policy by then-Governor Baldacci and the State of Maine’s Joint Standing Committee on Transportation, says: 'Mack Point shall be given preference as an alternative to port development on Sears Island.'

"The Sears Island agreement also committed the State of Maine from ever harvesting soil from the island. Ever. Not one cubic yard of soil would be harvested and certainly not 1.4 million cubic yards of soil!

Sadly, the Governor’s announcement and subsequent actions taken by MDOT toward developing Sears Island render the promises made in 2007 by our government worthless.

Broken Laws

"But highly questionable governmental actions in pursuit of developing Sears Island continue. In March this year the Governor brought forward the sand dune bill that allows violation of sand #dune system protections on Sears Island and creates a dangerous threat in the future for any environmental law that may interfere with MDOT development aspirations. Though initially failing to pass in the House, the bill eventually became law after strong political pressure.

New Sears Island Road and Rail Corridor

"And now we come to the MDOT application for a federal grant specifically to develop Sears Island. Nestled within several documents associated with the grant application is page 2 of a two-drawing file titled, Sears Island Wind Port Concept Drawing 2024-04-29, copy attached or available at https://www.maine.gov/mdot/grants/infra/.

"The illustration depicts a new 'heavy load' access road and rail corridor as part of Sears Island development plans for the first time, at least in public.

"As proposed, the new approximately 2,300-foot-long rail and road access corridor passes through a thickly wooded portion of the island, crossing at least two perennial streams and disturbing additional wetlands along the way. Assuming a 100-foot width, the corridor would destroy more than 5.25 acres of intact natural landscape, in addition to the more than 100-acre upland ecological destruction at the facility site proper.

"Adding insult to injury, the proposed new road and rail corridor requires changing the conservation easement boundary in the vicinity.

"#FriendsOfSearsIsland Vice President Rolf Olsen received confirmation of the new road and rail access plan from Kay Rand in response to his query. Rand also substantiated that the new access corridor would cross a portion of the conservation parcel and necessitate a change in that parcel’s boundary.

"According to budget information included with the grant application, clearing, grubbing, excavation and borrow, grading, drainage, erosion control, paving and other work related to this access corridor will add $8 million to the cost of developing Sears Island. Mack Point already provides both a heavy load road and rail.

"The new Sears Island rail and road access corridor presents yet another failure by MDOT to incorporate an honest understanding of climate change into decision-making. As MDOT fiddles for federal grant money to pursue a mega facility on Sears Island, the Earth tilts toward catastrophic climate change.

"I will venture the opinion that, had the #MillsAdministration and MDOT focused offshore wind port research on Mack Point as promised in March 2020 (see attached press release), as promised in the Sears Island Planning Initiative, and as the historical record certainly suggests is the rational approach, including deeply exploring development possibilities there with #SpragueEnergy, they might already have secured permits and seen construction begun.

#Accountability Now

"End the insulting double-speak. With honor and integrity, not intrigue and obfuscation, open-up and bring the full spectrum of facts to this decision. Accountability now!"

Steve Miller

https://allianceforsearsisland.org/2024/05/23/mdot-plans-new-sears-island-road-and-rail-access-corridor-though-current-conservation-land/

#WindTerminal #SandDunes
#Searsport #AllianceForSearsIsland #ProtectWahsumkik #MackPoint #Wahsumkik
#EndangeredSpecies #ProtectTheDunes #GovernorJanetMills #WabanakiAlliance #CulturalGenocide #EnvironmentalRacism #PenobscotNation #Passamaquoddy #ProtectTheForest #CorporateColonialism #Wassumkeag

#SandDune Vote:
Some Tribal Perspectives on
Proposed Wind Port on #Wahsumkik

“..For both #Wabanaki people and non Wabanaki people...It has a great amount of history. It's ecologically sensitive and important to the #ecosystem of our coast...” - Darren Ranco,
PhD, #Penobscot Citizen, Professor at the University of Maine, MITSC Commissioner, #Maine #ClimateCouncil committee member.

April, 2024

"Sears Island (known also by the Penobscot name Wahsumkik) is the largest #undeveloped island within the state and one of the largest on the eastern seaboard, and considered important to #BirdMigration. Construction of a wind port operation would require the destruction of 70 acres of #forest and would impact a yet to be assessed area of marine eel grass. The destruction of a sand dune was
reportedly missed in a first assessment of the site, thus prompting the Governor's bill."

https://allianceforsearsisland.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/tribal-perspective.pdf

#ProtectSearsIsland #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#Searsport #ProtectWahsumkik #MackPoint #Wahsumkik
#EndangeredSpecies #ProtectTheDunes #GovernorJanetMills #WabanakiAlliance #CulturalGenocide #EnvironmentalRacism #PenobscotNation #Passamaquoddy #ProtectTheForest #CorporateColonialism #Wassumkeag #WednesdaysForWildlife

State applies for federal grant to build wind port on #SearsIsland

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 17, 2024

"The Mills administration said Friday it’s seeking $456 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to build an offshore wind port at #SearsIsland, angering local opponents who say the state is bypassing an alternative at nearby #MackPoint before a study analyzing both sites has even been started. A study is set to be done assessing Sears Island and Mack Point, which is favored by many local residents because it already has an #industrial area. Sears Island has been spared previous #development attempts. The project has divided #environmentalists who support Maine’s foray into wind power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but disagree on where to build a port to support the project."

https://www.restore.org/maineenvironews/2024/5/17/state-applies-for-federal-grant-to-build-wind-port-on-sears-island

https://www.pressherald.com/2024/05/17/state-applies-for-federal-grant-to-build-wind-port-on-sears-island/

#RESTOREMaine #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#Searsport #ProtectWahsumkik #MackPoint #Wahsumkik
#EndangeredSpecies #ProtectTheDunes #GovernorJanetMills #WabanakiAlliance #CulturalGenocide #EnvironmentalRacism #PenobscotNation #Passamaquoddy #ProtectTheForest #CorporateColonialism #Wassumkeag

"First Nations leaders voice opposition to nuclear power plants"

#Passamaquoddy #Canada #NuclearPower

https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/first-nations-leaders-voice-opposition-to-nuclear-power-plants/

#Kihtahkomikumon (Our Land) – Is #LandBack in #Passamaquoddy Territory

Sunlight Media Collective October 21, 2021

"In 2021, by an act of humanism, solidarity, and reparation, the #Passamaquoddy tribe has been reunited with 140 acres of their unceded Ancestral territory – part of the largest island in Kci Monosakom, (Big Lake) Maine. To the Passamaquoddy people, it’s more than land return; it is the return of a stolen family member. In this short film, we join Passamaquoddy community members who are finally able to reunite with their non-human Relative.

"Originally known as Kuwesuwi Monihq (Pine Island), and renamed 'White’s Island' by settlers, this place has deep historical and cultural significance to the Passamaquoddy community.

"The island was included as part of the Tribe’s #Modahkomikuk (Indian Township) reservation in the 1794 Treaty with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980. Despite treaty agreements, #KuwesuwiMonihq, or Pine Island, was stolen from the people at some point during the mid-1800s and renamed White’s Island. In fact, it seems to have been stolen by renaming it…once it became White’s Island on the map, it no longer matched the language of the 1794 treaty, which identifies Pine Island as protected, reserved land. The island fell out of Tribal stewardship quietly as colonizers bought up parcels. Once the island was considered privately owned, the Passamaquoddy people were denied access.

"Land dispossession is a barrier to #Wabanaki people who are practicing their culture and connecting with their homelands. As Tribal Nations, we are endowed with the Sacred responsibility to protect the lands we come from. In return, these lands protect us. This understanding is at the heart of the #LandBack movement, which has taken off across Turtle Island. Passamaquoddy people can now visit Kuwesuwi Monihq safely, enjoy their kinship connection to the island, and know that they will not be asked to leave.

"In efforts to heal the Earth and the damaged relationship between Indigenous & colonizing peoples, the #LandBack movement has already seen the return of millions of acres to tribes. For the Passamaquoddy, the return of their relative, Kuwesuwi Monihq, will help them fulfill those Sacred responsibilities and heal along with the land & water. All our Relations. P’site Elakumukik. #IsLandBack."

A Sunlight Media Collective production.

Watch: https://vimeo.com/537535470

Source:
https://www.sunlightmediacollective.org/kihtahkomikumon-our-land-islandback-in-passamaquoddy-territory/

#WabanakiAlliance #Maine #FirstNations #PassamaquoddyNation #StolenLand #IndigenousSovereignty #Landback #Rewilding #IndigenousKnowledge
#RestoreNature
#Wabanaki

Monday Sand Dune Vote: Some Tribal Perspectives on Proposed Wind Port on #Wahsumkik

“..For both #Wabanaki people and non Wabanaki people…It has a great amount of history. It’s ecologically sensitive and important to the ecosystem of our coast…”
– Darren Ranco, PhD, Penobscot Citizen, Professor at the University of Maine, MITSC Commissioner, Maine Climate Council committee member.

via Sunlight Media, April 2, 2024

"On Monday, the full Maine Legislature is expected to vote on #LD2266, 'An Act Regarding Offshore Wind Terminals Located in Coastal Sand Dune Systems.' The bill, put forth by the Governor’s office five days before a public hearing, seeks to exempt a sand dune on #SearsIsland, in #Searsport, from current state #environmental protections to explicitly allow for the advancement of an offshore wind port and staging area on the island. Governor Mills announced last month that Sears Island is the state’s 'preferred site' for the major development, instead of the already industrialized #MackPoint, also in #Searsport.

"Sears Island (known also by the Penobscot name Wahsumkik) is the largest undeveloped island within the state and one of the largest on the eastern seaboard, and considered important to #bird migration. Construction of a wind port operation would require the destruction of 70 acres of#forest and would impact a yet to be assessed area of marine eel grass. The destruction of a sand dune was reportedly missed in a first assessment of the site, thus prompting the Governor’s bill.

"At the public hearing on #LD2266, #Passamaquoddy Representative to the Maine Legislature #AaronDana, expressed opposition to the bill and deep concern for the unstudied impacts of off shore wind operations and the siting of a staging development and port on Wahsumkik/Sears Island.

"'These projects are often driven by the profit motives that prioritize corporate interests over the well being of the Indigenous people of Maine and the surrounding communities of non-tribal members alike….The push for the offshore wind project energies, the offshore wind energy must be critically examined from a #Native perspective, taking into account the profound impacts on our environment, our culture, and our communities.'

"'The installation and the operation of the offshore wind turbines often encroach upon sacred sites and areas of cultural significance. This project, especially for the #Penobscot Tribal territory, these places hold deep spiritual value for our community and are integral to our cultural identity. The industrialization of these areas not only desecrates our sacred sites, but they also erode our cultural heritage and the connection to the land and the sea.'"

Information shared by Citizens To Protect Sears Island:

VOTE NO ON LD 2266
SEARS ISLAND is NOT the ONLY OPTION for OFFSHORE WIND.

1) There has been no environmental impact study for Sears Island, and available environmental assessments that support development of the Island. However multiple assessments are available that discourage port development of any kind on the Island.

2) Sears Island has been deemed to have significant ecological value, invaluable capacity for future carbon sequestration, as well as many rare species, which are all necessary for future climate resilience. [The Resilient Land Mapping Tool, The Nature Conservancy, TNC Screenshots 2010, TNC Screenshots 2050]

3) Mack Point is the fastest option to permit and construct a wind port in Penobscot Bay that meets the 100-acre size requirement. Environmental permits will be granted without delay as the site is industrialized with limited ecological value. If expansion is required over time, collaboration may occur with the old mill site in Bucksport for smaller components, economically uplifting the entire region.

4) The MDOT has not considered the most recent Sprague Energy site use proposal, but it is a further improvement of the Moffatt and Nichols Report of 2023.

5) Construction costs at Mack Point are equivalent, or less than Sears Island ($400 to $500 million). [Moffatt and Nichols Report 2023]. It is NOT TRUE that Sears Island will be cheaper to develop because the State owns the land. The State is not factoring in costs that will be associated with development or operation. For example, causeway expansion and mitigation for wetland loss.

6) Dredging needed at Mack Point is minimal compared to Sears Island, with less potential sediment contamination. [Moffatt and Nichols Report 2023], [2021 Maine DOT OSW port Infrastructure Feasibility Study – Concept Design Report 11-17-2021]

7) Developing Mack Point has strong support from the regional community.

https://www.sunlightmediacollective.org/monday-sand-dune-vote-some-tribal-perspectives-on-proposed-wind-port-on-wahsumkik/

#CulturalGenocide #WabanakiAlliance #Maine #WindTurbines #ProtectTheForest

From 2021:

#NativeAmerican tribe in #Maine buys back island taken 160 years ago

The #Passamaquoddy’s purchase of #PineIsland for $355,000 is the latest in a series of successful ‘#LandBack’ campaigns for #IndigenousPeoples in the US

by Alice Hutton
Fri 4 Jun 2021

"The advert painted an idyllic picture of White’s Island.

"For $449,000 you could buy 143 acres of forests with sweeping views of the rugged shoreline of Big Lake in Maine, on the east coast of the United States. “[It’s] a unique property … steeped in history … with only two owners in the last 95 years,” wrote the real estate agent from privateislandsonline.com.

"In fact, #KuwesuwiMonihq, or #PineIsland, is its original name, and it technically has just one true 'caretaker'; the Passamaquoddy: a small tribe of 3,700 Native Americans who had lived there for at least 10,000 years.

"It’s a spiritually important place for the tribe, filled with graves from devastating #smallpox, #cholera and #measles outbreaks caused by #WhiteSettlers.

"In 1794 it was officially granted to the tribe by Massachusetts for their service during the revolutionary war. But after 1820, when Maine became its own state, colonialists changed its title, voiding the treaty. In the 1851 census there were 20 Passamaquoddy living there, in 1861 there were none.

"By 2021, they had not only lost all but 130,000 acres of their original 3m. They hadn’t stepped foot on Pine Island in 160 years.

“'The land was stolen from us and it’s been every chief’s goal ever since to return it,' said chief William Nicholas, 51, leader of the tribe’s Indian township reservation for the last 11 years, who spotted the advert on a shop noticeboard on 4 July last year.

"In March, with a grant from conservation charities, the tribe raised $355,000, and finally bought the island back."

Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/04/native-american-tribe-maine-buys-back-pine-island
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/04/native-american-tribe-maine-buys-back-pine-island

#PassamaquoddyTribe #Wabanaki #MaineTribes #IndigenousPeople #FirstNations

Governor’s Bill to Exempt a Sand Dune on #SearsIsland/ #Wahsumkik from #EnvironmentalProtection for #OffshoreWind Port Passes Committee – Full Vote Expected This Week

Sunlight Media Collective March 26, 2024

"Governor’s Bill to Exempt a Sand Dune on Sears Island/ Wahsumkik from Environmental Protection to allow for her choice of the Undeveloped Island as the Site for the most 'Cost-Effective' Offshore Wind Port Passes Committee.

"The #Passamaquoddy and #PenobscotNation and numerous #environmental organizations oppose the development, while large environmental groups and unions back the governor.

"A full legislative vote is expected this week.

"On Thursday, March 21st the Maine Legislature’s Committee on Environment and Natural Resources voted in support of a bill that would carve out exemptions from existing environmental protections for the industrial development Sears Island/Wahsumkik.

"#LD2266 “An Act Regarding #OffshoreWindTerminals Located in #CoastalSandDune Systems” put forth by the Governor’s office five days before its public hearing last week, seeks to specifically exempt a sand dune on Sears Island, in Searsport, from current #EnvironmentalProtections to allow for the advancement of an offshore wind staging development on the island.

"Governor Mills announced last month that Sears Island is the state’s “preferred site” for the major development, instead of the already industrialized #MackPoint, also in Searsport.

"The bill’s passage could set a dangerous precedent for the quick rollback of environmental protections at the behest of industry and the state.

"The development of Sears Island (known also by the Penobscot name Wahsumkik)), the largest undeveloped island within the state and one of the largest on the eastern seaboard, has been a lightening rod over the past decades, as the state and prevailing industry have attempted to site a number of projects there and received concerted local push back that stopped development.

"On this current attempt, the Governor’s office has gathered a roster of supportive environmental groups eager to be seen making visible strides on climate change, and unions eager for employment opportunities. But opposition to Sears Island development has not dissipated, and has increased in diversity to include both political parties, as well as local and state environmental groups, fisherman and the Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe.

"This movement is pushing back on what they see as a false choice on #ClimateChange action– alternative energy vs the destruction of #forests and critical habitat on the undeveloped island. They challenge the Governor’s conclusion that Sears Island should be chosen over Mack Point.

"LD 2266 would allow for the exemption of a coastal sand dune on Sears Island within the proposed wind port from current protection under the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

"Expressing public support for the bill at the hearing were: The Governor’s Office, The Maine DOT, Maine Labor Climate Council, Maine AFL-CIO, Maine State Camber of Commerce, Maine Peoples Alliance and the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Some expressed openness to locating at Mack Point, if it was considered viable.

"Against the development of Sears Island and additionally opposed to the bill that would make changes to the DEP coastal sand dunes protections, include: The Passamaquoddy Tribe, Searsport Representative Reagan Paul, the Alliance for Sears Island, #FriendsOfSearsIsland, Isleboro Island Trust, #SierraClub Maine, Preserve Rural Maine, New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association , Upstream Watch, Community Water Justice, #FriendsOfCascoBay and Casco Bay Keepers and a number of individuals speaking on own behalf. The Penobscot Nation did not give testimony at the hearing but opposes the development at Sears Island/Wassamkeag.

"Speaking Neither for nor against were: Maine Conservation Voters and #MaineAudubon, who stated they could not support the bill as written, but could potentially with an amendment .

"Testimony from the March 18th hearing can be viewed online at

https://legislature.maine.gov/committee/#Committees/ENR

"A vote by the full legislature on the the rollback is expected this week.

Sunlight Media Collective will continue to follow this story.

Further coverage can be heard archived on WERU FM Community Radio on the programs Maine Currents and RadioActive. www.weru.org"

Source:
https://www.sunlightmediacollective.org/governors-bill-to-exempt-a-sand-dune-on-sears-island-wahsumkik-from-environmental-protection-for-offshore-wind-port-passes-committee-full-vote-expected-this-week/

#Corporatocracy #Maine #MainePolitics #Greenwashing #JanetMills #ProtectTheForest #SaveSearsIsland

Full article:

A mid-November meeting in Searsport brought together various conservatives, liberals, Native American leaders and environmentalists who all believe Maine should not use Sears Island to build a large offshore wind port.

The odd alliance, ranging from Rep. Aaron Dana of the #Passamaquoddy Tribe to former Gov. Paul LePage’s energy advisor, at the Nov. 18 meeting organized by Rep. Reagan Paul, R-Winterport, highlights the tricky politics coloring the project key to Maine’s climate goals.

Paul, 24, a self-described “Christian constitutional conservative,” and Rep. Lynne Williams, 73, a Bar Harbor Democrat and lawyer who said she and Paul are “polar opposites on most issues,” are part of the contingent against using Sears Island for a deepwater wind port for different reasons.

Paul opposes offshore wind in general while Williams, who sought the Maine Green Independent Party nomination for governor in 2010, views nearby Mack Point as the better location.

At the same time, Searsport’s town manager, an ex-Republican lawmaker, believes the opposition is shortsighted and ignores the wind project’s potential economic and environmental benefits. The wind port location will not get chosen until 2024, per state officials.

Paul said the meeting showed “we are more than the R or D behind our names.”

“We are Mainers and neighbors who can bring communities together one conversation at a time,” she said Friday.

Although Maine considered four locations for the port, or not building it at all, Mack Point and Sears Island are the two contenders. Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, announced the deepwater port plan in 2021 after unveiling a broader offshore wind initiative in 2019. The Maine Department of Transportation is leading the project.

DOT spokesperson Paul Merrill said Maine’s other deepwater ports in Portland and Eastport were initially considered but taken off the table due to lacking enough land with tide access and the large amount of rock and earth removal required to create a flat 100-acre site, respectively.

Environmentalists have complained the state has long preferred building it on Sears Island rather than on nearby, privately owned Mack Point. While Merrill acknowledged Mack Point’s challenges include dredging and an existing rail line, he said the DOT is “committed to continuing discussions” with all sides and that each site has a cost estimate between $400 million to $500 million. Mack Point would cost additional money to lease since the DOT does not own that land, Merrill added.

The 941-acre #SearsIsland, the largest #undeveloped island in Penobscot Bay, is connected to the mainland by a causeway and is located off the coast of Searsport, the Route 1 town of about 2,600 residents. The state owns the island, though Native Americans who called it Wassumkeag, or “bright sand beach,” used it over thousands of years for camping, hunting, fishing and resting along paddling routes.

#MaineCoastHeritageTrust holds roughly 600 acres under a 2007 conservation easement, with 330 acres reserved as a “transportation parcel” for potential use as a cargo and container port, according to #FriendsOfSearsIsland, a volunteer-run nonprofit that manages the island’s conserved area.

The wind port debate is significant to Maine’s goal of reaching 80 percent renewable energy by 2030 and 100 percent clean energy by 2040. The Maine Climate Council released an annual report Friday showing renewable energy use is now at 51 percent.

Mills also aims to procure 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Maine by 2040, with several onshore wind projects advancing slowly and with some public pushback as well.

A University of Maine researcher said it will cost up to $10 billion to reach Maine’s goal of 3,000 megawatts of offshore power but noted long-term savings and benefits over continued fossil-fuel dependence.

The Alliance for Sears Island, made up of conservation groups and citizens, wants the wind port built on nearby Mack Point, noting its existing development and “historical coal and oil-based working waterfront” that handles cargo vessels.

Paul said while the “fight to protect Sears Island” is “nonpartisan,” she criticized Democrats in Augusta for pushing wind projects and potentially making Sears Island “the next natural resource to be offered up to be sacrificed.”

Williams differs from Paul over renewable energy initiatives, but the two agree Mack Point is the better choice. Williams said Transportation Commissioner Bruce Van Note will face “incredible pushback” if Sears Island is chosen and that protesters may risk arrest by holding “sleep-ins” on the island.

An advisory group featuring government, conservation and business representatives met between March 2022 and this summer to discuss how Maine could add to the nation's two existing offshore wind farms off Rhode Island and Virginia.
The state aims to build massive hulls to steady the tall blade structures at an onshore port to lessen risks from shipping large components out to sea for assembly. The port would require clearing 100 acres for the main terminal along with expanding road access and parking.

Friends of Sears Island said one-third of the island would be “changed forever” if used for the wind port, with other speakers at the recent meeting arguing not only land but also marine habitat would suffer. Additionally, opponents said accompanying noise and lights on the western shore would disturb the island’s hiking and birding opportunities that draw international visitors.

Rolf Olsen, Friends of Sears Island’s vice president, said local residents have successfully opposed plans spanning decades to develop the area, such as an effort about 10 years ago to build a 22 million-gallon liquid propane storage tank in Searsport. A “traffic counter” last used on the island in 2021 recorded about 16,800 cars visiting during summer months, he said.

“I believe there is a faction of people in the DOT that wants Sears Island developed come hell or high water,” Olsen, who served on the offshore wind advisory group, said.

Though he disagrees with many of Paul’s conservative views on issues such as abortion and guns, Olsen appreciated hearing from her and others “representing the entire political spectrum” at the November meeting.

David Italiaander, a Searsport resident and international agricultural commodity trading consultant, said most speakers “were cogent, poignant and compelling.”

“Politics does make for strange bedfellows,” Italiaander said.
Still, not all residents and officials agree on ruling out Sears Island. Searsport Town Manager James Gillway, who co-chaired the advisory group and was a Republican state representative from 2010 to 2018, said the state’s process has been “open” and University of Maine researchers have worked to “finetune” Maine’s offshore wind potential.

Gillway attended Paul’s meeting and said many attendees were not from the Searsport area but tried to make “emotional” arguments. (Paul pushed back and said her sign-in sheets show most attendees were from Searsport and other Waldo County towns.)

“One gentleman mentioned dumping offshore wind blades in the ocean,” Gillway added. “That kind of conjecture is not very helpful to the conversation.”

Despite hurdles involving logistics, costs and public skepticism, Gillway said the offshore wind port could lead to numerous benefits for the Searsport area.

“Our region’s been suffering since the Bucksport paper mill closed,” Gillway said. “This has the promise to replace all of that and then some.”