Wabanaki REACH Newsletters
Wabanaki REACH, a Native-led organization began through shared efforts of State and Tribal child welfare workers seeking truth, healing and change for children, families, communities, and systems involved in the child welfare system.
In 1999, the Maine Indian Child Welfare Act Workgroup was formed to address the state government’s noncompliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a federal law intended to protect the welfare of Native American children.
The workgroup provided education, and conceptualized and created the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission (the TRC). In 2012 five Commissioners were selected to serve on the TRC and a three-year investigation into state child welfare practices ensued.
This group spent 27 months investigating and documenting the truth about Maine’s child welfare practices involving Wabanaki people.
…we educated Maine and Wabanaki people about the process, gained the support of Tribal and State leaders, prepared and supported people through the truth-telling process, and accept the responsibility of ensuring the implementation of the [Truth and Reconciliation] Commission’s recommendations.
In June 2015, the Commission released its report of findings and recommendations. This initiative was the first within U.S. territory focused on Indian child welfare and developed collaboratively between tribal nations and a state government.
Throughout the TRC process Wabanaki REACH provided consultation to the Commission and helped prepare and support people in Wabanaki and Maine Communities throughout this truth-telling process.In 2018, Wabanaki REACH became an official non-profit organization and replaced the term “Reconciliation” with “Restoration,” to reflect the group’s mission to “support the self-determination of Wabanaki people through education, truth-telling, restorative justice, and restorative practices in Wabanaki and Maine communities.”
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We envision a future when Maine and Wabanaki people join together to acknowledge truth and work collectively toward equity, healing, and positive change.
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April News, 2023
Wabanaki REACH
Voices of Decolonization blog: "ICWA Under Attack: Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument for Haaland v. Brackeen," by Ryan Lolar, Indigenous Peoples Unit (IPU) Staff Attorney and Alida Pitcher-Murray, IPU Intern.
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August 2023 News
Wabanaki REACH
This month we offer you the essay where the river widens by Beyond the Claims project coordinator, Kate Russell.
Wabanaki REACH has partnered with Threadbare Theatre Workshop to craft an original, community-devised play together– where the river widens– to be performed along the Penobscot River in September. This collaboration with the Wabanaki community is part of Wabanaki REACH's truth-telling initiative, Beyond the Claims– Stories from the Land & the Heart; an oral history project illuminating the Maine Indian land claims.
Limited Series-Human Resources to Growth and Support: How REACH does HR (Vol. 1), by Andrea Francis.
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February News, 2023
Wabanaki REACH
Laughter is Good Medicine! Indian Radio Days: An Evolving Bingo Experience by LeAnne Howe and the late Roxy Gordon. Panel discussion with actors and playwright. Voices of Decolonization blog: "Shifting Our Idea of Impact: Decolonizing Program Evaluations," by Heather Augustine.
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Happy Birthday REACH! Thank you Denise!
Wabanaki REACH
Voices of Decolonization blog: "Happy Birthday REACH! Thank you Denise [Altvater]!" The "Honoring Denise" video can be viewed on our YouTube (00:02:20).
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January News, 2023
Wabanaki REACH
Forgiveness is a core cultural value of the Wabanaki and a message of forgiveness is traditionally shared at the start of the New Year. Voices of Decolonization blog, "Wabanaki Prayer," by Brian Altvater, Sr.
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July News, 2023
Wabanaki REACH
Voices of Decolonization blog: "Decolonizing Human Resource Policies for Nonprofits," by Andrea Francis.
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June News, 2023
Wabanaki REACH
Voices of Decolonization blog: "On the Anniversary of the Maine Wabanaki State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission," by Andrea Francis.
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March News, 2023
Wabanaki REACH
Voices of Decolonization blog, "My life today as a Person in recovery, I stand Proud," by Melody Paul, a poem about living in recovery.
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May News, 2023
Wabanaki REACH
Interacting with Wabanaki-Maine History: Participate in this interactive experience in which we engage in a story of particular events in the history of 400 years of colonization of Wabanaki people by Europeans in this territory now called the state of Maine. Voices of Decolonization blog: "Native Children Are at the Heart of ICWA," by Erika Bjorum. (Indian Child Welfare Act).
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November 2023 News
Wabanaki REACH
This month we offer the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, first published on our blog page on November 2, 2017.
The Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address is an ancient message of peace and appreciation of Mother Earth and her inhabitants. The children learn that, according to Native American tradition, people everywhere are embraced as family. Our diversity, like all wonders of Nature, is truly a gift for which we are thankful.
When one recites the Thanksgiving Address the Natural World is thanked, and in thanking each life-sustaining force, one becomes spiritually tied to each of the forces of the Natural and Spiritual World. The Thanksgiving Address teaches mutual respect, conservation, love, generosity, and the responsibility to understand that what is done to one part of the Web of Life, we do to ourselves.
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October 2023 News
Wabanaki REACH
This month we offer the essay "Human Resources to Growth and Support: A new take on Annual Performance Reviews (Vol. 2)," by Andrea Francis. "On our continued journey towards a more values-aligned Human Resources department, Wabanaki REACH is exploring new ways to take on traditional HR practices and disentangle them from the idea that humans need to be constantly productive.
See also: How REACH does HR (Vol. 1), by Andrea Francis
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September 2023 News
Wabanaki REACH
Truth, Healing, and Change in Wabanaki Territory, Resources for Learning and Teaching about Land Acknowledgments, dozens of essays in our Voices of Decolonization blog posts, a Literary Resource List, and so much more. We hope you will check them out at Educational Resources (wabanakireach.org).
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Wabanaki REACH Newsletter, Winter 2023
Wabanaki REACH
The Winter 2023 cover story reflects on the year 2022. Headlines in this issue include:
- Nulasuweltom ~ I am grateful
- Beyond the Claims Update by Kate Russell, Beyond the Claims Project Coordinator
- Educational Programs Update by Heather Augustine, Community Education Development Coordinator
- Wabanaki Wellbeing Program Update by Brian Altvater, Wabanaki Wellness Coordinator
- Website Communications by Heather Newton Brown, Wabanaki REACH Volunteer
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February News, 2022
Wabanaki REACH
Voices of Decolonization blog, There is More Good Work to Do, discusses the deep intergenerational trauma on the Lakota people as a result of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre.
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June News, 2022
Wabanaki REACH
Wabanaki REACH honors the month of June, Kkihkayi-kisohs, or the planting moon.
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November News, 2022
Wabanaki REACH
Wabanaki REACH anticipates the November 9, 2022 Supreme Court Decision in the case of Brackeen v. Haaland, at the core of which is the welfare of Native American children and the sovereignty of Tribal Nations.
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October News, 2022
Wabanaki REACH
Wabanaki REACH announces new Board officers Esther Anne and Tyler-Ann Harris, co-chairs of the Board of Directors and Penthea Burns as the new secretary/treasurer.
Voices of Decolonization blog post The Permanent Commission's Place Justice Initiative Seeks to Redress Historical Harms by Meadow Dibble.
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Wabanaki REACH Newsletter, Winter 2022
Wabanaki REACH
The Winter 2022 cover story recounts a dozen things considered "new and good" during 2021. Headlines in this issue include:
- Woli pili k'ton! Happy New Year! A Dozen Good Things About 2021
- Truth Telling Beyond the Claims
- Resurgence through Cultural Strength by Nolan Altvater
- Woliwon — Woliwoni — Walalin — Thank You
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April News, 2021
Wabanaki REACH
Wabanaki REACH Grandmother's Love assistance program continues to provide low-barrier financial assistance to community members.
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Educational Resources for Truth, Healing, and Change in Wabanaki Territory
Wabanaki REACH
Resources for Truth, Healing, and Change in Wabanaki Territory provides a bibliography of resources created by Wabanaki people from the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Ojibwe-Cree, Maliseet, Wampanoag, and Mi'kmaw nations.
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Educational Resources Historical Timeline of Wabanaki-Maine Relations
Wabanaki REACH
A partial, historical timeline of Wabanaki-Maine relations dating from 1095 with the declaration by Papal Bull Terra Nullius extending to European royalty permission to "discover" and colonize 'non-Christian' lands, to the Great Dying (1616-1619) when 75% of all Wabanaki people died of European diseases, to Governor Janet Mill's 2021 veto of a bill to permit Maine's Wabanaki nations to develop legalized gaming as an economic resource. Information provided originates from Wabanaki resources.
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Educational Resources Land Acknowledgements: Resources for Learning and Teaching
Wabanaki REACH
List of web-based resources to promote understanding of Indigenous land and territorial acknowledgement and its role in restorative justice.
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Educational Resources Literary Resource List
Wabanaki REACH
A list of literary resources presented on the Dawnland Signals show, "Wabanaki Authors" on May 20, 2021. The list includes a selection of Indigenous childrens' books.
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Educational Resources Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980: Resources for Continued Learning
Wabanaki REACH
Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980: Resources for Continued Learning contains a bibliography and links to writings related to the 1980 Maine Indian Land Claims Act. Resources date from 1829 to 2020 and are continually updated.
