Indian festival fuses culture with tourism

BAR HARBOR – For 17-year-old Sequan Henries, it’s a family thing.

That’s the reason she spent Saturday basking in the sun among hundreds of curious festival goers. It’s the reason many stopped to peruse her hand-made jewelry at one of several display tables on the lawn at the College of the Atlantic. It’s the reason the teenager couldn’t stop smiling.

“We get to see so many familiar faces, it’s nice to recognize them. We’re all a family,” the young American Indian said, but then added, “There are still a lot of people here I don’t know.”

The unfamiliar faces were a good sign though, as hundreds of people turned out on Saturday for the 18th annual Native American Festival.

The festival, sponsored by COA, the Abbe Museum and the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, brought together the cultural heritage of Maine’s Wabanaki tribes in the form of singing, dancing and baskets for every occasion.

“We’ve been coming for the last three or four years; usually it’s a bit smaller than this, but it’s pretty crazy today,” said Henries, who had sold three of her bracelets by midday.

Millard Dority, director of grounds and maintenance at COA, estimated that at least 1,000 had come through the gates by early afternoon.

Dority said everything went smoothly, mainly because most of the festival-goers didn’t even park on site. Instead, they took advantage of a shuttle bus service that brought people from downtown Bar Harbor to the college campus off Route 3.

“The shuttle has been a really nice convenience for people,” he said, applauding the generosity of the Island Explorer fleet.

The crowd, a mix of locals and tourists, mingled among the tables, passing American Indians dressed in traditional leather breechcloths and headdresses.

A Sullivan resident, Henries and her family belong to the Nipmuc Nation, which is a tribe based mainly in Massachusetts and Connecticut but with a small contingent in Maine. The teenager said she has been making jewelry since she was old enough to pick up the little glass beads and feed the leather through the tiny holes.

“It’s not fake leather either, that’s real deer hide,” she assured.

Her sister, Sierra, 19, also makes jewelry and her work was on display. Her father, Hawk Henries, is a renowned flute player who dazzled the crowd just after lunchtime by playing beautiful, soft music on flutes that he carved himself by hand.

The Henrieses were just one of many families who brought their culture to Bar Harbor on Saturday.

Pat Almenas sold T-shirts with the words “Native Pride,” and hats with each tribe’s name stitched across the crown. Passamaquoddy was a tight fit.

“People love to take home souvenirs,” he explained.

Penobscot Indians Jason Brown and Donna Decontie displayed their colored earrings and necklaces at a table at the crest of a small hill where, if they looked down, they could see where ocean meets land.

Other tables held authentic animal pelts, moccasins, books on American Indian history and culture, and of course, the baskets.

“I’ve never seen such a collection,” said Dorothy Pascoe, 57, who has been visiting Bar Harbor from Connecticut for the past week. “I haven’t bought anything yet, but I don’t see how I won’t. This beats anything you can get in a store.”

Pascoe said she was walking in downtown Bar Harbor earlier in the week and heard about the festival.

“What a wonderful thing to offer,” she said. “Maine has such a rich Native American history.”