Our project started in Hopkinton, NH, where we partnered with The Hopkinton Historical Society with huge success. This partnership has brought other towns and their historical societies into our project. The Hopkinton Historical Society put together an exhibit of Abenaki artifacts found in our little town and had some of our local artists include their baskets and pottery. From that exhibit, they were asked to put together a traveling exhibit by NH Humanities Council. As suspected, the exhibit is in high demand and has been making its way around our state.

We have been involved with art shows where some of our Abenaki artists were highlighted. We have been involved with a lecture series that has proven to be a huge hit. We’ve done numerous talks locally and as far away as Berlin, NH, at Camp Dodge of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s annual training for their staff.

Local School districts have reached out us to do presentations and we have now incorporated the traveling exhibit into these presentations.

Our little project has spurred on some really great accomplishments. Some of those are:

• A partnership with the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum (MKIM), where we are invited to perform basket making and canoe building demonstrations. We have had art exhibits in their gallery. We are invited each year to their annual Pow Wow to display or demonstrate our crafts and to talk about our project.
• We have had Snow Snake building workshops; plus, MKIM is where we hold our annual Snow Snake games.
• Our Apple Cider Project came out of the Abenaki Trails Project and the same for our Maple Syrup Project.
• Basket making and Canoe building Apprenticeships.
• The Abenaki Seed project came out of the Abenaki Trails project where we partnered with The Kearsarge Food Hub to grow vegetables for the food shelf.

AND

The Contoocook, NH, food shelf came about because of the Abenaki Trails Project and now Abenaki Helping Abenaki, Inc. sponsors it as part of the food security imitative to feed our citizens. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention that because of the Abenaki Trails Project and starting a relationship with Yankee Farmer’s Market to purchase meat for the NH food shelf, Abenaki Helping Abenaki (AHA) may never have had the opportunity to partner with Yankee Farmer to manage the tribe’s bison herd.

Since moving some of the animals to NH and housing them at Pitcher Mountain Farm, which is operated by Yankee Farmer’s Market owners Brian and Keira Farmer, the herd in NH has thrived and is growing larger to help feed our people well into the future.

It is our hope this project will help educate the general public and share a cultural exchange with the Abenaki people, past and present.

The Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation welcomes you on our journey together.