Background
Last year members of ARRT! (Artists’ Rapid Response Team) had their first retreat in ten years at Smithereens Farm in Pembroke, just west of Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation and Eastport. ARRT! painted a banner for the farm that illustrates some of the history and topography of Cobscook Bay and the Pennamaquan River. We had enlightening conversations with Severine von Tscharner Fleming, our visionary host, the founder and director of Greenhorns. We were also treated to a visit from Dr. Dwayne Tomah, the director of the Sipayik Museum at Pleasant Point who briefed us about the community and some of the challenges that they are facing. He spoke eloquently of the need to understand and accept the past, be able to heal, and move on together to a positive future. He suggested that it would be wonderful if we could come make a large outdoor sign for the museum and work with Passamaquoddy artists. Our ARRT! group heartily agreed to come back and work on the reservation.
In 2023, members of ARRT! created a banner illustrating the history and topography of Cobscook Bay and the Pennamaquan River (Punamuhkatiyik in Passamaquoddy) for Smithereens Farm.
To organize the June 2024 residency, Natasha Mayers collaborated with Ellen Nicholas, the inspired, amazing role-model-for-her-students, and indefatigable art teacher at the new Sipayik School. Ellen secured the permissions, organized themes, worked on logistics, prepped students, and drummed up enthusiasm. The planning of five murals was done with a conscious effort to preserve and celebrate the culture, by hearing, remembering, and repeating the traditional myths and stories, and painting them on large wood panels to hang in the school (the five themes painted by the grades three through seven students: Tamtamsisok, Aputamkin (sea serpent), Cihpolakon (little eagles), Dawnland, and Thunderbird (Kci Pelak Yut Wikit: welcome to Sipayik School, home of the thunderbird). Natasha suggested that we also work with students to make yard signs to install all around the reservation with an image and the Passamaquoddy word for it, to teach and promote/celebrate the language.
Natasha Mayers and Ellen Nicholas (art teacher, Sipayik School) after a successful week of collaboration.
Natasha Mayers spent many years supervising (400+) murals that often reflected the history of the communities and culture of the location. In 1992 she volunteered to help children paint a mural in the gym/cafeteria/community gathering space in the Beatrice Rafferty School at Pleasant Point. She remembers how supportive the community was and how great it was when the parents and grandparents came to watch and teach and encourage the young painters and give them ideas for things that should be included, making suggestions about which cultural practices, traditions, stories, designs, symbols, flora, and fauna could be painted. It became a Talking Wall that visually illustrated the spirit of the tribe. It was filled with the tamtamsisok, the mischievous creatures from the underworld that come out at night. Each one was different because there were no illustrations in any books and everybody imagined them in their own way as the elders related the myths to the younger generation.
A new Sipayik Elementary School was built two years ago and the old school was converted into tribal offices. The 1992 mural was painted over. Ellen Nicholas had been in first grade when Natasha was there and remembered the mural. Everybody on the reservation remembered it! The loss of the old mural combined with the desire for art on the (mostly) empty walls of the new school made for an ideal opportunity to collaborate.
To find sponsors for the project so that eleven Passamaquoddy artists* and eleven ARRTists** could receive a stipend, Mayers worked with Greenhorns*** to apply to the Onion Foundation. Funding was also secured from the Cobscook Bay Fund and a donor-advised fund of the Maine Community Foundation.
The Talking Walls
Jane Herbert with Jessah, Bentley, and Ara.
The paint table saw a lot of action! “We had an adventure with the paints and brushes, washing, pouring, monitoring, washing, washing, washing!” recalled Jane Page-Conway.
The mural project started with a reminder of ground rules like respecting each other and not painting on top of another’s work. The art teacher, Ellen Nicholas, had done a lot of preparation beforehand so from the very first morning the kids were ready with sketches, ideas, and energy. Jean Noon pointed out that “many ARRT! members are former art teachers and quite skilled at ‘drawing’ students into drawing, and of course they love the mess of real paint! There is magic in making one’s own mark on a piece of public art.”
Jane Page-Conway interacting with two young artists.
Jane Page-Conway remarked that, “we just gave them information and set out the brushes and paints and they just went at it.” By the end of the second day everyone could see the variety of painting styles, multiple interpretations of the symbols and stories. “As the murals took shape it ignited more excitement and creativity in the participants.”
Working on Tamtamsisok mural.
“Raven, who I worked with, was a storyteller and she told stories to the children they hadn’t heard before,” reported Christine Higgins. Many parents visited their children as they painted and remembered working on the Talking Wall at the old school. We heard a lot of, “I did that!” as children pointed out their artwork to parents and friends. As the week of painting progressed the students became more deeply engaged as they realized that their work would be seen by everyone into the future, just as their parents remembered the now lost Talking Wall.
Tamtamsisok mural: The children had loads of fun painting their impressions of where the impish mythological Tamtamsisok creatures would be and what they would be up to.
Jane Herbert said, “Seeing the red hand added to the traditional symbols by one of the young artists gave me chills. I could sense the depth of trauma the First Nations peoples continue to endure.” (The red hand over the mouth is a contemporary symbol that expresses the horror and grief of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.)
Dawnland mural depicts the Sunrise and Mother Nature with the constellations of stars emerging in the darkness of her hair.
Jean wrote that “it was wonderful to see the change in the student’s attitudes toward us over the week. They came in on Monday quite shy and reluctant to contribute to the collaboration. As we rotated through the grade levels encouraging everyone to respect each other’s work and put their own marks and ideas on the panels, their confidence and pride in their work soared. I learned so much and have such admiration for this community that is struggling to preserve and renew its culture while facing a ton of obstacles.”
Details from Tamtamsisok mural.
Anita Clearfield wrote that “students led by their outstanding teacher, Ellen Nicholas, shared their creativity and gave us a window into Passamaquoddy culture. I’m especially grateful to the leadership shown by Ellen Nicholas and Dwayne Tomah to guide us ARRTists to be more effective collaborators. And very inspiring to work alongside adult artists from the Sipayik community.”
Portraits of the Passamaquoddy Language
A little sampling of the seventy-five yard signs created by the school children and ARRTists. This project was a total hit. They enthusiastically illustrated their Passamaquoddy language.
Symbols are powerful and a language we intuitively understand. The entire project centered around the visual representation of cultural lore. The children deftly illustrated their native language on yard signs, using symbols of their own design. Cynthia Howard said, “It was great to see the giggles and excitement as the kids worked on the yard signs. They chose what Passamaquoddy word they wanted to illustrate.”
Opan (bread) yard sign.
Oqim (loon) yard sign.
Pqapit (beaver) yard sign.
The little girl who painted this yard sign said her grandmother loves flowers (and tea). The cheery painting makes it plain how much she loves her grandmother.
The night before the last day of school all of the ARRT! crew arranged the yard signs outside the school as a surprise for the big end-of-school awards ceremony the next day. Some students were given the signs they worked on to take home to their own yards, and others were installed around town. We were thrilled to hear that some new yard signs have been made as neighbors were inspired to create their own.
Yard signs at the Sipayik Elementary School circle.
Yard signs at the school.
Yard signs at the school.
Sipayik Museum
The participation of eleven Passamaquoddy artists was gratifying. Some painted on the murals and worked with students. Six or seven artists focused on the Sipayik Museum banner. Cynthia Howard said she “worked on the lettering for the museum banner. I provided the grid, and they gave it life that reflects the community. We just had each others’ backs . . . the artists I worked with had their vision . . . I would like to have had more of a chance to get to know them better.” The images painted by the current generation show the aliveness of their culture and give a peek into the soul of the community.
Passamaquoddy artists pose in front of the nearly completed sign for the Sipayik Museum. Ellen Nicholas, Kristine Gordon, Kenny Francis, and Debbie Nicholas.
Sipayik Museum banner complete.
Kristine Gordon wrote: “I had the most fun week painting with my fellow artists and the crew from ARRT! that came to paint murals with the school! So much work went into getting this organized and the kids delivered an exceptional piece of work for the community. It’s been so inspiring watching it all take shape and I’m glad I was there for it. Between this and the closing out of the school year, it was A LOT going on at once but it went off so well!
Dr. Dwayne Tomah, the youngest fluent speaker of the Passamaquoddy language,
holds a basket at the Sipayik Museum that was made by his mother.
Dr. Dwayne Tomah gave us an extra-special tour of the Sipayik Museum where we heard tribal stories and learned the significance of many of the items displayed there. The Passamaquoddy are particularly famous for their basket making skills and proud of the fame that Jeremy Frey has brought to the tribe (https://jeremyfreybaskets.com/). The museum has several of his baskets on display. Tomah’s passion is reviving his language which is vital for Passamaquoddy cultural identity to survive. We are pleased to play a part in this collaborative community effort to celebrate and display their rich heritage.
Dr. Tomah explains that the first ever recorded voices of First Nation People were of Passamaquoddy elders. The wax cylinders have at last been available to the Passamaquodddy for study and transcription.
Looking Back
The five murals, seventy-five-yard signs, and museum banner are spectacular! The experience was challenging, memorable, and deeply satisfying for all the ARRT!ists. Christine Higgins said that from the experience she “learned about cultural language, got out of my comfort zone, and gained greater awareness of another culture.” We had a rocky start on the first day. We needed to step back and allow the teachers and students to become comfortable with us. We were a large group of mostly older (excited) white outsiders. Cynthia Howard added, “It took a lot of trust, bravery, and generosity to invite us to come.”
Aputamkin (sea serpent) mural: Parents tell the myth to warn children not to go in the water or onto thin ice without supervision.
Cihpolakon mural: The school children painted their personal renditions of eagles.
The members of ARRT! came to value additional processes of working together across cultures. Our practice of ARRT! is all about collaboration: we listen to and appreciate each other. We respect each other’s ideas, contributions and criticisms. It was a total immersion experience of the ARRT! group into a First Nation culture. We all grew wiser, kinder, and better at Pleasant Point. We came to see ourselves in a new light in a place where the dominant white norms are not the expectation and not the goal. Working on the reservation and being in proximity with these people was a gift.
ARRT! members: Cynthia Howard, Lee Chisholm, Jean Noon, Jane Herbert, Jane Page-Conway, Christine Higgins, Robin Huntley, Anita Clearfield (missing: Hale Linnet, David Griffin, and Natasha Mayers)
We hope that there will be a big celebration at the school once the murals are installed, with students and elders sharing the stories. We hope that they will become Talking Walls that both hold and pass on traditions, and are revered and regarded as portraits of the community. We are looking forward to viewing the nine-minute film about the project made by Passamaquoddy videographer Chris Johnson as well as the sweet stop motion film by Anita Clearfield of ARRT!
We send deep “Woliwon” (thanks) to the Sipayik Community for welcoming us and trusting that we would all learn from this rich experience.
May we all heal from the past and work together for a brighter future.
Muwin (bear) yard sign.
Yard sign (on site of the former Catholic Church)
Yard sign.
We are proud to announce that long term ARRT! member, Anita Clearfield, has been awarded a Maine Arts Commission fellowship for her outstanding contribution to Maine’s media arts. We applaud the MAC in honoring Anita with this award.
*Passamaquoddy artists: Ellen Nicholas, Kristine Gordon, Kenny Francis, Debbie Nicholas, Raven Tinker, Jaimie Nicholas, Alexandra Francis, Gabby Dubay, Norma Randi Smith, Lindsey Donahe, Chris Johnson
**ARRT! members: Cynthia Howard, Jean Noon, Jane Herbert, Jane Page-Conway, Christine Higgins, Anita Clearfield, Robin Huntley, Lee Chisholm (missing: Natasha Mayers, Hale Linnet, David Griffin).
Image at top: Kci Pelak Yut Wikit (Welcome to Sipayik School, Home of the Thunderbirds):
The Thunderbird is the school mascot. It generated a lot of interpretations!