Part B of Celebrating Rural Maine Project to Focus on Wabanaki Perspectives

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Interdisciplinary Instruction Team is pleased to announce the distinguished speakers for Part B of the Celebrating Rural Maine project! This three-part professional learning series engages rural educators in a deep exploration of Maine’s history. All teachers are welcome to participate in Part B, regardless of prior participation in other sessions.

Event Details

The series consists of three Saturday colloquiums on March 8, April 12, and May 17, each scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and centered on this year’s theme: “Geography of the Place We Now Call Maine”. These sessions provide a unique opportunity to engage with content experts, master teachers, and colleagues in discussions about Wabanaki studies, outdoor learning, innovative teaching models, and climate education.

March 8 | Dawnland

This session explores the geography of Maine from a Wabanaki perspective, as well as Wabanaki storytelling.

• Chris Sockalexis (Panawahpskek Citizen/Tribal Historic Preservation Officer)
  • Session Topic: Cultural Landscape of Maine through a Penobscot Lens
• Natalie “Kasq” Dana Lolar (Passamaquoddy-Penobscot Tribal Member/Department of Anthology, University of Maine)
  • Session Topic: Wabanaki Storytelling

April 12 | Transitioning Landscapes

This session examines how European settlement impacted and intersected with Wabanaki communities.

• Chris Sockalexis (Panawahpskek Citizen/Tribal Historic Preservation Officer)
• Matt McCourt (Associate Professor of Geography, University of Maine Farmington)

Additional session topics to be announced.

May 17 | Present Day

This session focuses on contemporary Wabanaki perspectives on Maine’s geography and place-based geographical explorations of rural areas.

• Darren Ranco (Panawahpskek Citizen/Professor of Anthropology and Coordinator of Native American Research, University of Maine)
• Matt McCourt (Associate Professor of Geography, University of Maine Farmington)

Additional session topics to be announced.

Ongoing Engagement with Educational Strategies

Throughout the series, Dr. Mark Hofer (College of William & Mary) and Jessica Fries-Gaither (Albert Einstein Distinguished Fellow, Library of Congress) will demonstrate strategies for integrating primary sources to deepen connections with content.

Why Participate?

These colloquiums offer an engaging, interdisciplinary approach to understanding Maine’s history through geographical, cultural, and historical lenses. Educators will receive five contact hours per session.

Click here to learn more and register.

For more information, please contact Regina Holland, National Council for History Education Program Manager, at regina@ncheteach.org.

The Interdisciplinary Instruction Team is a part of the Maine DOE’s Office of Teaching and Learning.

This opportunity is funded through the Library of Congress’ Teaching with Primary Sources program and presented in partnership with the National Council for History Education.