Monday, October 2
Storytelling by Michael Dube’ and singer Gaianne Dube’
6:30pm | Emery Community Arts Center
Mike Dube’ is a captivating storyteller and native of Farmington, Maine. Mike’s roots trace back to a 300+ year-old family farmhouse in Livermore, Maine. With a rich heritage blending Native Mi’kmaq, Acadian, and Portuguese influences, Mike embarked on a life journey to embrace his Native roots and walk in the Old Ways. He founded Taconic Challenges, a wilderness school dedicated to teaching his core philosophy of “Adapt and Overcome” in a rugged outdoor setting.
Mike is a Registered Maine Guide exam and channeled his expertise into wilderness therapy, helping disadvantaged youth surpass their limitations. As his passion for storytelling blossomed, Mike’s quest to explore his Mi’kmaq heritage led him to become a Traditional Native Storyteller, earning the blessings of the Wesget Sipu and Mi’kmaq Nations.
Today, Mike shares the profound fusion of his Native culture, the Maine Wilderness, and the wisdom of the Ancient Ones, making each storytelling experience an unforgettable journey.
Gaianne Dube’, a proud descendant of the Wampanoag and Taíno tribes, embodies the vibrant tapestry of her Native American heritage alongside her Puerto Rican and Black roots. Originally hailing from Boston’s Jamaica Plain, she has called Maine home since 2016. Gaianne’s journey has led her from a career in the science / medical field, where she serves as a Certified Pharmacy Technician in Farmington, Maine.
Gaianne loves to sing and auditioned for “The Voice“ six years ago. She is a worship leader in her church and a volunteer Chaplain at the Franklin Memorial Hospital. Married to Mike Dube’, Gaianne’s life has been transformed by the wilderness and ancestral wisdom he introduced her to.
Embracing the call of her ancestors, she embarked on a journey of homesteading, cultivating gardens, preserving harvests, and harnessing the power of wild herbs and fruits on their land.
Native Soul Yoga with Meagan Dube’
11:45am | Location TBA
Meagan Dube’ is not just a Yoga Instructor; she’s a guide to well-being with a unique perspective. Born in Presque Isle, Maine, she embarked on a life filled with diversity and cultural richness as a ‘military brat,’ experiencing different people and cultures across the country. Her heritage blends Native Mi’kmaq, Acadian, and Portuguese roots, which have deeply influenced her journey.
She earned her Bachelor’s degree from UMF in 2008. In 2017, Meagan’s passion for well-being led her to earn yoga teacher certifications in vinyasa, hatha, and yin, inspiring her to establish Native Soul Yoga. Her specialization lies in restorative yoga, with a focus on aiding veterans, those with PTSD, TBI, and trauma, providing a unique healing approach.
Through laughter, playful moments, or the serenity of watching a sunrise, Meagan aims to guide people toward a profound sense of well-being.
Tuesday, October 3
Documentary Film: This River is Our Relative
6:30pm | Room C-23, Roberts Learning Center (bottom floor)
For the indigenous Penobscot people, the Penobscot River is more than just one of the sacred rivers in Wabanaki. It is a vital part of their culture, history, and well-being. The river has always been a beloved relative.
In 2019, the tribe enrolled the river as a Penobscot Nation citizen.
The documentary film, This River is Our Relative, by the Sunlight Media Collective explores the importance of the River to the Penobscot people.
Wednesday, October 4
Traditional Indigenous Peoples’ Lunchtime Food Tastings
Lunchtime | South Dining Hall, Olsen Student Center
This event open only to UMF students
Panel Discussion / Conversation: Zeke Crofton-Macdonald and Shirley N. Hager
Promoting Indigenous Allyship and the Latest Indigenous Political Struggles
6:30pm | The Landing, Olsen Student Center
Osihkiyol (Zeke) Crofton-Macdonald is a Wolastoqey person from the Houlton Band of Maliseets in Maine (Metaksonikewiyik) and the Oromocto First Nation (Welamukotuk) in New Brunswick Canada. Zeke has spent his life advocating for Native rights in the United States and Canada. He is currently serving as the Tribal Ambassador for the Houlton Band of Maliseets in Maine. He serves as one of the board members for the Wabanaki Alliance and as Tribal Co-Commissioner for the Houlton Band on the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission.
Shirley N. Hager is the lead author of The Gatherings: Reimagining Indigenous-Settler Relations and she co-organized the Gatherings on which the book is based. She is a retired associate extension professor with the University of Maine and also a Circles of Trust facilitator with the National Center for Courage & Renewal. Currently, she serves with the Friends (Quaker) Committee on Maine Public Policy and chairs its Committee on Tribal-State Relations. She lives in Chesterville, Maine.
Friday, October 6
Tabling: Sign up for Future Opportunities to Learn About Wabanaki and Mi’kmaq Educational and Cultural Events
11am – 2pm | Hallway on Olsen Student Center
Indigenous Land and Water Acknowledgement
The Indigenous Land and Water Acknowledgement is read at each UMF Commencement ceremony by graduating UMF students
We would like to begin by recognizing that the University of Maine at Farmington occupies the traditional homelands of the Abenaki people of Anmessokkanti, whose communities lived and sustained themselves along what we call the “Sandy River” for millennia until very recent times. We would like to honor them by sharing a short summary of this region’s significance to Abenaki people.
The Sandy River is a vital part of the food and kinship network extending throughout Abenaki or Wabanaki homelands. The river’s original name, Anmessokkanti, loosely translates to “land of the small fish,” being home to shad and alewives, and providing critical spawning habitat for Wild Atlantic Salmon. The plentiful fish populations here were a major food source for the Anmessokkanti and used as fertilizer for corn, beans, and squash cultivation. These crops, but corn in particular, were then shared with Wabanaki communities to the northeast whose soils and climates were less amenable to cultivation. This network was disrupted by colonialism and the industry, pollution, and river damming that accompanied it.
We acknowledge that UMF inherited its campus at the expense of the Abenaki community, after centuries of war, scalp bounty policies, and other tactics designed to extinguish the Abenaki from their own land. These events forced most Anmessokkanti to relocate to two Abenaki reservations in Quebec in 1704, called Wôlinak and Odanak. Many families descending from the Farmington area remain there today. We recognize that the dispossession and expulsion of the Abenaki from their homeland is an ongoing injustice upheld by settler colonialism. We pledge to bravely confront this painful reality.
We acknowledge that the Abenaki people of Odanak and Wôlinak descend from the original care-takers of this area, and maintain a sacred connection with it. We pledge to honor them by educating ourselves about their history and current struggles and accepting our responsibility to correct ongoing injustice. We wish to also extend this acknowledgment to the Maliseet, Miꞌkmaq, Penobscot and Passamaquoddy nations who, with the Abenaki, make up the Wabanaki people.
We recognize and affirm the sovereignty of the Native nations in this territory and beyond. We recognize that sovereignty means the ability to self-govern, and to govern over one’s homelands. We understand that this statement has real implications and that decolonization is not a metaphor.
We pledge to continue our collaboration with Wabanaki people to further decolonize spaces and to transform UMF into a place that honors Wabanaki and other Indigenous peoples. We acknowledge that this is an ongoing process in which the University of Maine at Farmington promises to partake, in partnership the many Indigenous individuals who have contributed to this important cause.
— The Indigenous Land and Water Acknowledgement statement was authored by Mali Obomsawin (Odanak Abenaki First Nation, Bomazeen Land Trust) with input from Darren Ranco (Penobscot Nation, University of Maine).
Indigenous Peoples’ Week Contact
For more information, contact:
Yetunde O. Ajao
Assistant Director of Student Life for Training and Multicultural Programming
University of Maine at Farmington
111 South Street
Farmington, ME 04938
tel 207-778-7188
yajao@maine.edu
Top of page featured photo by Nolan Altvater of Passamaquoddy