Panelists | Performers | Market Artists
Find market artists and participants another way:
Jennifer Pictou - Storyteller
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Mi’kmaq Nation
MEDIUM: Diverse Arts
PERFORMANCE: Featured Performer - Sunday 1-1:45 p.m. on the Main Stage
ARTIST STATEMENT
Jennifer began her storytelling journey when she was eight years old at an indigenous summer camp for Wabanaki children in Northern Maine. There she was exposed to traditional stories in skit format, which ignited a deep desire to know more. As she paid more attention to them, she began to realize differences between stories told at home, those told in professional storytelling spaces, and those told casually among tribal members in everyday settings. These observations were key to providing her with a lifelong love of oral history and an understanding of nuances, structure, and cultural context.
As an adult, Jennifer has enjoyed many opportunities to share her tribe’s traditional stories with broad audiences, from school groups to stage work to international tour groups. Jennifer states, “There is a value in storytelling that goes beyond merely listening to a good tale, as I have used stories as a form of currency, been gifted with stories in return, and debated the veracity of story translations written down hundreds of years ago with other storytellers. I am not a folklorist in the academic sense but a culture keeper in a broader context, sharing oral traditions that have been passed through thousands of generations.”
In addition to live storytelling, Jennifer is an award-winning glass artist and co-author of Haunted Bar Harbor. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Maine at Presque Isle, later getting a B.S. in Anthropology, and her Master’s in American and New England Studies from the University of Southern Maine.
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Penobscot NDN Beadwerks
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Penobscot Indian Nation
MEDIUM: Beadwork
ARTIST STATEMENT
Penobscot NDN Beadwerks is an art collective from the Penobscot Nation, consisting of siblings Mary Lee Stewart, Patty McMurphy, and Marvin McMurphy. They create unique pieces such as beaded jewelry, dreamcatchers, and turtle rattles, reflecting their creativity and cultural heritage
Jeremy Frey
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Passamaquoddy
MEDIUM: Basketry - Ash
BOOK SIGNING: Saturday, July 11, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I am a Passamaquoddy artist. I have been creating art since I was a child. My mother always nurtured this creativity in me; she did this by supplying me with any and all art supplies she could afford. My family has been weaving baskets for more than eight generations. However, as a child I didn’t have much contact with the art of basket weaving. It wasn’t until my early twenties that I become infatuated with the creation of these baskets. From the day I wove my first basket I have never stopped.
Basketry is an art form that I can relate to in many ways. It is a part of my heritage, an art form that connects me to my relatives both living and past. For me to weave is a way of honoring my ancestors. However, it is also a way to honor future generations both through my teachings and though my personal carrying on of the art form. My work is always evolving; I try to create a newer and more elaborate version of my work each time I weave. I have refined the teaching of my mother beyond anything I would have considered possible.
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Geo Soctomah Neptune
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Passamaquoddy Tribe
MEDIUM: Basketry - Ash, Clothing, Diverse-Arts
MARKET PERFORMER: Sunday, July 12, 10-10:30 a.m. on the Market Stage
BIOGRAPHY
Geo Neptune is a member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe from Indian Township, Maine, and is a Master Basketmaker, a Drag Queen, an Activist and an Educator. As a person who identifies as a two-spirit, an indigenous cultural gender role that is a sacred blend of both male and female, Geo uses they/them gender-neutral pronouns.
At four years old, Geo had already been asking their grandmother Molly Neptune Parker to teach them how to weave baskets; after being told to wait until they were older, Geo found another elder that would teach them, and presented their grandmother with their first completed basket. Later that year, after turning five years old, Geo wove their first basket with their grandmother, beginning a lifelong apprenticeship.
After graduating from eighth grade at the Indian Township School, Geo attended Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine, where they were able to explore more artistic outlets before becoming a member of the Dartmouth College Class of 2010. Proficient in Spanish and a performing arts major, Geo studied abroad in both Barcelona and London during their time at Dartmouth.
When Geo graduated from Dartmouth College and returned to the Indian Township reservation, they began to focus heavily on their weaving, and developing their own individual artistic style. Experimenting with their family's signature woven flowers mixed with natural elements of twigs and branches, Geo began forming what would eventually be known as their signature sculptural style of whimsical, elegant, traditionally-informed basketmaking. During their time at home, Geo was also the Cultural Activities Coordinator and Drama Instructor for the Indian Township After School and Summer Programs, and eventually went on to serve as the Unit Director for the Passamaquoddy Boys and Girls Club. In 2012, Geo attended the Santa Fe Indian Market for the first time, accepted the position of Museum Educator at the Abbe Museum, and watched their grandmother receive the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship before moving to Bar Harbor.
Living in Bar Harbor, Geo maintained a life as a basketmaker, actor, drag queen, and activist in addition to serving as the Museum Educator. Participating in Idle No More protests here in Maine, Geo was invited as the first Indigenous youth delegate to the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Capetown, South Africa in 2014. After attending the Summit again in 2015, returning to Barcelona, Geo was then invited to attend a PeaceJam conference in Winchester, England, where they met Rigoberta Menchu Tum, the first and only Indigenous woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2016, Geo was the first drag queen on the cover of Native Peoples Magazine, with their story featured in the magazine's first official LGBTQ Pride issue. In late 2016, Geo decided to pursue their art and activism full time, and they now live back in their community at Indian Township. At home, they are able to spend more time with their apprentice and youngest sister Emma--who, at thirteen years old, has won numerous more awards for her basketry than Geo has--and with their grandmother, keeping the family and cultural tradition of basketry alive. Geo hopes to be able to work to embrace the sacred role of the two-spirit, truly becoming a keeper of tradition and a teacher and role model for Passamaquoddy and other Wabanaki youth. Most importantly, Geo hopes to inspire other two-spirits from across turtle island to accept their truth and embrace their sacred responsibility, and travels across the state and country educating learners of all ages about Wabanaki history and culture, the art of basketmaking, and what it means to them to be a Two-Spirit.
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Viola Francis
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Passamaquoddy Tribe
MEDIUM: Basketry, Beadwork, Painting
ARTIST STATEMENT
A talented and dedicated Wabanaki Artist from the Passamaquoddy Tribe in Sipayik, Viola Francis excels in an array of artistic pursuits, including basket making, regalia design, drum making, crafting, beadwork, painting, and dreamcatcher artistry. Viola's aesthetic is traditional with a contemporary modern mix. With a lifelong commitment to her craft, having started beading at the age of 12, Viola now mentors the next generation of artists and participates in charitable initiatives, utilizing her talents to benefit her community.
People of the Dawn Apothecary - Tiana Aurelio
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Penobscot Indian Nation
MEDIUM: Painter, Home & Body
ARTIST STATEMENT
I am a Penobscot artist, healer, and mother dedicated to revitalizing traditional medicine and Indigenous knowledge. With deep ancestral roots and a passion for holistic healing, My son Kaden and I founded People of the Dawn Apothecary, committed to helping others with traditional and all-natural remedies. Our work combines art, medicine, and cultural preservation, honoring our ancestors' wisdom while providing sustainable, earth-based healing solutions for the modern world. Our small business has enabled me to help out the Wabanaki community of elders by gifting them products throughout the past few years, we are honored to be doing this work.
All of our products are plastic-free and have holistic properties, please make sure to stop to say hello!
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Sarah Sockbeson
Photo by Robin Farrin
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Penobscot Indian Nation
MEDIUM: Basketry - Ash, Jewelry
BIOGRAPHY
Sarah Sockbeson is an award-winning Native American Artist, culture bearer, and member of the Penobscot tribe, creating traditional yet contemporary brown ash and sweetgrass baskets. She is part of a new generation of basketmakers who've pushed the boundaries of Wabanaki cultural art to an exciting new level.
Growing up within the homelands of the Penobscot, Sarah always had a deep appreciation for traditional art, baskets in particular. Coming from a long line of basketmakers, it was unfortunate that the line of knowledge stopped when her great-grandmother passed away before teaching her generation.
In 2004, Sarah was introduced to the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, an organization dedicated to preserving cultural knowledge, and it was then that she had the opportunity to apprentice with renowned basketmaker Jennifer Sapiel, Penobscot.
Since then, Sarah has honed her skills with each basket woven, becoming an integral part of the Wabanaki arts community. She continues to serve as an active participant, teacher/ mentor, and innovator among her tribe and the national Indigenous arts community. While her work is undeniably tied to cultural tradition, she infuses a style all her own, in the hopes that her work will serve as an inspiration to future generations of Native American artists.
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Navaquoddy Crafts - Sanora Isaac and Wilfred Neptune Sr.
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Navajo Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe
MEDIUM: Beadwork, Jewelry
ARTIST STATEMENT
Wilfred J. Neptune Sr., Passamaquoddy from Pleasant Point, Maine, a descendant of the hereditary Chief Neptunes. Sanora Isaac, Navajo from Arizona, comes from a line of artist/educator.
Our crafts originate from our cultural upbringing of Navajo and Passamaquoddy backgrounds. Together, we create a combination of unique, genuine handmade jewelry of beaded earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings with semi-precious/shell/stones using our natural materials from local nature byproduct and resources. Antler necklaces with seed beads, peyote stitched on leather and War Clubs from Maine rocks & wood handles. Dreamcatchers made from Maine red willow with sinew & feather.
The greatest form of crafting is remembering the tool given to us to express and create by our parents, our ancestors.
Sage Phillips
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Penobscot Indian Nation
MEDIUM: Beadwork
ARTIST STATEMENT
Sage Phillips (she/her) is a proud citizen of the Penobscot Nation. Her inspiration for her beadwork comes from her Grandmother, the late Linda Phillips and her Aunt, the late Lorraine Dana. Both were very talented Penobscot artists who were always incorporating double curves and florals into their work—oftentimes in their family’s regalia pieces. As such, Sage has decided to carry their legacy forward through beading earrings, medallions, and belts that represent her Wabanaki culture. She is sure to include double curves whenever she can, pulling inspiration from birch bark baskets created by her grandfather Butch Phillips who passed away in July.
Richard Silliboy
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Mi’kmaq Nation
MEDIUM: Basketry - Ash
PANEL: Wabanaki Forestry Futures
ARTIST STATEMENT
Richard Silliboy is a Mi’kmaq basketmaker. He has been harvesting ash and weaving potato baskets, pack baskets, and other traditional styles for decades. Growing up in Houlton, Maine, Richard’s mother taught him basketmaking. Richard often conducts workshops on basketry. He served as the President of the Maine Indian Basketmakers’ Alliance for ten years and now serves on the Board of Directors. He also has made presentations at various conferences about the significance of tribal history and traditions. Richard has been invited to attend various conferences. He is highly respected for his knowledge of brown ash and his concern for the threat of the emerald ash borer, an insect that has decimated brown ash trees in the Midwest. He has also been asked by the Maine Arts Commission and the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance to take on apprentices to learn brown ash basketmaking. Integral to the Micmac culture is the belief in giving back to the Creator, and there has been a tradition among Micmacs who harvest a natural resource to leave something behind after the harvest, such as tobacco or some other item. Richard continues to harvest brown ash trees, and his giving back has taken on an even broader meaning through his willingness to share his knowledge of brown ash basketry with others.
Norma Randi Marshall
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Passamaquoddy Tribe
MEDIUM: Painting/Illustration
BIOGRAPHY
Norma Randi Marshall is a Passamaquoddy artist from Sipayik, where she grew up on the eastern coastal edge of Maine, Peskotomuhkatikuk, and still lives in this rural area to this day.
She is known for her large oil landscapes that depict the rugged beauty of downeast, her digital artwork, and other creations that reflect her life, heritage, and connections to Wabanakik.
Norma attended the University of Maine at Machias where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Fine Arts with a focus on painting. Her style is inspired by traditional art found within her culture, contemporary Northeastern Indigenous artists, and Western realism.
Her artwork has been featured at the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, The Maine State Capitol and more. She has works in the Abbe Museum’s permanent collections in Bar Harbor. She illustrated the children’s book “Gluskabe and the gift of Maple Trees”. One can also see her collaborative signage work highlighting Wabanaki history and values where it is connected to the land at the Erickson Fields in Rockport as part of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust sites, the Town of Yarmouth at their Sipuhsisuwi Kcihq - Riverfront Woods Trails, at Hog Island in Bremen and at the Puffin Project Visitor Center in Rockland, Maine.
Artist Statement
Norma Randi’s rich indigenous heritage background is the foundation for her artwork. With deep connections to the rugged coast and interior landscapes of Wabanakik around her, she paints the lands her ancestors traversed for many millennia while also considering the the lives they lived, culturally, spiritually, and physically as they navigated and coexisted with the natural world around them.
She uses her art as a form of connection and learning about her heritage, researching history that has been buried by oppression and assimilation while also learning through her kin and community. Her landscapes have a spiritual connection, providing the presence that this land once knew of her people.
Her other artwork is also used for teaching people about the Wabanaki Nations; their cultural connections to the land they’ve always inhabited and the shared responsibilities to the beings, waterways, and land we all call home. Overall, her artwork provides a healing effect to overcome the genocidal and traumatic experiences in her ancestral genetic code while also bringing pride and inspiring optimism contemporarily for those who who feel the weight of colonialism within her communities.
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Nicole Paul
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Passamaquoddy Tribe
MEDIUM: Home & Body
BIOGRAPHY
Nicole works with pressed botanicals to create floral motifs to adorn soy wax candles and sachets. She also creates jewelry with natural fibers and materials. An avid language learner, you can find touches of the Wabanaki languages throughout her work, connecting scents to both place and indigenous humor.
Nancy LaCoote
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Passmaquoddy Tribe
MEDIUM: Beadwork
BIOGRAPHY
I am a traditional Wabanaki artist, from the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township. I come from a family of basketmakers and have been beading for 9 years.
The main focus of my artwork is centered around beadwork. Made to be worn as traditional regalia and indigenous jewelry, with some pieces made and preserved as wall art.
Other focuses of my work surround painting, mural pieces, and digital art. All areas of my work are inspired by our traditional medicines and plants, double curves, our stories, and eastern woodland floral designs.
I started beading as a way to connect to culture, and have since made it my profession to connect others, mainly indigenous youth, to their culture. Whether that be through art classes, teaching/mentoring, educational opportunities, or through connection to traditional arts and ceremonies.
Kci Woliwon
Connect with Frances
Lydia Soctomah
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Passamaquoddy Tribe
MEDIUM: Basketry - Ash
BIOGRAPHY
Lydia Soctomah, a Passamaquoddy tribal member from Motahkmikuk where she lives with her two beautiful children. She was taught how to make baskets by her late grandmother Molly Jeannette Parker and assisted at a variety of markets selling baskets. This past year, Lydia has been reintroducing herself to the art of basketry and finds it to bring a sense of peace within herself. Basketry was a major part of her grandmother's life and practicing this art keeps a piece of her alive; along with the ancestors who passed this knowledge down from generation to generation. Preserving the culture comes in many forms, basket making was a way in which her late grandmother preserved her piece. It was her grandmother's wish that we continue her legacy and teach future generations, as it is for all aspects of the culture. There is a sense of healing in practicing our traditions that Lydia hopes she can share with others as she learns them.
Lydia hopes to absorb as much Indigenous Knowledge as possible and carry that knowledge into the generations to come. Her career and education are rooted in the service of guiding the youth in positive directions, whether it be in an educational setting as a teacher or a support in substance abuse prevention and intervention within the Passamaquoddy Youth Wellness Court. Lydia hopes to help identify needs and build bridges for tribal youth to lead positive lives in the modern day world, with the strength of their cultural roots grounding them.
Leigh Neptune
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Penobscot Indian Nation
MEDIUM: Beadwork
BIOGRAPHY
Leigh Neptune is a self-taught Wabanaki beadwork artist from the Penobscot Nation. She has been beading for three years and enjoys curating themed collections of beaded earrings. In addition to her beadwork, Leigh is also a Registered Dietitian and PhD candidate in the Food and Nutrition Sciences program at the University of Maine.
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Kateri Aubin Dubois / Nisnipawset
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Malécite de Viger
MEDIUM: Beadwork
BIOGRAPHY
Kateri Aubin Dubois is of Wolastoqey (Maliseet) origin and a member of Quebec's Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk First Nation. Kateri uses her native name, Nisnipawset, as her artist name. A name she received in a traditional ceremony when she became a woman. Since that day, she has cherished her name Nisnipawset (Two Moons) for all her creations. Her curiosity for the arts developed at an early age as she watched her mother paint her Maliseet story. Nisnipawset discovered her own artistic path in 2015, when she was studying at Concordia University. She enrolled in a workshop on glass bead weaving, where she discovered a passion.
To perfect her technical skills, Nisnipawset became a self-taught artisan. Kateri attended several training courses and accumulated thousands of hours of training on various web platforms. Her talent stands out for its technical quality and sense of meticulousness, which are widely recognized in the industry. She received a grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) to exhibit her work/jewelry in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. She was also part of the group exhibit Kmawqepiyapon in 2022 along with 14 other Wabanaki artists.
Today, Nisnipawset has become an accomplished craftswoman, selling her glass bead jewelry throughout Quebec, Canada, and the United States in various markets, boutiques, and museums. Her work can be described as professional, for she has a fabulous gift. Nisnipawset interweaves her ancestral motifs with contemporary techniques to bring out and enhance her Wolastoqey traditions.
Nisnipawset strives for perfection, her original creations pushing her to constantly experiment to reach the goal of a contemporary craftswoman/artist using only noble materials for her creations.
Kateri Aubin Dubois dreams that one day Nisnipawset will open her own boutique-gallery.
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Kat Nelson
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Penobscot Indian Nation
MEDIUM: Jewelry, Beadwork
BIOGRAPHY
Kat studied in several dimensions at the Institute of American Indian arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico and upon graduating focused on silversmithing, she continued to work in silver until a serious accident made it too difficult to tolerate the strenuousness of the application. Now faced with a life-changing decision, she decided to move back to Maine and eventually settled on Indian Island, where she now resides. During her recuperation Kat considered various mediums to express herself and decided on working with sweetgrass and beadwork.
Being on Indian island brought Kat into contact with Elder artisans who were instrumental in her development of these new mediums. She studied the traditional methods of sweetgrass artistry under Charlene Francis and benefited from the mentorship of Barbara D. Francis. Having survived a near death experience Kat is once again able to create artwork in appreciation of life. She now works daily on various applications creating jewelry, adorning clothing articles with beadwork, and creating miniature articles of sweetgrass.
Jo-Ellen Loring Jamieson
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Penobscot Indian Nation
MEDIUM: Beadwork
ARTIST STATEMENT
I am a tribal citizen of the Penobscot Nation. I learned to bead on Indian Island as a teenager. As an Indigenous woman born on Earth Day, I have a deep connection with nature and an inherent responsibility to do my part to help protect the planet. I sometimes use recycled and upcycled materials in my work which helps to reduce my footprint.
Jeanne Lewey
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Penobscot Indian Nation
MEDIUM: Home & Body
ARTIST STATEMENT
My name is Jeanne Lewey. I live between Indian Township and Indian Island, Maine; I am affiliated with the Penobscot Nation. My cultural upbringing influenced my artisan soap-making and for me, the creative process begins when I'm in nature. I make sweetgrass and cedar soaps using ingredients including wild-harvested Blue Glacier clay, essential oils, milk, activated charcoal, French green clay, and more. I'm self-taught and am in my happy place when I create. I am happiest when creating a new recipe, and hope that my products put a smile on others' faces.
Frances Soctomah
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Passamaquoddy Tribe
MEDIUM: Basketry - Ash, Beadwork
BIOGRAPHY
Frances Soctomah (she/her) is a Peskotomuhkati (Passamaquoddy) artist from Motahkomikuk who engages video, audio, animation, graphic art, and traditional Wabanaki arts practices to explore and articulate relationships between people, Mother Earth, and our non-human relatives. Family, memory, responsibility, reciprocity, and interconnection are concepts often woven throughout her work. She grounds her practice in story, incorporating teachings from conversations with her family and community members.
Frances is one of eleven children who come from a long line of Passamaquoddy artistry. She began her journey as an artist at age seven when her late-grandmother Molly Neptune Parker – a renowned basketmaker and matriarch of four generations of weavers – began teaching her to make brown ash and sweetgrass baskets. While learning to weave fancy baskets in styles passed down to her family through generations, Molly shared stories of growing up in Motahkomikuk and the many places she lived. She passed down teachings from their ancestors, often reflecting on how our relationships with each other have shifted through time. The stories of community and connection that were woven during their time together inspired Frances to seek out other teachers in her community. She later apprenticed with Gabriel Frey, a Passamaquoddy cultural knowledge carrier, to expand her knowledge of basketmaking and harvesting practices as well as Jennifer Sapiel Neptune, a Penobscot cultural knowledge carrier, to learn traditional bead embroidery techniques.
Creating in community paved the way for Frances to expand her arts practice to include digital material, centering and amplifying voices from her community and through her work. In 2019 she enrolled in the Intermedia Master of Fine Arts program at the University of Maine. She is expected to complete her studies in December 2022.
In addition to her creative practice, Frances is committed to supporting spaces for Wabanaki artists to create, connect, thrive, and be seen. She is active in art, museum, and nonprofit circles where she advocates for cultivating sustaining relationships with Wabanaki artists.
