AquEOUS Fellows Explore Wabanaki Stewardship and Knowledge at Maine’s Historic Whaleback Shell Middens

Maine, with its miles of coastline, dense woodlands, and thriving marine ecosystems, has been home to the Wabanaki people for thousands of years. Long before settler colonialists forcefully claimed the land, the Wabanaki and other Indigenous peoples maintained a deep, reciprocal relationship with the creatures and natural resources they lived among. This July, ARI’s AquEOUS fellows learned more about Wabakani traditions and relationships to the land at the Whaleback Shell Middens in what is now Damariscotta, Maine. 

Shell Middens are cultural sites where heaps of shells, bones, and other materials have been collected over time. Archeologists use shell middens to gain information about historical timelines and communities. The Whaleback Middens, the largest in the region, reveal how Wabanaki tribes interacted with the coastal ecosystems that sustained them.

Under the guidance of University of Maine Professor Anthony Sutton, AquEOUS fellows delved into Wabanaki land rights, food sovereignty, storytelling, and value systems. As the original stewards of the land, Wabanaki tribes nurtured a relationship with the coast of Maine that emphasized reciprocity. A guiding principle of Indigenous interactions with the environment is the idea of using the land in respectful and non-extractive ways. Indigenous knowledge is passed down through generations, often with oral storytelling. Professor Sutton’s storytelling and interactive teaching allowed AquEOUS fellows to gain a deeper understanding of Wabanaki history as they stood on unceded territory. 

Passing around bundles of sweetgrass, dried fiddleheads, and cooked clams, everyone learned with all their senses as they listened to a Wabanaki creation story. By considering different knowledge systems, AquEOUS fellows were practicing Two-Eyed Seeing. First introduced in a western context by Mi’kmaq Elder Albert Marshall, the Two-Eyed Seeing approach is a way to see the world through the lenses of both Indigenous knowledge systems and western science. Weaving the two together broadens our understanding of the natural world and helps us find new sustainable ways of being and knowing.

Article was written by Aqueous fellow Rida Ali