2026 Grantees
The Wabanaki Commission on Land & Stewardship is proud to support the second cohort of grantees through the Wolankeyutomone Kisi Apaciyewik Fund. Through projects grounded in traditional arts, foodways, ceremony, youth engagement, land-based learning, and cultural knowledge sharing, these grantees are carrying forward Wabanaki knowledge and strengthening relationships with land, culture, and community for future generations.
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Tribal Governments
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Mi'kmaq Cultural Preservation Department
Mi'kmaq Nation
The Mi’kmaq Nation is revitalizing the ancient art of snowshoe making, training fifteen people from the community by master traditional snowshoe maker, Brian Theriault. After crafting their own personal snowshoes from start to finish, participants learn to maneuver in them on trails located on tribal and connecting lands.
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Passamaquoddy Trails Project
Indian Township Tribal Government
The Passamaquoddy Trails Project is creating a network of cultural and recreational trails throughout the community forest. Funding supports the summer employment of 6–8 youth and two adult supervisors to restore a series of horse and wagon trails built between the 1930s and 1950s by the University of Maine and the Civilian Conservation Corps. By reconnecting important gathering, recreation, and portage sites, the project provides youth with opportunities to learn about community history, the cultural significance of trails, and traditional medicines through guidance from the Tribal Historic Preservation Office.
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Passamaquoddy Youth Wellness Court
Indian Township Tribal Government
The Passamaquoddy Youth Wellness Court is incorporating ceremonial healing practices and land-based learning opportunities into its programming, giving youth opportunities to connect with their culture beyond the classroom. Funding supports the construction of an on-site sweat lodge and ceremonial fire area, as well as activities including ash preparation workshops for basketmaking, instruction in sustainable hunting and gathering practices, storytelling gatherings, and other youth-driven cultural learning experiences.
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Penobscot Nation Museum
Penobscot Nation
The newly built Penobscot Nation Museum is bringing the community together to strengthen connections to its cultural values, language, and homelands. Guided by community interests and input, the museum is creating opportunities for community members to share knowledge and stories about the collections, inviting master artists to interpret and share knowledge about the art forms represented in the collections, and developing an interactive map wall that connects language, place names, images, objects, and stories to specific places across Penobscot territory. Funding also supports improvements that make the collections more accessible, including the installation of a chair lift for elders and the creation of welcoming spaces where community members can gather, visit, and engage with the collections.
NGOs
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Maliseet Community Development Authority
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians
The Maliseet Community Development Authority is supporting the stewardship of its Challenge Course and Medicine Trails by increasing staff capacity through the hiring of a part-time site organizer. Together, these spaces promote physical, mental, educational, linguistic, and cultural wellbeing. The Challenge Course is actively used by people in recovery, annual intertribal youth camps, and the broader community, while the Medicine Trails provide opportunities to learn about traditional medicines through programs and events led by Maliseet knowledge carriers.
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Maqeyhik
Passamaquoddy Tribe
Maqeyhik is expanding its efforts to document the sacred petroglyphs of Machias Bay. Over the past three years, specially trained Tribal digitizers have created detailed 3D images of petroglyphs at each site. With all visible areas now documented, the project is turning to petroglyphs below the seaweed line that have been hidden for more than a century. Funding also supports the employment of two high school or college students and two Elders to learn the documentation process and assist with recording these culturally significant sites.
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Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness
Wabanaki-wide
Located on the banks of the West Branch of the Penobscot River in the shadow of Mount Katahdin, Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness is finalizing the purchase of Ihtoli Kikehtahsuitmok, known in English as "the Gathering Place." This sacred site supports many of the organization's programs, including food sovereignty, traditional medicine teachings, intertribal youth camps, experiential outdoor education, and language revitalization. By securing permanent stewardship of the land, the organization is safeguarding this place for future generations while ensuring it remains a center for Wabanaki cultural learning, healing, and community.
Individuals
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James Boyce
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians
James is teaching Maliseet and other Wabanaki community members the traditional process of making brown ash and sweetgrass baskets from start to finish. Participants learn to identify brown ash stands, follow traditional harvesting protocols, offer thanks and prayer, prepare basket splints, and weave a finished basket. Through this hands-on instruction, James is carrying forward basketry teachings passed down by his grandfather, Walter James "Jim" Tomah, and his uncle, Fred "Sonny" Tomah.
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Alan St. Jean
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians
Alan is supporting community members in pursuing traditional arts through hands-on instruction in brown ash basketry, birch bark basketry, canoe building, and brain- and bark-tanned hide preparation. Grounded in a deep connection to Mother Earth and all she provides, his work encourages participants to strengthen cultural knowledge and relationships with the natural world. Funding will support the construction of a small workshop and the purchase of equipment, creating a dedicated space for these teachings to continue and grow.
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Amelia St. John
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians
Amelia is supporting Wabanaki community members in developing wildland firefighting skills as part of a long-term effort to revitalize traditional fire practices as a tool for respectful, responsible, and restorative land management. Funding provides personal protective equipment (PPE) for 12 Wabanaki fire practitioners, reducing financial barriers to participation in wildland firefighting opportunities. The project also creates opportunities for Wabanaki practitioners to participate in prescribed burns with state agencies and other partners, as well as to support Wabanaki-led cultural burns on Tribal lands alongside experienced fire practitioners.
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Sandra Pictou
Mi'kmaq Nation
Sandra Pictou is a third-generation Mi'kmaq basketmaker, grandmother of five, and great-grandmother of seven who is expanding her basketry practice and strengthening opportunities for cultural knowledge sharing. She regularly participates in local art markets and teaches basketry classes for Mi'kmaq Nation and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians. Funding supports the creation of a dedicated basketry workshop and the purchase of tools and supplies, allowing Sandra to continue her practice and share basketry teachings with the newest generations of her family and community.
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Nicholas W. Perreault
Mi'kmaq Nation
Nicholas is documenting the history and ongoing contributions of Wabanaki commercial fishermen to Maine’s seafood traditions. As a Wabanaki commercial fisherman, Nicholas is interviewing other fishermen to preserve their stories and share their experiences through articles and other media. Funding also supports educational events and demonstrations at schools and communities across the four Tribes, creating opportunities for community members to learn about cultural relationships with harvesting and the marine environment.
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Minquansis Sapiel
Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik
Minquansis is reconnecting with land and traditions through her work as a Passamaquoddy Wayfinder. Funding supports repairs to her boat, the establishment of summer and fall boat tours in Passamaquoddy, Machias, and Casco Bay areas, and community gatherings featuring storytelling, singing, and star knowledge events in Passamaquoddy communities..
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Gabriel Frey
Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik
Gabriel is deepening his canoe-building skills through a direct mentorship with master canoe builder Steve Cayard, who has mentored many Wabanaki builders over the past 30 years. Having participated in community canoe builds, Gabriel is building on this experience through an apprenticeship focused on harvesting canoe-quality materials, hand building, and teaching. Funding supports more than 200 hours of hands-on learning and creates opportunities for Gabriel to engage the Penobscot Youth Program in harvesting and sharing knowledge about canoe building.
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Reanna Sockabasin
Passamaquoddy Tribe at Motahkomikuk
Reanna is a self-taught birchbark and quillwork artist working to revitalize her family’s traditional arts practices. Following in the footsteps of her great-grandfather, Lola Sockabasin, Reanna is expanding her artistic practice and creating opportunities to share these teachings with others. Funding supports the completion of her studio space, which will also serve as a place for teaching, as well as participation in national Native art markets, workshop and teaching supplies, and tools to document and share her work.
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Eric Otter Bacon
Passamaquoddy Tribe at Motahkomikuk
Eric is establishing a multi-generational learning space where community members can come together through shared practice in canoe building and other traditional bark art forms. These hands-on teachings are paired with opportunities to learn and speak Wabanaki languages, as well as participate in traditional food growing, preparation, and shared meals. Funding supports this effort to strengthen community-based cultural learning, while Eric continues developing a Wabanaki canoe association with plans to formalize the organization as a nonprofit.
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Jennifer Neptune
Penobscot Nation
Jennifer is developing river-based learning opportunities that support Wabanaki women in connecting with traditional medicines, cultural places, and each other. Through guided river trips, participants will have opportunities to build skills as guides, learn about medicinal plants, and deepen their relationships with place through stories, language, placenames, and culture. Funding supports the purchase of guiding equipment needed to safely lead these trips and harvest traditional medicines along rivers in Wabanaki homelands.
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Damon Galipeau
Penobscot Nation
Damon is a registered Maine guide dedicated to helping Wabanaki youth feel comfortable and connected on the land and waters. Drawing on his experience guiding with the Penobscot Nation and supporting Team Wabanaki in canoeing, Damon is creating opportunities for youth to participate in canoe trips, canoe practices, whitewater canoeing sessions, racing, and other cultural and forest-based activities. Through this work, Damon shares knowledge about canoeing, navigation, safety, plants, and the responsibilities Wabanaki people carry when entering these spaces.