This short documentary brings the viewer along on an indigenous tour of Lake Wiwininebesaki (Winnipesaukee) to explore and highlight Abenaki heritage sites in the effort to reframe the historical narrative of the NH lakes region from an indigenous perspective. In May of 2019, several members of INHCC traveled by boat up the Lake’s west coast and visited a few locations that have indigenous cultural and historical significance. The group began their trip at Alton Bay before continuing to Sizikwaimenahanmek (Rattlesnake Island), followed by a stop at Koabegosenmek (Stonedam Island), and concluding at the village site of Aquadoctan (Weirs Beach). The film is narrated by INHCC members Paul and Denise Pouliot of the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook Abenaki People and includes commentary from Russell Wilder of the Lakes Region Conservation Trust and local historian David Miller. By traveling via the waterways or “the highways of the past,” as the Abenaki have done for thousands of years, this tour reorients the viewer’s perspective to see the land from the water, rather than the water from the land, and seeks to bring an indigenous perspective to the forefront of the NH lakes’ history. A better understanding of indigenous lifeways is an important step towards acknowledging the value and ecological significance of indigenous stewardship in the history of our Granite State. This short film serves as a resource for bringing such an understanding to communities in NH and beyond.
[…] known today as New Hampshire, multiple locations have kept their Indigenous place names, such as Wiwininebesaki (Lake Winnipesaukee) and the Kancamagus Highway. But in other instances, Indigenous names were changed. For example, […]
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