The walk to honor wabanaki veterans
Saturday, June 21, 2025
⭒ Orono to Indian Island ⭒
A BRIDGE TO RIGHTFUL RECOGNITION FOR INDIGENOUS & BLACK SERVICEMEMBERS
On Saturday, June 21, join Penobscot Nation and its partners in The Walk to Honor Wabanaki Veterans as we make our way from Orono to Indian Island. This collective action will serve as a meaningful tribute to our veterans on a day dedicated to their memory, as well as a celebration of the enduring legacy of our people.
Winding our way along a 6-mile stretch, all will be invited to view Marsh Island and its surroundings from a Wabanaki perspective, to learn Indigenous place names, to encounter the stories of Wabanaki and African American veterans over the centuries, to question assumptions, and to deepen our understanding of what happened here and how the past continues to shape our present.
Schedule
Friday, June 20th
5:00 - 6:30 pm Orono Arts Fest presents The Legacy of Chief Joseph Orono by James Eric Francis, Sr. and The Wabanaki Stylings of Firefly The Hybrid at the Orono High School Performing Arts Center
Saturday, June 21st
12:00-12:30 Registration at Orono Middle School
12:30-1:00 Opening Ceremony
1:00-4:30 WHERE Walk to Indian Island
4:30-6:00 Closing Ceremony & Community
Meal at Pavilion Park
You are invited to participate in the six-mile walk to honor Wabanaki veterans, and to consider Orono and its surroundings from a Wabanaki perspective. The walk will conclude with a ceremony and community meal on Indian Island. Register and participate in the opening and closing, even if you are unable to walk with us.
Are you interested in being involved with WHERE this year? Volunteering is a rewarding experience! Please take two minutes to complete this short questionnaire and Erin, our volunteer coordinator, will be in touch!
In 2007, Governor John Baldacci honored Wabanaki Veterans by proclaiming June 6 “Native American Veterans History Day.” Penobscot WWII veteran and POW Charles Norman Shay accepted the honor on behalf of all Wabanaki veterans. Thanks to his efforts and to the help of Tribal Representatives Donald Soctomah and the late Wayne “Teddy Bear” Mitchell, Mr. Shay’s vision to elevate this recognition to an annual observance led to the enactment of 1 MRSA 150-C, establishing June 21 as “Native American Veterans Day.” Held annually since 2009, this commemoration honors the untold numbers of Wabanaki people who have served in the U.S. military in every war fought under its flag, even as this nation failed to recognize their inherent sovereignty, citizenship, and dignity.
This June 21 marks 250 years since Chief Joseph Orono traveled to Watertown, Massachusetts where, in a famous speech delivered before the Provincial Congress in 1775, he allied the Wabanaki nations with the Americans in the Revolutionary War.
In 1806, five years after his death, the Town of Orono was incorporated and was named in honor of this skillful diplomat and leader. Chief Orono's image was eventually adopted as the town seal.
In recent years, out of concern that the image could be interpreted as a mascot, the Town of Orono consulted with Penobscot Nation and the University of Maine’s Wabanaki Center to confirm that the seal was historically accurate and respectful. Based on advice from PR and marketing firms, however, it also removed Chief Orono's image from the gateway signage welcoming people into town—an act that many Penobscot people experienced as erasure. What do these debates tell us? About power? About representation? About who gets to decide what is seen and known? What would it look like to truly honor Chief Orono here on Penobscot homelands, where contention around water and territorial rights and encroachment upon sacred sites are ongoing?
Chief Orono's story and legacy of dedicated service to what became the United States is not widely known. Similarly, too few Mainers are aware that June 21 is the day on which the State of Maine officially recognizes Native American Veterans Day. We hope this walk will change that.
This event is part of the Walk for Historical and Ecological Recovery (WHERE), a series convened by Atlantic Black Box devoted to grassroots truthseeking and transformation. It is organized under the leadership of James Eric Francis, Sr. in collaboration with the Penobscot Nation Cultural & Historic Preservation Department, the Town of Orono, the City of Old Town, the UMaine Wabanaki Center, Bangor Public Library, Orono Public Library, RSU 26, The Wabanaki Alliance, The Abbe Museum, Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness, The Wilson Center, The Church of Universal Fellowship, Ça C’est Bon, and Orono Arts Fest. It is funded in part by Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust, Maine Humanities Council, Maine Community Foundation, Sewall Foundation, and from generous donors, as well as from Cyr Bus Line, Hannaford, and other local sponsors.
In partnership with
Photo credit: CIRCA 6/20/1775, 2025, Acrylic on canvas by James Eric Francis Sr. 00595
Contribute to the Wabanaki Veterans Archive
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Contribute to the Wabanaki Veterans Archive 〰️
Launched in tandem with the Abbe Museum’s In the Shadow of the Eagle, the Wabanaki Veterans' gallery interactive and website honors the service of Wabanaki veterans and active service members from the Revolutionary War to the present. This permanent interactive database takes the form of a searchable touchscreen pavilion dedicated to the story of Wabanaki veterans, centrally located within the museum.
“Wabanaki people have always answered the call to serve—not only in defense of this country, but in steadfast protection of our sovereignty, communities, and way of life. Yet our contributions are too often missing from the broader story of American history. This digital archive is a living tribute, one that will grow over time to ensure Wabanaki voices are preserved, uplifted, and permanently recognized. Wabanaki history isn’t just something to remember—it must be told by Wabanaki people, in our own voices, and be given the dignity and honor it deserves.”
In the Shadow of the Eagle
Special exhibition
May 2025 – October 2026
At a moment where the United States marks 250 years since its founding, this contemporary art exhibit aims to share a greater understanding of Wabanaki Nations’ place within our ongoing national narrative. Co-curated by Penobscot author, broadcaster, and former Tribal Representative to the State of Maine, Donna Loring, University of Maine professor Dr. Darren Ranco (Penobscot Nation), and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ curator Sierra Hyte, (Cherokee Nation), this exhibit invites us to examine the foundational stories of the United States in light of Wabanaki experience and Tribal Sovereignty. Through powerful contemporary art, historical belongings, personal stories, and critical historic perspectives, In the Shadow of the Eagle brings to light the strength, service, and diplomacy of Wabanaki peoples.
Photo credit: Wabanaki Veterans gallery interactive