Showing 351 - 360 of 436 Items
Date: 2014-05-01
Access: Open access
Date: 2015-03-19
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-04-09
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-07-10
Access: Open access
Date: 2014-11-03
Access: Open access
Date: 2019-06-01
Creator: Laura Daly, Hannah Hughes, Emme Duncan
Access: Access restricted to the Bowdoin Community
This series includes audio recordings and related transcript of statements by focus groups convened by the TRC. Session participants include Wabanaki foster and adoptive parents, Wabanaki Health and Wellness, Maine-Wabanaki REACH board members, community organizers, and inmates at the Maine Correctional Center. The discussions focus on native fostering and adoption; reconciliation, justice, and trauma; community organization; and background history. Some statement providers requested anonymity, and in those cases, both the transcripts and recordings have been altered to protect participants' identities.
These personal memories provide a window into the realities of the relationship between Wabanaki people and the state of Maine. As evidenced by the recordings themselves, the process of participating in the group discussions was often an emotional one for participants. Readers should be aware that many of the statements contain challenging and disturbing content. The statements are made available online with the hope that broader access to these important historical records will further our understanding of this difficult past and lead to improved child welfare practices for Wabanaki families.
Bowdoin does not hold copyright for these materials. They are made available for research and educational purposes, and with the permission of the TRC and group participants. For all uses outside of "fair use" (as defined by Title 17, United States Code), including derivation, publication, and reproduction, researchers must secure permission from the copyright holders, typically the group participants.
For More Information
If you have questions or concerns about your statement, or if you need research assistance, please contact the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives at scaref@bowdoin.edu or calling 207.725.3288
Visit the website of Wabanaki REACH to stay up to date on the work to implement the Commission’s recommendations. If you participated in the TRC and need support, or if you wish to contribute to the archive by providing a statement, please contact Wabanaki REACH at 207.615.3189
Please also read Wabanaki REACH's statement of support issued upon the release of the archives.
A related series of Statements by Individuals is also available.
Date: 2019-11-09
Creator: Noma Petroff
Access: Open access
- Noma Petroff shares her time working at Bowdoin, as secretary of the Senior Center (1975-1979), secretary of Afro-American Studies (1979-1985), secretary Women’s Studies (1990), and academic coordinator of Theater and Dance (1991-2016). She discusses her path to Bowdoin, and specifically her path to working in Russworm, coming from working at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and even leaving Bowdoin for several years to work on a Pennsylvanian farm. She recounts how she tried to serve as an ally to students of color on campus. Petroff describes the dynamic environment of Russworm during the early eighties, including the work she put into starting the center’s library. She shares stories from various work-study students who worked with her, including two students who fell in love after separately working under her. Petroff describes the transformations to the African American Studies department over her many years at the college, including highlights of working under both Randy Stakeman and Lynn Bolles.
Date: 2019-11-09
Creator: Steve London
Access: Open access
- Steve London '64 describes his family's long connection to Bowdoin, spanning three generations. He shares his father's experience at the College as a Jewish student in the 1930s who found most allegiance with the several black students on campus at the time. Speaking of his own time as a student, London describes how the civil rights movement greatly influenced his experience as an undergraduate. His time at Bowdoin and engagement with racial activism led him to later work with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for two years shortly after graduating from Bowdoin. London outlines the ways that activism and understanding the role of identity and inequity were a central part to his time at the College, and his path afterwards.
Date: 2019-11-09
Creator: George Khaldun
Access: Open access
- George Khaldun ’73 came to Bowdoin from New York at the suggestion of a mentor, the director of a library where Kahldun had worked part-time in high school. He shares that he was at first apprehensive of moving to Maine but decided to apply since it would provide a change of pace from the inner city. He discusses his political affiliation as a Black Panther and the comradery he felt in finding others at Bowdoin who shared his revolutionary beliefs. Kahldun found these men in the Afro-American Society, where he could connect with black people from across the country. He says this community helped hone his political beliefs but also adjust to the rigors of Bowdoin academics. Kahldun admits to struggling during his first year, after finding support in the Society, he was able to succeed in school.