What a wonderful month we had to work on our project, “The Preservation of the Ancestral and Cultural Heritage of the Maliseet and Micmac People known as the Wesget Sipu of the St. John Valley, Maine”. The weather cooperated for all our outdoor activities. The supplies purchased were material for regalia and traditional seeds to plant in our garden. Our expenditures are below budget and in accordance with the May 2010 budget requirements.
Gail Gagnon, our project genealogist, has started and completed quite a few more family history reviews. “It continues to be a very interesting and absorbing project. I never know what surprise or gem I might find in reviewing the files. Sometimes the task can be daunting and I make necessary calls to individuals to provide more concise information to complete the necessary verification to the family file,” Gagnon said.
For the Cultural Preservation activities, Tony Gagnon, our historian reported: “Newspapers, articles and the Internet are constantly being scanned to retrieve information that pertains to Wesget Sipu events and history, both past and current.” The project continues to search out more documents and information, which can be added to the collection being archived at the University of Maine at Fort Kent.
Recently there were four youths and 13 adults at the Deerskin Lodge Grounds to help set up the teepee the traditional way. As we started setting it up, we were honored by two eagles soaring in the sky overhead. Most of the framework was set up first to make the shape of the teepee. One pole was used to bring the covering to the top. The covering was then wrapped around the poles. Two poles were used to hold the opening at the top. We sat in the teepee as Danielle Leblanc gave teachings of the directions and their colors.
The Cultural Heritage and Social Development project was the Eagle Feast at Spruce Haven on the 22nd of May. The first ceremony was the Sunrise Ceremony, which is very early in the morning. Songs, offerings, and prayers were offered to celebrate the great Eagle that flies so high in the sky. The afternoon continued with an honoring the Eagle Feast and Ceremony.
The last Saturday of the month was at Deerskin Lodge Grounds, seven youth and several adults planted a circular garden. Joseph Davis discussed the specific order that was needed to plant the garden. He shared his knowledge of how it needed to be planted, not just the most expedient way. We used a “Three Sister’s Garden” to set up the corn in the first circles, the beans in the next circle, and the squash to come. Corn, beans, and squash work together to help each other. Corn provides a stalk to support climbing beans. The beans provide nitrogen to enrich the soil for the corn and squash. Squash provides the roots with shade to help retain the moisture for the corn and beans. The relationship of these plants help to make each other stronger.
Elder Edmond Theriault, with over 70 years of working with potatoes, talked about how to cut and plant the potatoes. Farmers like using the smaller potatoes because there is more of a chance of the cuts having an eye, where the new plant can grow. The potatoes are cut in wedges to allow them to pass through the seeding planters. The potatoes that Edmond had were already starting to grow. He told us that we had to be careful not to snap of the new growth because it would take longer for the shoots to grow.
The Heritage Project continues to look for more people to empower our project. Tribal and Community members are encouraged to join us as we strengthen our cultural heritage. For more information on any of these activities please call our Office at 207-834-9040. Leave a message, and we will return your call.
This project is funded by the Dept of Health and Human Services (HHS)/Administration for Children and Families (ACF)/Administration for Native Americans (ANA)-Social Economic Development Strategies (SEDS) Grant program.
