Currently at the Abbe Museum

Twisted Path III: Questions of Balance, invites audiences to consider Native American concerns about the environment through the medium of contemporary art. Artists’ works express emotional and cultural reflections on the status of our planet—both comfort from a sense of place and connections to the land, and the conflicts inherent in cultural genocide and pollution of sacred spaces.

Many of Twisted Path III’s artists have work available for purchase in the Abbe Shop, such as raw silk, handpainted scarves by Patricia Michaels; silver jewelry by Shane Perley Dutcher; baskets by Gabriel Frey, and twine baskets by Vera Longtoe Sheehan.


Four Directions of Wabanaki Basketry, located in our unique Circle of the Four Directions, offers a place of quiet reflection for visitors to the Museum.

The exhibit features a basket from each of the Wabanaki tribal communities: the eastern basket made by a Maliseet child, the southern baskets made by Passamaquoddy women, the western basket made by a Penobscot man, and the northern basket by a Micmac elder. Visitors will also hear the creation story of Koluskap and the Ash Tree in the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy/Maliseet, and Micmac languages.

Made possible through the generosity of John and Ruth Overton.


150th Thoreau-Wabanaki Anniversary Canoe Tour. During May 2014, an epic journey took place commemorating the travels of Henry David Thoreau and his Wabanaki Guide, Joe Polis, through the Maine Woods in July of 1857. The Abbe Museum is hosting a photo exhibit that describes a modern-day recreation of Thoreau and Polis’ journey. Curated by Chris Sockalexis, Penobscot Tribal Historic Preservation Officer.

Photo credit, Chris Sockalexis