A collage of hand tools, artworks, and instruments.

David Lone Bear Sanipass (Artist Profile)

October 28, 2025 Event, News

David Lone Bear Sanipass, Mi’kmaq

David Lone Bear Sanipass is a Mi’kmaq Artist and Storyteller.  He comes from a family that is renowned for their basketry–a tradition that he grew up with in Aroostook County.  For over 50 years, David has made traditional Mi’kmaq Northern Block flutes. 

David learned to carve by watching his grandfather as a child.  He harvests white cedar that has been struck by lightning, which crystalizes the tree’s wood.  His flutes have a unique sound and tone and each is specially tuned to a song and melody that he knows.  David also paints and sketches as well as forges tools, such as knives and splint gauges for Wabanaki basketmakers.

Photos: David Lone Bear Sanipass – Artist and Storyteller

  • An artwork made with white designs on a blue field. Motifs include moons, a teepee, a feather, a bear, and double-curve designs.
  • A wooden flute in a stand. The flute is decorated with inlaid turquoise and wood-burned designs.
  • A hand tool with a carved wooden handle.
  • A knife with a wooden handle and tapering metal blade.
  • A hand tool with crooked wooden handle and straight metal blade.
  • A hand tool with crooked wooden handle and hooked metal blade.

Photography by Andrew Estey and Lights Out Gallery

Upcoming 2025 Wabanaki Winter Market (Saturday, December 13, 2025):

Organized by the Hudson Museum, the Wabanaki Winter Market is New England’s largest holiday gathering of Wabanaki artists. The annual December event features award-winning Wabanaki weavers as well as new artists representing the next generation of artists.

The event is supported in part by a grant from Four Directions Development Corporation.

Location of the event: The Collins Center for the Arts (2 Flagstaff Road | Orono, Maine)

Date: Saturday, December 13, 2025 (from 9 am to 3 pm)

Contact: Gretchen Faulkner | Director, Hudson Museum (207.581.1904) For event updates, please visit: https://www.wabanakiwintermarket.org