WANDERLUST NEWS
First look: a new heritage centre will tell the story of Maine’s Indigenous peoples First look: a new heritage centre will tell the story of Maine’s Indigenous peoples
“The river doesn’t belong to us, we belong to the river”
The Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument – a wild swoop of northeastern Maine encompassing the East Branch of the Penobscot River – sits within the ancestral homelands of the Penobscot Nation, who have stewarded the region for more than 11,000 years. Now a brand new visitor centre, poised to open in spring 2025, tells the story of the land through an Indigenous lens.
The Tekαkαpimək Contact Station was conceived through a partnership with the National Park Service and a Wabanaki Advisory Board, who consulted on everything from the building’s design to the exhibition content. (The Wabanaki, or ‘People of the Dawnland’, include the Maliseet, Micmac, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes.)
-
The new Tekαkαpimək Contact Station reflects its bucolic surroundings (James Florio) -
Artwork celebrates the Wabanaki traditions of basket weaving and wood carving (James Florio) -
The visitor centre is located within Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (Giant Giants)
The result is an undulating wood-clad building that blends seamlessly into its Lookout Mountain location and affords heart-in-mouth views of Katahdin – the highest peak in Maine (1,606m), sacred to the Wabanaki peoples.
Inside, giant windows look out onto the richly forested landscapes, while displays cover everything from the ecology of the Penobscot River and the life cycle of Atlantic salmon to the importance of the night sky (the Monument is an International Dark Sky Sanctuary too). Exhibit highlights include an ornately carved birchbark canoe and an audio retelling (in the Penobscot language) of a treasured story about the formation of the Penobscot River (involving a giant water-hoarding frog and Wabanaki hero Gluskabe).
-
Displays focus on the importance of the Penobscot River to the region’s Indigenous peoples (James Florio) -
Exhibits explain the lifecycle of the Atlantic salmon and include an alabaster salmon sculpture by Penobscot artist Tim Shay (James Florio) -
The East Branch of the Penobscot River within Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (Mark Picard)
Jennifer Neptune, a Penobscot artist and the centre’s lead exhibit writer, said: “The river is so important culturally to us – and it has kept our people alive for thousands of years.”
“So often, in museums, we’re just a sentence, or a paragraph – and we’re so much more than that. We still have our connection to this place, and this land, and the sacred mountain. Why not tell that story?
“I hope that this place helps visitors understand the North Maine Woods in a different way – and see it through different eyes.”
All Wabanaki Cultural Knowledge and Intellectual Property shared within this project is owned by the Wabanaki Nations.
About the trip
Jacqui Agate was a guest of Visit Maine. Full feature to follow.
Please note: The Tekαkαpimək Contact Station at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument is not yet open to the public. Check nps.gov for updates.
