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A new traveling teaching kit on Passamaquoddy
history and culture has been developed by
the National Park Service and the Abbe Museum
to inspire teachers and students to learn
more about the richness of Passamaquoddy and
other Wabanaki cultures and history. The kit
is designed for grades five through eight
and includes nine lesson plans.
Included are objects such as Passamaquoddy
baskets, copies of historic photos, casts
of Native American artifacts and maps. The
kit also contains recordings of a traditional
story told by Passamaquoddy elder David Francis
and audio reenactments of two historic speeches
to the Maine legislature: an 1887 address
by Louis Mitchell and the 2002 State of the
Tribes address by Passamaquoddy Gov. Richard
Doyle.
The “Parks as Classrooms” program
of the National Park Service provided funding
for the project. The kit was developed over
two years by Marie Yarborough, Abbe programs
coordinator, and Mark Neidig of Acadia National
Park, who supervises ranger programming within
the Gorham Mountain district.
Throughout the project, Ms. Yarborough
and Mr. Neidig consulted with Passamaquoddy
elders and community members. These included
Joseph Nicholas, who suggested that the
kit be created; Dolly Apt and David Francis
of the Waponahki Museum at Pleasant Point;
Donald Soctomah, Passamaquoddy Historic
Preservation Officer; and Robert M. Leavitt,
co-editor-in-chief of the Maliseet-Passamaquoddy
dictionary and director of the Mi’kmaq-Maliseet
Institute at the University of New Brunswick.
The kit is available at the Abbe, at Acadia
National Park and at St. Croix Island International
Historic Site. It is loaned at no charge for
up to four weeks. The teacher is responsible
for picking up the kit and dropping it off.
For further information about the kit or
St. Croix Island International Historic Site
and Acadia National Park’s Education
Programs, contact St. Croix Island International
Historic Site, P.O. Box 237, Calais, Maine
04619, 207 454.3871, acadia_information@nps.gov
or Acadia National Park, P.O. Box 177, Bar
Harbor, Maine 04609, 207 288.3338, acadia_information@nps.gov.
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