Events at Member Institutions

on Wednesday, November 16, Holly K. Hurd, Executive Director, and Laura F. Sprague, Consulting Curator, Tate House Museum, will present an illustrated Zoom program at 5:30 pm. The lecture will be moderated by Aimee Keithan, PhD,  Research Associate, University of York. They will highlight new research about colonial Portland & perspectives on Indigenous and Enslaved people that will expand the interpretation of historic Tate House. Recent interpretations shared with visitors to the historic site in Portland's Stroudwaterneighborhood have focused primarily on the lives of George and Mary Tate, of a wealthy merchant class family, who built the house in 1755 and lived there until 1794. With the support of a Maine Humanities Council grant, Tate House Museum has been working to expand its narrative to understand the lives and work of enslaved people in the neighborhood and perspectives and representations of Indigenous people who also lived in the region. The lecture will include research about Colonel Thomas Westbrook and Samuel Waldo and describe how their actions affected Native people as well as what is known and not known about enslaved people and domestic servants in Stroudwater. Tate House Museum’s objective is to engage in important community conversations about Maine’s colonial history to make its educational offerings more inclusive and to tell a more complete story.

Registration for the lecture is free and open to the public. Information about ticketing is available at www.tatehouse.org. Please direct questions to Holly Hurd at hkhurd@tatehouse.org.

The Skowhegan History House Museum & Research Center is pleased to announce that Chris Sockalexis is the next speaker in its Wabanaki Voices Speaker Series. On Thursday October 13 at 7pm,  Chris will present Penobscot culture, history, and archaeology within the traditional landscape of the Penobscot Nation.  This will include an overview of the archaeological record mixed with traditional knowledge and traditional / contemporary drumming and singing.  

Chris Sockalexis is a member of the Penobscot Nation and is the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Penobscot Nation. He is a graduate of the University of Maine Anthropology Department as well as the Climate Change Institute.  Chris is also an accomplished singer who travels throughout the northeast to various powwows and other gatherings with his drum group, The RezDogs.  He loves being out on the waterways of Maine and is one of the lead contacts for the Penobscot Nation Cultural Tourism Program which offers guided canoe trips along the Penobscot River.

This event is free and takes place at Tewksbury Hall on Weston Avenue in Skowhegan and will also be broadcast via Zoom. Masks are required for in-person attendance.  

To register for the Zoom link, visit https://msad54.maineadulted.org/

FMI: (207) 474-6632.

WWII: Why They Fought
An Interactive Presentation on WWII History

On Saturday, October 8, 2022, at the Canton Historical Society in Canton, Doug Culver will present an interactive talk on WWII, using original artifacts to tell the story of these ordinary men and women and their extraordinary achievements. The program includes hands-on demonstrations of the uniforms and equipment used during the War and will highlight the stories of several local residents’ family members who served in various branches of the military.  

You will learn about the War and why we fought, as told through the vivid stories of the men and women who served, made even more dramatic by a first-hand view of the uniforms they wore and the equipment and supplies they carried. You will gain a new understanding of the unfolding events of WWII and how they shaped our country and the world. The program provides guidance on identifying WWII uniforms, ribbons, medals, and other artifacts found in family collections, and how these items can help trace the service of your family’s WWII veterans.

Doug Culver has presented free WWII programs for the past 40 years for high schools, veterans’ groups, museums, libraries, historical societies, and other organizations.

Admission is free and open to the public. Program times: 1-3 pm. Doors open at 12:30 pm. Seating is limited. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Not recommended for very young children.  

Saturday, October 8, 2022
Canton Historical Society
25 Turner Street, Canton, ME www.cantonmehistory.org

Free admission – nonprofit event – open to the public

For more information, contact the Canton Historical Society: Email: cantonmehistorical@gmail.com

On Saturday, October 8 from 3 to 6PM the Tate House Museum presents ColoniAle 2022 at the museum. Come find out what you don't know about making beer in colonial times while you tour the Tate House museum on a special guided tour. What is spruce beer? How did a woman in the 1700's make beer for the family? What kinds of “cocktails” can you make with beer? This is a one hour tour followed with a social time in the "backyard" where you will be given a Tate House pint glass, 2 pints of Mast Landing Ale and a Tate House tote. Imbibing is encouraged!!

Tours 3-5PM with social hour 4-6PM. Admission is $25 for General Admission and $20 for Museum Members. Tours are timed when you arrive and can be purchased by going to Eventbrite with the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/coloniale-2022-tickets-409358882437 . 

Or go to www.tatehouse.org

For More Information:

Holly K Hurd

Tate House Museum

1267 Westbrook Street

Portland, ME 04102

hkhurd@tatehouse.org

207-774-6177

-On Wednesday, September 14 at 7PM the Tate House Museum presents the third in its series of outdoor lectures on the lawn of the museum.

Nathan Lipfert, Curator Emeritus of the Maine Maritime Museum, will offer an illustrated

talk about the history of Maine shipyards, and the shipbuilders and vessels they built,

concentrating on the 200 years since statehood. During the wooden shipbuilding era,

Maine shipyards built more ships than any other state, and every coastal community

participated in this industry. Maine continues as an important shipbuilding region into

the present, providing well-paid skilled employment to thousands of people who build

vessels of wood, metal, and composite materials that have an impact around the world.

Lipfert’s presentation will be based on research from his recently published book, Two

Centuries of Maine Shipbuilding: A Visual History. (book will be available for sale)

For Advance Tickets visit tatehouse.org or https://www.simpletix.com/e/two-centuries-of-maine-shipbuilding-lectur-tickets-114200. Tickets are $12 General Admission, $10 Tate House Museum members. Tickets At the Door $15 General Admission, $12 Tate House Museum members.

Bring lawn chairs or blankets. Note: Rain date will be Thursday Sept 15 (same time).

Please check our website if weather predicts rain. Beverages and snacks will be available for purchase.

FMI: Holly Hurd

hkhurd@tatehouse.org

207-774-6177

Tate House Museum

1267 Westbrook Street

Portland, ME 04102

The Wabanaki Voices Speaker Series, sponsored by Skowhegan History House Museum & Research Center, continues with a talk by Ashley Smith on Thursday August 25th from 7pm to 8pm.  Ashley's talk is entitled, “Stories of Nanrantsouak/Norridgewock Village: Understanding the Legacies of our Shared Histories of Violence.”

This event is free and takes place at Tewksbury Hall on Weston Avenue in Skowhegan and will also be broadcast via Zoom. Masks are required for in-person attendance.

To register for the Zoom link, visit msad54.maineadulted.org.

FMI: (207) 474-6632.

Ashley Smith was born and raised in Madison, Maine where some members of her family have been for multiple generations. She is a child of factory and papermill workers in the heart of this region of Maine. She also understands herself to be a product of the deep histories of Indigenous and non-Indigenous relationships and struggles that have shaped this region. As a child, her grandfather regularly took her to gather water at the site of the Wabanaki village Nanrantsouak or Norridgewock, known locally as “the Pines” in Madison. She grew up hearing stories of this place and the horrible violence that the English had brought to Wabanaki people here. For a high school project, she decided to research the history of this place and learned, to her surprise, that much of what she found in published books contradicted what she had grown up knowing and what her family had taught her about this place. Since then, she has spent much of her adult life learning about this place and its stories and memories from multiple perspectives, both book research and interviews with Indigenous descendants and non-Indigenous locals. She tries to understand how competing narratives like the ones she faced come about, how they impact people into the present, and what we might do about it. She holds a PhD in Anthropology and Native American and Indigenous Studies and is affiliated faculty at Hampshire College in Massachusetts where she used to teach. She recently left academia to return home and serve the Maine communities that mean so much to her. She now works as a legal aid paralegal and consumer advocate at Pine Tree Legal Assistance.

The Skowhegan History House Museum is pleased to announce that Dwayne Tomah, Director and Curator of the Sipayik Museum, is the next speaker in the Wabanaki Voices Speaker Series. On Thursday July 21 at 7 pm, Tomah will lead a discussion after showing the 1-hour film: “The Doctrine of Discovery–Unmasking the Domination”. The Doctrine of Discovery refers to a principle in public international law under which, when a nation “discovers” land, it directly acquires rights on that land. The Doctrine provided the basis for subsequent laws depriving indigenous peoples of their lands.

Tomah has been involved in repatriation and Land Back issues and will share historical truth regarding The Doctrine of Discovery from an Indigenous perspective. He is a Language Keeper and teacher of the Passamaquoddy language and culture. He is the youngest fluent speaker of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and has served on the Tribal Council.

He has also worked with Animal Planet on a segment called Winged Creatures, highlighting the history of the Thunderbird.

His life has been dedicated to working on the language and culture preservation. He has edited the Passamaquoddy dictionary and worked to help create the Apple ~ Passamaquoddy Language App. He shares Native legends through song and dance.

Dwayne is currently working with the Library of Congress on translating the Passamaquoddy Wax Cylinders. These recordings are the first recordings in the world of Native languages. They were recorded in 1890 by Jesse Walter Fewkes, who borrowed the device from the inventor Thomas Edison. 

This event is FREE and takes place at Tewskbury Hall on Weston Avenue in Skowhegan and will also be broadcast via Zoom.  Masks are required for in-person attendance.

To register for the Zoom link, visit msad54.maineadulted.org.

FMI:  (207) 474-6632.

As a new member to the MAM, I'm excited to help bring the BitCurator Forum to Maine -- Virtually! Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about Digital Forensics, digital appraisal of digital archives and records using digital forensics techniques, or the BitCurator Consortium. I am a past-President and past-Executive Committee member for the BCC.  - Kari Smith, Global Archivist LLC
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Mark the week of March 28-30 for the 2023 BitCurator Forum! This year will feature virtual panels, workshops, lightning talks, “Great Questions!,” Birds of a Feather sessions, and sponsor office hours.  We will also be experimenting with regional hybrid programming. Stay tuned for more information!

Expect to see the Call For Proposals in late August. Exact dates of the Forum will be announced at that time.

About the Forum

The BitCurator Forum brings together representatives of all levels of experience from libraries, archives, museums, and related professions engaged in (or considering) digital archives work. 

The Forum will balance discussion of theory and practice of digital forensics, curation, and related digital analysis workflows. There will also be hands-on activities with the BitCurator environment,  and other useful tools.

You do not need to be a BCC member or user to submit a proposal and/or attend the event. The BCC is committed to fostering an open, inclusive and safe environment. See the Code of Conduct on the Forum website.

#BitCuratorForum #HybridExperiment

The Skowhegan History House Museum & Research Center continues its Wabanaki Voices Speaker Series with Natalie Michelle, member of the Panawapskwei (Penobscot) Nation, on Thursday, July 7, at 7pm at Tewksbury Hall - located on Weston Avenue behind the Federated Church on the island in Skowhegan - and will also be broadcast via Zoom. She will present, "The Impacts of Earth Changes on Turtle Island; The Wabanaki”. Her lecture will review the historical and climate impact on cultural customs and practices of indigenous interrelationship and interdependency linking Native lifeways within the ecology.

The discussion will encompass the cultural paradigms of environmental relationship, stewardship, lifeways, holism, spiritual connections, kinship ties and oral histories. Traditional economic systems of food acquisition including the cultural practices for utilitarian procurement of culturally important species remain fundamental in the recovery, language preservation that encompasses the transmission and mobilization of traditional ecological knowledge important to adaptation in environmental changes. Multifaceted mechanisms Impacting Socio-ecological Resiliency of the Wabanaki will be presented including the identification of major Climate Change indicators of the Wabanaki and what it means for Wabanaki cultural survival.

Natalie Michelle's diverse background includes Nursing and BS in Human Nutrition and an MA in Public Administration, Pi Alpha Alpha with a concentration in Environmental Management and Sustainability. She is a PHD in Interdisciplinary Studies in Ethnobotanical Studies at the University of Maine at Orono. Her interests are in areas of Climate Change Impacts on Cultural Practices, Food Sovereignty, Indigenous Research Methodology, and TEK and Language as an Adaptive Strategy.

Masks are required for in-person attendance.

To register for the Zoom link, visit msad54.maineadulted.org.

FMI:  (207) 474-6632.

 its inception in 2010, Pretty Girls Sing Soprano has quickly turned heads and gained a

loyal following. Ingrid Ayer-Richardson (guitar), Susan Mathews, and Deana Gurney (keyboard,

percussion) come together with tight, original vocal harmonies to share their love for acoustic

and acapella music. The Pretty Girls will sing to your soul and leave you with a smile as they perform a variety of songs from folk, country, bluegrass and rock.

On Friday, July 15, from 6 to 8PM the Tate House Museum is offering a free concert of these ladies on it’s beautiful back lawn overlooking the Stroudwater River, 1270 Westbrook St Portland. Snacks will be available for purchase and all are welcome. This is an enjoyable event for families and children. Bring your own chairs or blankets and sit and relax for a fun filled evening.

This event is sponsored by Desert of Maine, Stroudwater Neighborhood Association and the Tate House. A rain date of Saturday, July 17^th is planned if needed.

FMI: Holly Hurd

hkhurd@tatehouse.org

1267 Westbrook Street

Portland ME 04102

207-774-6177