In a world that requires knowledge and wisdom to address developing crises around us, The Gatherings shows how Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples can come together to create meaningful and lasting relationships.

Thirty years ago, in Wabanaki territory – a region encompassing the state of Maine and the Canadian Maritimes – a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals came together to explore some of the most pressing questions at the heart of Truth and Healing efforts in the United States and Canada. Meeting over several years in long-weekend gatherings, in a Wabanaki-led traditional Council format, assumptions were challenged, perspectives upended, and stereotypes shattered. Alliances and friendships were formed that endure to this day.

The Gatherings tells the moving story of these meetings in the words of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants. Reuniting to reflect on how their lives were changed by their experiences and how they continue to be impacted by them, the participants share the valuable lessons they learned.

The many voices represented in The Gatherings offer insights and strategies that can inform change at the individual, group, and systems levels. These voices affirm that authentic relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples – with their attendant anxieties, guilt, anger, embarrassments, and, with time, even laughter and mutual affection – are key to our shared futures here in North America. Now, more than ever, it is critical that we come together to reimagine Indigenous-settler relations.

Newell is Peskotomuhkati/Passamaquoddy, originally from the community of Sipayik/Pleasant Point, but living for the past forty years at Motahkomikuk/Indian Township in what is now called Maine. At Motahkomikuk, Wayne has made significant contributions to the local school, the health center and to tribal government while serving in the state legislature, on the University of Maine board of trustees, and on national education committees. He is a repository of Passamaquoddy songs and stories, which he has recorded and shared in numerous venues, including the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. In recent years, he has helped to revive the Passamaquoddy language, and recently published a collection of Wabanaki stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. The book is entitled, Kuhkomossonuk Akonutomuwinokot: Stories Our Grandmothers Told Us, and is presented in both Passamaquoddy and English. This year, Wayne was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of Maine.

Hager is a retired associate professor with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Currently, she serves with the Friends (Quaker) Committee on Maine Public Policy and chairs its Committee on Tribal-State Relations.