Collins Center for the Arts to host Maine-Wabanaki REACH event Sept. 19
The shared history of Maine and Wabanaki people will be the focus of a Maine-Wabanaki REACH event Monday, Sept. 19 at the Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine.
“Truth, Healing and Change in the Land of the Dawn” will be held 6–8 p.m. in the Bodwell Lounge. The discussion will touch on two key events of 2015: the findings and recommendations of the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and the Penobscot Nation v. Mills case.
Maine-Wabanaki REACH is a cross-cultural collaborative that advances Wabanaki self-determination by strengthening the cultural, spiritual and physical well-being of Native people in Maine. The work is focused in three areas: Wabanaki health, wellness and self-determination; ally building in Maine communities; and strengthening systems and organizations.
Wabanaki people include the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Maliseet and Micmac and have experienced the taking of their land, lives, children, language and spiritual practices. The TRC spent two years collecting stories and data about the experience of Wabanaki children and families in the child welfare system in an effort to support the healing process by documenting the truth.
Barbara Kates of Maine-Wabanaki REACH will lead the talk. Kates worked alongside the state child welfare system for more than 25 years, and her work with the TRC was primarily to encourage other child welfare professionals to provide statements to the commission. Currently, she is a community organizer helping to educate Mainers about the shared history and current relationship with Wabanaki people.
The event is free and open to the public. Co-sponsors include the UMaine Division of Lifelong Learning, Diversity Leadership Institute, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Honors College and Cooperative Extension.