Wabanaki Speaker Series with Blue Hill Heritage Trust: What Coastal Access Means For Sustenance in Wabanaki Homelands

Tony Sutton, Passamaquoddy is Assistant Professor of Native American Studies and Food Systems, Native American Programs and Cooperative Extension. He is a Faculty Fellow and works at the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine.

From Gluskabe riding Puteb’s back to Pesamkuk to traveling the Penobscot River to clear the river portages to support movement, cultural stories like these are rooted to specific places in our homeland and represent the foundation of knowledge and values shaping our foodways. Late Penobscot elder Ssipsis describes in her book, Molly Molasses and Me, the knowledge enacted in these places as “Indian Paths,” as the paths worn down by our ancestors that guide us to the knowledge and teachings of a particular place that can be used to support our lifeways. In either example, the place is what gathers us and shapes who we are in the world. Yet, there can be many challenges for coastal gathering places for Skicinuwok who are walking the paths of their ancestors, such policies that prohibit physical access, the practices themselves, or regulate the levels of pollution in food.

In this presentation, Tony will explore these gathering places to discuss what they mean for Wabanaki Foodways, historical and contemporary challenges, and what restored access means for cultural and ecological well-being for Skicinuwok and gathering places.

Please use this link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpfuqtqDguGdegNB03Oum-vv210vPRdSCF

If you have any questions please email landere@bluehillheritagetrust.org