Water is Life — Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the Abbe Museum (9/29)

Bar Harbor, ME: Water is Life — Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the Abbe Museum
Join the Abbe Museum on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, October 12, 2026, for a special day of
programming centered on the theme “Water is Life.” Enjoy pay-what-you-can admission and
explore stories, art, history, and performance that honor the enduring relationships between
Wabanaki peoples and the waters that sustain life.
For Wabanaki peoples, water is more than a resource—it is a sacred, living relative, essential to
cultural, spiritual, environmental, and physical well-being. Throughout the day, we’ll celebrate
these relationships through music, storytelling, performance, history, and hands-on art activities.
Special Guests
Experience a special appearance by Grammy Award-winning artist Ty Defoe (Ojibwe + Oneida),
who will perform excerpts from Skeleton Canoe, their acclaimed theater and puppetry piece. Ty
will be joined by Passamaquoddy storyteller Minquansis Sapiel.
Honoring a Historic Canoe Journey
As the country marks its 250th anniversary, the Abbe Museum will also highlight a historic
journey made by Penobscot Chief Joseph Orono, who traveled by canoe to lay the groundwork
for what would become the 1776 Treaty of Watertown with the Americans. Discover this history
through video, art, and activities inspired by the journey and the waterways that connected
communities, carried people and stories, and continue to hold deep meaning today.
Come learn, listen, create, and celebrate with us as we honor water as life, relative, and
connection.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day • October 12, 2026 • Abbe Museum • Pay What You Can Admission
In partnership with Smithsonian Folklife’s Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals.
Skeleton Canoe presentation funded by New England Foundation for the Arts.