Nibezun Reclaims Sacred Lands
“We are deeply humbled and incredibly grateful to announce that we have met the first goal of our capital campaign and paid off over $700,000 in acquisition funding loaned by Maine Coast Heritage Trust and The Conservation Fund! Together, we have ensured that this sacred place is secured for generations to come.”
Along the Penobscot River in Passadumkeag sits a majestic 85-acre property that is part of the ancestral homelands of the Wabanaki people. The property is now home to Nibezun, a Native-led organization that seeks to revitalize and preserve Wabanaki culture, traditions, and life ways.
In 2016, this property was listed for sale on the open market and access was almost lost to the Wabanaki People and to the general public. At that point a small and courageous group of tribal members and allies planted the seed of an idea to permanently secure this sacred place for all people.
It wasn’t going to be easy. The substantial obligations required to purchase and permanently secure the property all within a limited time frame would have been enough to overwhelm even the most well-established non-profit organization. For a new and unknown non-profit this seemed almost impossible. But, the planters of this seed and the dreamers who tended it remained steadfast and people of shared vision were naturally drawn to this effort.
With conservation advice and financial support from The Conservation Fund, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, The Quimby Family Foundation, and community members and supporters from around the state and the country, Nibezun was able to pay off the bridge financing and own this land fully in late October of this year.
“As our community of support grew, we realized that Nibezun is not the land, not any one person, not the buildings; Nibezun is a medicine that binds us all in a common thought, provides a way of being together in a complicated world, and allows a prayer to echo through us all in our own individual ways,” says Dr. Ben Huerth, Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for Nibezun. “It is this collective prayer that allowed us to succeed in securing Nibezun for the generations to come.”
We want to take a moment to celebrate this incredible accomplishment with all of you who have helped us along the way.
Each of your contributions has been invaluable in helping us reach this goal. Everyone who donated their time, energy, and funds has been a critical part of our success. We honor every contribution, and acknowledge the collective gifts that have made this possible.
Together, we have made this extraordinary dream a reality. Now, we can move forward to see what we can create together, through ceremonies, traditions, customs, and language, to heal the sacred unbroken relationships between the people and the ancestral lands and Waterways of the Wabanaki, while also opening a healing space for people from all corners of the Earth to come together to create a more unified and balanced world.
We are now moving into the second phase of the Capital Campaign, which is dedicated to much needed repairs and improvements to the existing facilities. At the same time, Nibezun will be working to further develop our programming, fully staff the organization, and improve operations.
Here are some of the things that we will be focused on in 2019:
Program staffing and Board development
The acquisition of needed maintenance equipment
Urgent property repairs and deferred maintenance
Structural improvement of existing infrastructure to increase capacity
Creation of new ceremonial grounds
Building volunteer accommodations
We greatly look forward to continuing this journey with all of you. You have been instrumental in shaping this unfolding story, and we are honored by your faith and commitment in this shared vision.
Nibezun’s creation story will now become part of our oral history. It will be passed down through the generations, inspiring our descendants to believe in their own ability to bring “impossible dreams” to reality, to plant small seeds of hope, and bring them to fruition. Together, we have demonstrated the immense power that is created when we join our collective energies into one unified vision.
On behalf of the Board, staff, and Capital Campaign Committee of Nibezun, Wə̀liwəni, Woliwon, Wliwni, Wela'lin, Thank you!
Tim Shay, Nibezun Board President
Ben Huerth, Nibezun Vice-President
Madeleine Huerth - Student/Youth representative, Nibezun Board
Andrew J. Kull, Esq., Nibezun Board
Jeanne Lewey, Nibezun Board
Shiwa Noh, Nibezun Board
Sharon Tomah, Nibezun Board
Nicole Altvater, Nibezun Board/Administrative Assistant
Adele Altvater-King, Bookkeeper
Elena Brandt, Fundraising Consultant
Tracy Cooley, Capital Campaign Committee
Lisa Henries, Operations Director
Rosalie Kell, Capital Campaign Committee
Sherri Mitchell, Capital Campaign Co-Chair
Ciona Ulbrich, Capital Campaign Committee
Lissa Widoff, Capital Campaign Co-Chair