For those of you who would like a collection of introductory resources, check out “First steps to understanding the intersection of land conservation with Wabanaki priorities.”
Welcome to our resource page, a compilation of hundreds of books, essays and media to help us achieve our goals of expanding Indigenous access to land and resources. Some of these resources are organized for our Native colleagues and some for our non-native colleagues. All of these are offered to help us do our collaborative work better.
Because much of colonization and Indigenous self determination is related to land, we have included a section that is specific to histories of Indigenous land loss. We also have a section about contemporary Indigenous issues that must inform the relationships and conversations we are building.
Next, we have collected a set of model tools that Tribes and conservation organizations across the country have successfully used to expand Indigenous land access, such as cultural land use agreements, cultural easements, co-management, and full transfers of land stewardship. We hope to learn from these examples as we rethink land access and ownership for Wabanaki people and land trusts in the Northeast.
We have also put together a section of resources that support and encourage conservation that confronts injustice and power dynamics. We hope that this set of readings and videos will help strengthen conservation by recentering it on Indigenous knowledge and cultural prosperity.
Lastly, we have collected Wabanaki histories specific to each Tribe, broader Wabanaki history and treaties, and continental/global Indigenous histories in our historical resources section.
This collection of resources is not a comprehensive list, but a starting point. We encourage you to reach out to us at firstlightmaine@gmail.com if you know of media that is relevant to our learning journey and larger goals so we can share it with our community.
A note on our use of the word decolonization:
The term decolonization has recently become a buzzword in nonprofit and social justice communities. Many activists and scholars have critiqued the loose use of the term “decolonization,” and point out that it is often used superficially. For example, some projects adopt this language although they are not necessarily transferring land or power–as true decolonization calls for. We want to avoid watering down the gravity and commitment required by decolonization, so we do not claim that our work is decolonial. We admit that our participants are on a learning journey and that the steps they take may not always be towards decolonization. However, our work aspires to decolonize by facilitating the expansion of Wabanaki land stewardship.
For readers who would like to learn more about decolonizing practices, you can check out the resources we have collected in decolonizing conservation, decolonization methods, and decolonizing Wabanahkik (Dawnland).
The Tribes:
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians
Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township,
Passamaquoddy Peoples’ Knowledge Portal
Map of Land Held by Wabanaki Tribes
Map of Conserved Lands in Maine
Image source: 2022 Report, Economic and Social Impacts of Restrictions on the Applicability of Federal Indian Policies to the Wabanaki Nations in Maine ; 2019 Map of Conserved Lands by Dan Coker and Nicole LaBarge for TNC Maine.