EPC 519 Embracing the Wabanaki Initiative:

Bringing LD 291 into All Maine Classrooms

August 3-7, 2009

8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Three (3) Inservice Graduate Credits

Inservice graduate credit may be used as elective

courses in a USM graduate degree program but can

not be substituted for required courses, with prior

approval of student’s faculty advisor.

Maine Resident

Non-Matriculated Student: $1,108.00

Matriculated Student: $1,088.00

Bangor High School

Bangor, Maine

Raney Bench

Museum Educator and Programs Coordinator

Abbe Museum

James Eric Francis, Sr.

Tribal Historian

Penobscot Indian Nation

This course is sponsored by the Abbe Museum

(Bar Harbor, Maine), an educational resource for

Native American studies. The purpose of this

course is to offer content knowledge for teachers of

all grade levels and disciplines to meet LD 291

requirements, as outlined in the new Maine

Learning Results. The course will provide teachers

the opportunity to learn about a variety of topics,

moving from archaeological evidence of Maine’s

pre-contact past, to contemporary issues

surrounding the unique economic status of the

Wabanaki, and stereotypes and racism Maine’s

Native people face. Each topic area will include

sample classroom activities and/or lesson plans,

along with time for discussion so teachers can

generate ideas among their peers about ways to

incorporate the content into the classroom. As

often as possible, this information will be

presented by Wabanaki people themselves,

offering teachers the opportunity to ask questions

and learn from first hand accounts.

Known collectively as the Wabanaki, “People of

the Dawnland,” the four Maine Indian tribes are

the Maliseet, Micmac, Penobscot and

Passamaquoddy. Each community maintains its

own tribal government, community schools,

cultural center and each manages its respective

lands and natural resources. Although most of

Maine's Native people belong to one of these four

federally recognized groups and reside on tribal

lands, other Native people live in towns and cities

across the State.

Coordinator for the Abbe Museum, in Bar Harbor.

Raney has a BA in Native American Studies, and

a Masters in Museum Studies. Raney leads school

programs and workshops to help teachers meet

their LD 291 requirements, both at the Abbe

Museum and in the classroom.

Penobscot Nation. Former Staff Researcher for the

Wabanaki Studies Commission, he planned and

implemented Wabanaki Studies Summer Institutes;

compiled sample lesson plans and curriculum and

lists of educational resources. He serves as member

of the Boston Children’s Museum Native

American Advisory Board and the Bangor Center

for History Board of Directors.

The Abbe offers innovative exhibitions and

programs on Maine’s Native American heritage. In

recent years, the Abbe has grown from a small but

lovely trailside museum, privately operated within

museum in the heart of downtown Bar Harbor.

The Abbe serves as an essential resource for

helping teachers and students comply with new

state legislation, known as "the Wabanaki

Initiative," that requires the teaching of Wabanaki

cultures and history in Maine schools. As Donna

Loring, former Penobscot Nation Representative to

the Maine Legislature and sponsor of the

Wabanaki Initiative, has written, "With education

will come understanding and with understanding

will come respect...." Abbe staff members serve as

facilitators and advisors for statewide programs to

implement the legislation.