Seacoast Online reports on lecture by Sockalexis
Seacoast Online reported on a presentation by Chris Sockalexis, a master’s student in quaternary and climate studies at the University of Maine. Sockalexis, who also is the historic preservation officer for the Penobscot Nation, gave the presentation “12,000 years in Maine” about the long history of indigenous people of Maine at Wells Reserve at Laudholm in Wells, Maine. Environmental changes like sea level rise, and modern infrastructure projects, are posing threats to historic sites important to indigenous populations, Sockalexis said. Examples include road and sewer projects threatening Native burial sites, and sea level rise eroding bedrock carvings and artifacts. He also spoke about shell middens, heaps of shells along the coast that provide evidence of human activity, which are an important resource for learning about past civilizations. “These shell heaps are just amazing for what they show us and tell us. We don’t know how many may be lost to sea level rise already,” said Sockalexis. “Every time I go out to one of these sites, I take a million pictures to see how they are eroding. I’ve been going there for 30 years.” UMaine researchers are working to preserve the middens, Seacoast Online reports. Some burial sites were excavated in the early 1900s and remains were sent to Harvard University. Sockalexis and other tribal leaders in Maine have been requesting the return of the remains. “We want our ancestors back where they should be,” Sockalexis said. “We have indigenous archaeologists from across the country working together. We’re hoping Harvard will work with us to return them.” Sockalexis, whose current research is focused on trying to prove cultural continuity through time, said that one of the most interesting archaeological finds was a dagger and a comb made 3,000 years apart, but with the same exact design. His lecture was followed by a demonstration of flint knapping, the ancient art of making stone tools, and a session of drumming and storytelling, the article states.