Maine Memory Network

Birch Point, Island Falls, ca. 1920

Contributed by: Island Falls Historical Society Date: circa 1920 Location: Island Falls Media: Postcard

Loading Birch at B&A Station, Patten, 1912

Contributed by: Patten Lumbermen's Museum Date: 1912 Location: Patten; Patten Media: Photographic print

179-181 Brackett Street, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Tyler Realty Company Use: Store

Roberts property, S. Side Winding Way, Peaks Island, Portland, 1924

Owner in 1924: Madeline T. Roberts Use: Summer Dwelling

Proposed House at Birch Knolls for Mrs. R.E. Bates, Cape Elizabeth, 1937

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1937 Location: Cape Elizabeth Client: R. E. Bates Architect: John P. Thomas

A Focus on Trees

Maine has some 17 million acres of forest land. But even on a smaller, more local scale, trees have been an important part of the landscape. In many communities, tree-lined commercial and residential streets are a dominant feature of photographs of the communities.

Gifts From Gluskabe: Maine Indian Artforms

According to legend, the Great Spirit created Gluskabe, who shaped the world of the Native People of Maine, and taught them how to use and respect the land and the resources around them. This exhibit celebrates the gifts of Gluskabe with Maine Indian art works from the early nineteenth to mid twentieth centuries.

Mount Desert Island: Shaped by Nature - The Indian Encampment

"… trinkets, skins of seal and deer, baskets of birch-bark, moccasins, bead-work, snow-shows, gulls’ breasts, stuffed birds, clubs, carved sticks…"

Mount Desert Island: Shaped by Nature - Guiding Services for Sport Hunters

"… and Steamboat Wharf, Bar Harbor, a number of Birch-bark canoes, in which he will take parties to several Islands in the bay and around Mount Desert…"

The story behind David Moses Bridges' basket
by Patricia Ayala Rocabado

The story behind David Moses Bridges' (1962-2017) birch bark basket

Mali Agat (Molly Ockett) the famous Wabanaki "Doctress"
by Maine Historical Society

Pigwacket Molly Ockett, healing, and cultural ecological knowledge

Wabanaki Studies: Stewarding Natural Resources

Grade Level: 3-5 Content Area: Science & Engineering, Social Studies
This lesson plan will introduce elementary-grade students to the concepts and importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Indigenous Knowledge (IK), taught and understood through oral history to generations of Wabanaki people. Students will engage in discussions about how humans can be stewards of the local ecosystem, and how non-Native Maine citizens can listen to, learn from, and amplify the voices of Wabanaki neighbors to assist in the future of a sustainable environment. Students will learn about Wabanaki artists, teachers, and leaders from the past and present to help contextualize the concepts and ideas in this lesson, and learn about how Wabanaki youth are carrying tradition forward into the future.