Homecoming

This image is the result of a collaboration by James Francis, Penobscot artist and Cultural Historian for the Penobscot Nation of the Wabanaki... more

by Arla Patch

Title

Homecoming

Artist

Arla Patch

Medium

Drawing - Prisma Colored Pencils

Description

This image is the result of a collaboration by James Francis, Penobscot artist and Cultural Historian for the Penobscot Nation of the Wabanaki Confederacy and Arla Patch, former Community Engagement Coordinator for Maine Wabanaki REACH. The image is set within a background of a Wabanaki Ash basket. The location, the town green in Bethel, Maine where the festival had been taking place for 57 years when this image was created, the location of the "homecoming." Because the Wabanaki people are deeply connected to the geography of the place where they live, and they are the original inhabitants of this place, the green is held by the mountain in the background, Agiochook (Mt. Washington) and the Androscoggin River in the foreground, The original homes of the territory are Wabanaki wigwams on the left and the settler's homes of Bethel on the right. The two cultures are combined where the rivers come together. The starlit sky represents a new day dawning, one we understand Home in a multitude of ways.

Uploaded

November 29th, 2019