Wabanaki Collaboration

The AWWF honors and respects Wabanaki people and recognizes that the Allagash is their ancestral homeland. The Foundation has participated in First Light Learning Journey; and now explores ways to collaborate with Wabanaki Tribes to understand Wabanaki culture and history on the Allagash, encourage Wabanaki use of the Allagash, especially by its youth; and to tell the story of Wabanaki homeland to Allagash visitors, and to students in the Youth on the Allagash initiative. Everyone who visits the Allagash should leave it better informed about Wabanaki ancestral and contemporary homelands, history, and culture.

Our work is rooted in building long-term relationships. In 2024, a group of Wabanaki and non-Wabanaki experts spent six days on the Waterway, blending traditional ecological knowledge with archaeology and forestry. This was followed in 2025 by a multi-generational family program led by Dr. Suzanne Greenlaw. These steps have laid the groundwork for a profound cultural milestone coming in 2026 and 2027.

Restoring the Canoe Culture

For millennia, the birch bark canoe was the primary heartbeat of Wabanaki life, facilitating trade, sustenance, and kinship across the Maine interior. Today, however, very few traditional builders remain. We are honored to announce our support for a Maliseet/Passamaquoddy community canoe build — the first such event hosted by the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians in over 60 years.

This project is an intensive, multi-year relationship with the land itself. The process begins in the fall of 2026 with the seasonal harvesting of birch, white cedar, spruce root, and maple. The journey will culminate in the late summer of 2027 with the construction of the vessel. Once finished, the canoe will reside with the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, serving as a living connection to their heritage and a tool for community use.