You are invited to our 2018 Annual Meeting! Meet the Abbe Staff and Board of Trustees, get an update on recent initiatives and projects, check out our new exhibit Emergence - Root Clubs of the Penobscot Nation, and get a peek at what’s to come for the rest of the year. Suzanne Greenlaw (Maliseet) will be our special guest speaker.
Preserving future generations of black ash trees is a focus for Greenlaw, a doctoral student in the University of Maine Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions and the School of Forest Resources and a member of the Maliseet tribe in Houlton. She also makes utility baskets and enjoys using natural dyes to add color to the creations.

For her doctoral research, Greenlaw is developing maps through GIS and remote sensing to predict where basket-quality black ash is likely to grow in the state; it’s estimated the species (Fraxinus nigra) comprises about 2–3 percent of Maine’s total forested land and, of that, about 5–20 percent is good for basketmaking.

As part of her research, Greenlaw is establishing an agreement between a commercial forest company and Wabanaki ash harvesters to permit basketmakers to harvest ash on private property.

She will share her research and knowledge during her talk, Weaving Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Scientific Knowledge to Restore Traditional Sweetgrass Harvesting in Acadia National Park.

RSVP to RSVP@abbemuseum.org or (207) 288-3519.