Wabanaki History, Ecology, & Experiences

In the fall of 2021, we began Wabanaki History, Ecology, & Experiences, a series of programs exploring Indigenous history and experiences in what is now called northern New England, a collaboration between the Cook Memorial Library in Tamworth and the Chocorua Lake Conservancy, made possible through a generous grant from The Tamworth Foundation. Read or download our Resource List to explore further.

We are delighted that the final three programs of our series will be able to be in-person:

Indigenous Conservation Today, Monday, July 11, 6:30PM. With Denise and Paul Pouliot, leaders of The Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook Abenaki People in Alton, New Hampshire. Cook Memorial Library.

Braiding Sweetgrass book discussion, Tuesday, August 23, 6:30PM. With Damian Costello. Cook Memorial Library. A New Hampshire Humanities Program. Braiding Sweetgrass, by botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer, a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, is a beautiful primer on being in "reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world." Kimmerer was a keynote speaker at this year's NH Saving Special Places conference.

Listening to the Land, September 16-18. Poetry workshops and reading with Cheryl Savageau, with support from the Yeoman's Fund for the Arts.

Here is a list of past programs in the series. Click on program titles in blue for more information.

12,000 Years Ago in the Granite State, Wednesday, September 15 at 7:00 PM, live via Zoom. Join the Cook Memorial Library, the Tamworth History Center, and Chocorua Lake Conservancy for a New Hampshire Humanities program with Robert Goodby, Professor of Anthropology at Franklin Pierce College.

Poetry and the Land: A Reading and Conversation with Poet Cheryl Savageau, Wednesday, September 29 at 7:00 PM, live via Zoom. Join the Cook Memorial Library and Chocorua Lake Conservancy for a reading and conversation with poet Cheryl Savageau. Savageau’s poems draw on her Abenaki and French heritage, and her deep roots in the Granite State. The library will have several copies of Savageau’s poetry books to borrow ahead of time.

If you wish to become familiar with poetry by Cheryl Savageau ahead of time, come to Cook Library’s Poetry Hour on Monday, September 27 at 5:00 PM outside in front of the library (weather permitting). The library will have copies of Savageau’s poetry collections Dirt Road Home and Mother/Land to share, and those who wish can take turns reading poems aloud to the group. Note that Cheryl Savageau will not be at the September 27 Poetry Hour, but will be live on Zoom on September 29.

Dawnland Voices Reading Group, part one, Wednesday, October 6 at 7:00 PM, live via Zoom. Adults and teens are invited to come discuss selections from Dawnland Voices: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from New England. (Find the list of readings for part one HERE.) Copies of the book will be available to borrow at the Cook Memorial Library ahead of time.

Dawnland film and discussion, Wednesday, October 27 at 7:00 PM, live via Zoom. For decades, child welfare authorities have been removing Native American children from their homes. In Maine, the first official “truth and reconciliation commission” in the United States begins a historic investigation. National News & Documentary Emmy® award winning film Dawnland goes behind-the-scenes as this historic body grapples with difficult truths, redefines reconciliation, and charts a new course for state and tribal relations.

Following Dawnland, the short film Dear Georgina, which features one of the subjects in Dawnland, will be shown.

Join Esther Anne, film participant and co-director of Maine-Wabanaki REACH; gkisedtanamoogk, film participant and Truth and Reconciliation Commission commissioner; and film director Adam Mazo for a live conversation after the film. Learn more about the films and watch trailers at upstanderproject.org.

Kids’ Book Club with visit from author Angeli Perrow, Wednesday, October 20 at 4:00 PM at the library. Kids ages 8 to 12 are invited to pick up copies of Many Hands by Angeli Perrow and Muskrat Will Be Swimming by Cheryl Savageau to read ahead of time. Then, on October 20 at 4:00 PM, join Amy at the library for pizza and to talk about the books. At 4:40 or so, author of Many Hands Angeli Perrow will join us virtually to answer readers’ questions, and to talk about Native basketmaking, show some Native musical instruments, and teach the song called “Many Hands.”

Dawnland Voices Reading Group, part two, Wednesday, November 3 at 7:00 PM, live via Zoom. Adults and teens are invited to come discuss selections from Dawnland Voices: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from New England. (Find the list of readings for part two HERE.) Copies of the book will be available to borrow at the Cook Memorial Library ahead of time.

Interacting with Wabanaki-Maine History, Wednesday, November 10, 6-8PM, online. A workshop with Maine-Wabanaki REACH. Space is limited.

Healing Begins with Truth: Understanding Colonization, November 17, 6-8PM, online. A workshop with Maine-Wabanaki REACH. Space is limited.

Digging into Native History in New Hampshire, Tuesday, February 15, 7PM, online. A New Hampshire Humanities program with Robert Goodby, Professor of Anthropology at Franklin Pierce College. Register HERE.

The People of the Dawnland: The Evolution of the Abenaki and Wabanaki Peoples of the Northeast from the First European Contact up to the Present, with Anne Jennison, Tuesday, March 1, 7PM, online. Register HERE.

Thank you so much to The Tamworth Foundation for making these programs possible.