Historic Wαpánahkəyak features a collection of digital collages by Panawáhpskewi artist Lokotah Sanborn. Sanborn’s work is a powerful reimagining of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century photographs of Indigenous Peoples taken by Euro-American anthropologists documenting a “vanishing” culture. His work transforms those images into digital collages that illustrate the enduring vitality and continuity of Wapánahki culture.
The term “Wαpánahkəyak” translates to “the Dawnland,” which encompasses the Indigenous regions of northern New England, the Maritimes of Canada, Newfoundland, and Quebec south of the Saint Lawrence River. The land is the Wabanaki Confederacy’s homelands, currently consisting of five principal Tribal Nations: Panawáhpskek, Peskotomuhkatiyik, Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqiyik, and Abenaki.
Included in the exhibition are pieces that depict histories present within the narratives of Historic New England’s museums, such as land theft across Wαpánahkəyak and the deforestation, pollution, and damming of waterways driven by industrialization.
Lokotah Sanborn’s artwork, in its methods and message, focuses on the knowledge, ethos, and leadership of people marginalized by colonialism and coloniality, and recognizes Indigenous Peoples’ rights to self-determination over their lands, cultures, governance, and political and economic systems.
Historic New England’s Recovering New England’s Voices initiative also reflects many of these goals. It uses research, art, storytelling, and technology to create spaces that amplify historically underrepresented voices. These new discoveries are then incorporated into tours and programs. Historic Wαpánahkəyak is an extension of this work and Historic New England’s commitment to support healing from past harm and trauma inflicted upon communities marginalized by Historic New England and the museum field at large.
Danikah Chartier (Mi’kmaw) organized the exhibition as Historic New England’s 2023-2024 Northern Region Indigenous Community Liaison and Researcher to support the Recovering New England’s Voices Initiative.
The Historic Wαpánahkəyak exhibition is on display in the Visitor Center at the Sarah Orne Jewett House, 5 Portland Street, South Berwick, Maine, Fridays through Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information, please call 207-384-2454.
Celebrate the exhibition opening of Historic Wαpánahkəyak on August 9 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. View the exhibition, enjoy refreshments, and learn more about Lokotah Sanborn’s work and inspiration through a Q&A session with the artist.
The exhibition and related programming were made possible by the generous support of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Maine Community Foundation.
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