Greatest Mountain on Display at the Abbe Museum

The exhibit, a vision by Penobscot artist and historian James Francis, is a tribute to Mount Katahdin 



The Abbe Museum, the first and only Smithsonian Affiliate in the state of Maine, is pleased to announce the opening of Greatest Mountain, a tribute to Mount Katahdin. Curated by Penobscot artist and historian James Francis, the exhibit is a combination of research, both through Penobscot histories and accounts of non-Native travelers and writers, with images, music, stories, and the Penobscot language, all of which bring this sacred mountain to life. Greatest Mountain will be in the Abbe’s main gallery through August 2015.

“Greatest Mountain is the fascinating and engaging result of James's unique perspective as an artist, historian, guide, and Penobscot tribal member,” said Julia Clark, director of collections & interpretation at the Abbe. “Together, these result in a view of Katahdin unlike any other.”

Katahdin translates from Penobscot to English as “Greatest Mountain.” While some say this reflects the fact that Katahdin is the highest mountain in Maine, Francis points out that when the mountain was given this name by the Penobscot people, Maine and its boundaries did not exist, and the Wabanaki people were certainly familiar with higher mountains in their traditional territory, in what is now New Hampshire.



Images move and flicker across Greatest Mountain, a compilation of time-lapse photographs taken by Francis at night back in November 2014. The images were captured from Millinocket Lake, looking toward Katahdin’s south face. Francis went to the mountain and set up his camera to take repeated 6-second exposures. When he came back to the camera in the middle of the night, he discovered a wonderful, additional gift: the northern lights had come out to frame the mountain. Along with these time-lapse photographs, there is a song composed by Francis, various other video and still imagery, and spoken word pieces of Penobscot people sharing stories.

Greatest Mountain will be in the main gallery of the Museum’s downtown Bar Harbor location through August. Open daily from 10 am to 5 pm, admission is $8 per adult, $7 for senior citizens, $4 for children ages 11 – 17, and children 10 and under are free. Admission is free to Native Americans and Abbe members.



Ever wonder how a river, mountain, or town got its name?



Wabanaki Place: Language and Landscape

Join us on Sunday, June 1, 6 - 8 PM to learn about Mount Desert Island and Downeast regional names from the perspective of its earliest inhabitants. James E. Francis, Penobscot Nation’s Cultural and Historic Preservation director and member of the USET Culture & Heritage Committee, will share stories about the origin and meaning of geographic place names from a Wabanaki perspective.

Place names are part of language preservation which is an important part of Penobscot culture. Recently, the Penobscot Nation was awarded a $339,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to the Folk Life Center which will provide resources and linguistic training to the Penobscot Nation’s language revitalization efforts and the publication of a comprehensive dictionary.

As part of the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET) 2014 Semi-Annual Meeting in Bar Harbor, this is a unique opportunity to learn more about Native cultural place and belonging. As a special addition, the presentation will be accompanied by a performance by the Alamoosic Drummers.

Today, USET has grown to become an inter-tribal organization with 26 federally-recognized Tribal Nation members. While defined as a regional organization, USET has developed into a nationally prominent and respected organization due to its broad policy platform and influence
on the most important and critical issues facing all of Indian Country. Supporting all of its issue specific advocacy is a foundation built upon the goals of promoting and protecting the inherent sovereignty rights of all Tribal Nations, pursuing opportunities that enhance Tribal Nation rebuilding, and working to ensure that the United States upholds its sacred trust responsibilities to Indian Country.

USET represents and promotes the interests of its member Tribes through conferences, associations, work groups, partnerships, etc. Additionally, it serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas, works on behalf of its membership to create an improved quality of life for American Indians through increased Health, Education, Social Services, Housing, Economic Development, Transportation, and Justice opportunities, and works to promote Indian leadership to ensure Indian Country’s continued growth, development, and prosperity as Tribal Nations.

The USET Conference will meet in Bar Harbor from June 2-4, 2014.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

6:00-8:00 pm

Abbe Museum, Downtown