CALAIS – Maine’s teachers need to prepare themselves to help students learn about the state’s American Indians.
That’s what more than a dozen teachers and teachers-in-training have learned since Sunday.
They were taking part in a summer credits program that immerses them in Maine Indian history and culture.
The teaching of Wabanaki studies in Maine’s schools is required by state law. Wabanaki is the word common to all Maine tribes that describes the region of Maine and the Canadian Maritime Provinces.
Passed in 2001, the mandate requires schools to teach about Maine Indian culture and experiences, tribal governments and political systems, past and present territories and economic systems.
But the teachers – all from southern Maine – who came Down East for the last week learned far more.
“This is a course that we teach from the heart,” co-leader Suzanne Crawford said Monday, the group’s first day together. Jeannie Hamrin of Thomas College was the other leader.
Jointly organized by Washington County Community College in Calais and Thomas College of Waterville, the program brought the teachers onto the Passamaquoddy reservations at both Peter Dana Point (Indian Township} and Pleasant Point.
They interacted with tribal members in ways they likely will never forget.
“When kids [at school] ask us questions, we now can give real examples of real people,” said Richard Clark, who has been a teacher of American social studies and history at York High School for 34 years.
“I wasn’t teaching Native American history wrong all those years, but I just didn’t have the depth of understanding that I’ve gained just in this week,” he said.
Lessons came from a number of Passamaquoddy educators and elders. It was the fourth year for the program but the first time that the teachers had such extensive involvement with the Passamaquoddy at their homes.
At Indian Township, the teachers visited the day care, the elementary school and the health center. They met with Joann Dana, called “Gram” by her community, who talked about the meaning of family.
They listened to Donald Soctomah’s history and Aaron Dana’s drumming. They took part in smudging ceremonies led by Roger Paul.
On Tuesday they crossed into Canada to visit with the Passamaquoddy of St. Andrews, New Brunswick. The border, they learned, was imposed by the colonial settlers. And the Passamaquoddy of Canada, the teachers also learned, are not recognized as a tribe by their federal government.
On Wednesday they went in sea kayaks to see the petroglyphs – artwork on rocks – of Machias Bay in Machiasport, created 10,000 years ago by the Passamaquoddy.
Thursday they learned about the tribe’s language from David Moses Bridges, and about herbal medicines with Fredda and Leslie Paul, all of Pleasant Point.
Alice Tomah and Vera Francis, also Pleasant Point residents, shared tribal stories in an interpretive dance format. On Friday the teachers viewed the Wabanaki exhibits at the Downeast Heritage Museum in Calais.
They had stayed three nights in cabins at the Greenland Point Conservation Camp, where Jon Speed of the next-door Princeton Rod and Gun Club on Long Lake provided the meals.
They learned about the Passamaquoddy past, present and future – which may involve liquefied natural gas terminals coming to their reservation and the Passamaquoddy Bay.
Many of the teachers felt alarmed for the Passamaquoddy, who themselves are divided over whether LNG is the best way forward for the tribe.
“I had never heard of LNG before this week,” said Tammy Pullen of Oakland, a Thomas College student who will be student teaching by spring. “Unless you learn about it firsthand the way we did, you can’t have the feelings for how it could interrupt people’s lives.
“Split Rock is a very special place for the Passamaquoddy.”
The group had taken part in a sunrise ceremony at Split Rock at Pleasant Point on Thursday. Split Rock is one of the areas proposed for an LNG terminal.
Few in the group were prepared for the appreciation and warmth they felt all week for their Indian hosts.
“Everyone shared with us,” said Wilma Leinonen of Kennebunk. “It was a privilege to be treated as an equal. … We are all responsible for making sure this world is preserved.”
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