On Mon., April 11, Bowdoin College in Brunswick will celebrate the Opening of the Archives of the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth & Reconciliation Commission.
Attend a 3 p.m. screening of the short documentary “First Light,” and discussion with filmmakers Adam Mazo and Ben Pender-Cudlip of the Upstander Project and Maine-Wabanaki REACH Co-Director Esther Attean in the Beam Classroom of the Visual Arts Center.
Then at 4:30 p.m., join keynote speaker Dr. Gail Dana-Sacco for the talk, “Vigilance and Transformation: Reflections of an Indigenous Researcher” in the Visual Art Center’s Kresge Auditorium.
A reception will follow immediately after the address. A campus map can be found on the Bowdoin College website; the Visual Arts Center is No. 13 (F10).
According to a release by Bowdoin College, Dr. Dana-Sacco, Passamaquoddy, earned her Ph.D. in health policy and administration at the Johns Hopkins University, where she remains affiliated with the Center for American Indian Health. Through Wayfinders for Health, she works to improve public health by critically addressing the structural drivers of health inequities and incorporating community knowledge to come up with sustainable solutions.
Upon the conclusion of its work, the TRC transferred its extensive archives to the Bowdoin College Library’s George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives. The collection includes video, audio, and written statements, and other personal documents contributed by participants. It also includes founding documents, the final report, and administrative and research records.
A website provides online access to all the unrestricted statements in the collection. Researchers interested in consulting other components of the collection may do so by contacting the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives.
The events recognizing the opening of the archives are sponsored by the Bowdoin College Library and the Native American Students Association of Bowdoin College.
Thanks goes out to all who participated in the TRC and made this momentous event possible.
Source of content: Opening of the Archives: Wabanaki Truth and Reconciliation Commission by Rebecca Goldfine
