Protecting Wabanaki Basketmaking Traditions Threatened by an Invasive Pest: Addressing “Wicked Problems” Through Collaborative Research

2019 Maine Heritage Lecture by Dr. Darren Ranco, Chair of Native American Programs and Associate Professor of Anthropology

Friday, October 25
3:00-5:00 pm
Bodwell Lounge, Collins Center for the Arts

The event will begin with a reception in the CCA’s Hudson Museum and is free and open to the public.

Wabanaki (Micmac, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot) tribal basketmaking traditions use brown ash trees as their primary source material. This resource is threatened by the Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive pest from China first found in North American near Detroit in 2002, which has spread to over 35 states and provinces and killed millions of ash trees. It was discovered in Maine in 2018 for the first time. In this talk, Dr. Darren Ranco will discuss his nine-year research project to work with tribal basketmakers and other key stakeholders to prepare for the arrival of this pest in Maine. He will discuss how his team used both sustainability science and indigenous research methods to do research that was inclusive, relevant, impactful, and culturally appropriate for the research partners. He will emphasize the ways that Wabanaki basketmakers and indigenous researchers use indigenous forms of diplomacy to assert sovereignty and influence state and federal resource to this invasive pest.

The Maine Heritage Lecture showcases research and creative work about the state of Maine, with particular emphasis on Maine’s sense of place, history, diverse cultures, society, and policy.

Sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.