THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AT THE 2025 DAWNLAND FESTIVAL

Save the date for the 2026 Festival on July 11 & 12!

“Native arts and cultures cannot be separated from Native ways of knowing. The Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas continues to celebrate the Native creative economy on Wabanaki homelands while lifting up Indigenous thought leadership vital to the conversation on a healthy planet and society for us all.”

Betsy Richards (Cherokee), Executive Director & Senior Partner with Wabanaki Nations

LOOK BACK! - 2025 DAWNLAND FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS

THE DAWNLAND FESTIVAL IS ORGANIZED BY THE ABBE MUSEUM

The Abbe’s mission is to illuminate and advance greater understanding of and support for Wabanaki Nations’ heritage, living cultures, and homelands. At the core of our work are decolonizing museum practices, including: collaboration with Tribal communities; privileging Native perspectives, voice, and values; a focus on dialogue; inclusion of the full measure of history; and ensuring truth-telling. This is also reflected in the Museum’s governance structure that includes a Wabanaki-majority Board and a Tribally-appointed Advisory Council, resulting in a tremendous institutional power shift. This commitment allows the museum to amplify the art, cultures, histories, and contemporary lives of Wabanaki peoples in ways that serve Tribal communities and activate audiences. Through the Wabanaki Council and community consultation, we work with Wabanaki Tribal Nations to share authority for the interpretation of their living cultures and history, privileging Native voice. 

The Abbe was founded in 1928 as a small trailside museum at Sieur de Monts Spring in Lafayette National Park (today Acadia National Park) with a focus on the archaeology of the Wabanaki Nations. The Abbe soon expanded its scope to include Wabanaki material culture and now features a substantial contemporary art collection. In 2001, the Museum expanded to the downtown Bar Harbor location, creating a 17,000-square-foot museum with spacious exhibition galleries, a research lab, and state-of-the-art collections storage. Learn More | Support

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

2025 LEAD FUNDERS