Keywords: Maliseet Indians
Item 104959
Philomene Nelson barrel basket, Indian Island, ca. 1945
Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1945 Location: Old Town; Tobique Media: Ash, cord, dyes
Item 23510
Maliseet gathering basket, 1993
Contributed by: Hudson Museum, Univ. of Maine Date: 1993 Location: Houlton Media: Brown ash splints
Exhibit
Gifts From Gluskabe: Maine Indian Artforms
According to legend, the Great Spirit created Gluskabe, who shaped the world of the Native People of Maine, and taught them how to use and respect the land and the resources around them. This exhibit celebrates the gifts of Gluskabe with Maine Indian art works from the early nineteenth to mid twentieth centuries.
Exhibit
Creation and other cultural tales are important to framing a culture's beliefs and values -- and passing those on. The Wabanaki -- Maliseet, Micmac, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot -- Indians of Maine and Nova Scotia tell stories of a cultural hero/creator, a giant who lived among them and who promised to return.
Site Page
Presque Isle: The Star City - Native Americans
"The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, for example, has maintained their Maliseet language so that this region is known as the only place on earth…"
Site Page
View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.
Story
The Journey Home
by Gina Brooks
I am a Maliseet artist from the St. Mary’s First Nation, my work is about our connection to the land
Story
The Tomah Basket
by James Boyce
Learning to make Maliseet Tomah baskets
Lesson Plan
Nation to Nation: Treaties and Legislation between the Wabanaki Nations and the State of Maine
Grade Level: 9-12
Content Area: Social Studies
This lesson plan asks high school students to think critically about and look closely at documentation regarding the Nation-to-Nation relationship between the Wabanaki Tribes/Nations and the State of Maine. This lesson asks students to participate in discussions about morality and legislative actions over time. Students will gain experience examining and responding to primary and secondary sources by taking a close look at documents relating to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 (MICSA) and the issues that preceded and have followed the Act.
Lesson Plan
Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12
Content Area: Science & Engineering, Social Studies
This lesson plan will give middle and high school students a broad overview of the ash tree population in North America, the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) threatening it, and the importance of the ash tree to the Wabanaki people in Maine. Students will look at Wabanaki oral histories as well as the geological/glacial beginnings of the region we now know as Maine for a general understanding of how the ash tree came to be a significant part of Wabanaki cultural history and environmental history in Maine. Students will compare national measures to combat the EAB to the Wabanaki-led Ash Task Force’s approaches in Maine, will discuss the benefits and challenges of biological control of invasive species, the concept of climigration, the concepts of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and how research scientists arrive at best practices for aiding the environment.
