Page 59 - CA 2019 Final(3)

Above: “Beaded Moccasins” by Karen Ann Hoffman, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, “My Great-grandmother’s Sweetgrass Flat” by Theresa
at a 2018 Abbe Museum Indian Market booth. Photo by Sawyer West. Secord, Penobscot, 2018 – ash, braided and straight
sweetgrass, cedar bark (ash straps dyed with commercial
continued from the previous page dyes) – 10” d by 2.5” h.
This process includes not only making space for Natives to tell their own stories by advising and curating the Museum’s exhibits, but
also by being committed to “sharing the authority” with Native peoples of the documentation and interpretation of native culture.

“Our Board of Trustees is now majority native,” Stefanie said, which is a huge shift for board structure.

In a recent interview for Maine Public Radio, Abbe Museum President and CEO Cinnamon Catlin-Legutco explained how they are
adopting decolonization strategies into the Museum’s exhibits. “Indigenous people are talking directly to you, they’re welcoming you
through their own words,” she said.
Which is, in essence, what is happening at the Indian Market on the Bar Harbor Village Green in mid-May, Stefanie said. “There
is direct story-telling and interaction between not only the Wabanaki and visitors attending the market, but also interaction between
artists from different tribes.” Muscat said that the Market furthers the Museum’s goal of truth-telling by making space and facilitat-
ing access to a broader audience for Native people.
For more information and a schedule of events for the 2019 Abbe Museum Indian Market, visit their website at abbemuseum.org.
There, you will also find more information and links to recent articles about the Abbe’s role in museum decolonization.
continued on the next page

Below: “Beaded Collar” by Karen Ann Hoffman, Oneida Below: “Traditional Woodlands Jar” by Pahponee, Kickapoo. 2017 – hand bur-
Nation of Wisconsin, at a 2018 Abbe Museum Indian nished red clay, buffalo dung fired out of doors, no paints or glazes used – 17”
Market booth. Photo by Abigail Johnson-Ruscansky. height.

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