A Ukrainian Flag Flies on Munjoy Hill
As part of the development of a Wabanaki Studies curiculum for the Portland Public Schools, a documentary film series is under creation to serve as a central text for each grade level. The films are yet to be filmed and the district is also exploring ways to share this resource with schools around the state – especially smaller school districts without the same resources available to the Portland area – according to a press release issued yesterday from the Portland Public School District.
The Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Maliseet, Mi’Kmag and Abenaki tribes have stewarded the land we now call Maine for thousands of years. A team of Portland Public School teachers has been working with tribal advisors, students, parents and community partners to build a preK – 12 Wabanaki studies curriculum since 2017. This team decided a film would be the best way to bring the voices of Indigenous people in Maine directly into classrooms.
Bridgid S. Neptune, a citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, former Portland Public School student and consultant to the Wabanaki Studies culture development. said: “PPS is leading the state in this work. They have and continue to center Indigenous voices and perspectives, which has earned them confidence and buy-in from community leaders, Elders and young people.”
The Portland Public School curriculum team is planning one or more short videos for each grade level unit of study. Segments will demonstrate contemporary land use and stewardship practices occurring within Wabanaki communities today. Examples will include maple sugering, elevering, sweetgrass collecting, blueberry harvesting, hunting and basketmaking. No time frame has been established for the completion of these videos according to Tess Nacelewicz, Communications Coordinator for the Portland Public Schools.
“The film will amplify Wabanaki voices, perspectives and knowledge for our students, said Melea Nalli of the Portland Public Schools. ‘While we are proud of the curriculum work we are doing, we also recognize that it has taken us far too long to meet the requirements outlined in the 2001 law obligating all schools to teach Wabanaki Studies.
The Foundation for Portland Public Schools is raising the funds to create the film. The project is funded to date by a $100,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Other key supporters include: Maine Audubon, Hudson Foundation, Portside Real Estate Group, Martin’s Point Health Care, Maine Community Foundation and several individual donors. Fundraising efforts are on-going.