Watch: Nolan Altvater discusses McGillicuddy Humanities Center fellowship research

As a 2020-2021 McGillicuddy Humanities Center fellow, senior secondary education major Nolan Altvater used indigenous research methodologies for his project, “Wabanaki Tools of Diplomacy: Storying Protocols as Political Will,” in which he aimed to center the needs and voices of Wabanaki communities to inform education policy in the State of Maine.

Altvater, a Passamaquoddy citizen and future Tribal educator, discussed his project during the McGillicuddy Humanities Center’s two-night Spring 2021 Showcase. In his talk, he addressed the current barriers of implementation of the Wabanaki Studies Law (LD 291) and presented how Wabanaki diplomacy can lead the way to address these issues and serve as political will toward decolonization and antiracist conviction in Maine education. Altvater also explored the concepts and protocols of wampum, and its later form of Indigenous writing, to highlight how Wabanaki people have used traditional intellect as tools for empowerment to resist colonialism.

Watch a video of the presentation below, which also includes a presentation from another MHC fellow, senior history major Hailey Cedor.