Once They’re Gone, They’re Gone for Good: Indigenous Shell Heaps, Climate Change, and Confronting Heritage Loss through Citizen Science
Title
Once They’re Gone, They’re Gone for Good: Indigenous Shell Heaps, Climate Change, and Confronting Heritage Loss through Citizen Science
Description
Maine is home to roughly 2000 coastal Indigenous archaeological sites known as shell heaps or middens. These sites are rich heritage spaces that preserve a long record of past Indigenous lifeways and environments. In this presentation, Dr. Bonnie Newsom and Dr. Alice Kelley of the University of Maine discussed these important places highlighting their cultural and research value. They also discussed the University of Maine’s Midden Minders program—a citizen science initiative designed to monitor and record shell heaps threatened by climate change impacts.
Watch the recording here.
During the program, Dr. Newsom referred to a talk, "The Archeology of Sears Island" with Paul Bock that the library co-sponsored with Friends of Sears Island in 2018. The recording can be found on the FOSI Youtube Channel here.
This program is co-sponsored by the Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition and All of Belfast Climate Dialogues.
Dr. Bonnie Newsom is a member of the Penobscot Nation and an archaeologist interested in the pre-contact lifeways of Maine’s Native peoples. She is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Associate Faculty in the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine. Dr. Newsom’s professional history includes serving as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Penobscot Indian Nation and as Assistant Director for UMaine’s Wabanaki Center. She and her husband Les are military veterans and they live in Eddington, Maine.
Dr. Alice Kelley is a geoarchaeologist and an Associate Research Professor in UM's Climate Change Institute. She has worked in a variety of international locations, and is one of the organizers of the Midden Minders project here in Maine. She lives in Orono Maine with her husband Joe, and enjoys birdwatching, outdoor sports, and family.
Watch the recording here.
During the program, Dr. Newsom referred to a talk, "The Archeology of Sears Island" with Paul Bock that the library co-sponsored with Friends of Sears Island in 2018. The recording can be found on the FOSI Youtube Channel here.
This program is co-sponsored by the Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition and All of Belfast Climate Dialogues.
Dr. Bonnie Newsom is a member of the Penobscot Nation and an archaeologist interested in the pre-contact lifeways of Maine’s Native peoples. She is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Associate Faculty in the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine. Dr. Newsom’s professional history includes serving as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Penobscot Indian Nation and as Assistant Director for UMaine’s Wabanaki Center. She and her husband Les are military veterans and they live in Eddington, Maine.
Dr. Alice Kelley is a geoarchaeologist and an Associate Research Professor in UM's Climate Change Institute. She has worked in a variety of international locations, and is one of the organizers of the Midden Minders project here in Maine. She lives in Orono Maine with her husband Joe, and enjoys birdwatching, outdoor sports, and family.
Date
May 19, 2022
Collection
Citation
“Once They’re Gone, They’re Gone for Good: Indigenous Shell Heaps, Climate Change, and Confronting Heritage Loss through Citizen Science,” All of Belfast: Climate Dialogues, accessed April 26, 2024, https://abcdbelfast.omeka.net/items/show/110.
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