Darius is a Mashpee Wampanoag tribal citizen and is the Cultural Outreach Coordinator for the Mashpee Wampanoag Education Department. He is the former Director of the Wampanoag Indigenous Program at Plimoth/ Patuxet Museums for over 30 years. Over his career Darius has worked with Smithsonian, History Channel, National Geographic, and Scholastic to name a few. His teaching of Wampanoag and other Indigenous cultures in the history of the northeast is recognized throughout the country. He has presented at conferences, colleges, historical societies, museums, indigenous institutes, and all grades and levels of learning in North America. Darius is the recipient of the 2016 NEMA (New England Museum Association) Award for Excellence and the 2021 Bay State Legacy ward.
Toodie Coombs
Mashpee Wampanoag tribal citizen will teach how to create corn husk dolls. Deer skin dolls and corn husk dolls have always been part Wampanoag material culture for thousands of years and kids of all ages enjoy creating and playing with them.
Toodie brings an impressive foundation of Wampanoag culture and history to her role as a community educator, supporting language work in the Mashpee Public Schools and the Weetumuw School. She has taught students everything from how to cut and dry deer meat and scrape the deer hide…to how to make a muhsh8n (traditional dugout canoe)… to how to dig for quahogs… and much more.
Join us for this talk and historic launch of a traditional mishoon dugout canoe by master builder Jonathan Perry. Jonathan is a traditional singer, dancer, speaker and carver, grounded in the traditions of his ocean-going ancestors. He considers designs by examining the raw materials closely, and draws his images from the grain, hues, and patina of wood, stone and copper. Jonathan enjoys using the materials and knowledge handed down from his ancestors to express his understanding of the natural world as well as the changes over time since Creation. His mentors, like the late Nanepashemet (Tony Pollard) of the Wampanoag Nation, have taught him to observe and take special care when handling these materials, and breathing life into his pieces of art. Jonathan’s work embodies the refined quality of those of his ancestors, while still drawing upon his experience in a contemporary society. His pieces reflect balance within the Natural World, incorporating stories, effigies, and symbology of Wampanoag traditions.
Jonathan is influenced by his ancestors and his time spent on the ocean, something very close to him, being from an island Native community. Jonathan continues to use the materials and knowledge handed down from his ancestors to express his understanding of the Natural World and the change that it has experienced in the past four hundred years. Jonathan’s three dimensional artwork ranges in size from large, hand-carved dugout ocean vessels, to stone effigy pipes and high-end copper jewelry. An articulate and thoughtful speaker, Jonathan has lectured on the topics of Eastern Woodland art and traditions for over 25 years at both regional and national venues and his performing arts career has spanned over 30 years. These venues have included the Peabody Essex Museum, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Harvard College and Brown U.
Jason Pardilla is an accomplished outdoorsman, photographer/ videographer, wood worker, and councilor. Exploring the Wabanaki Homeland year round, Jason works to round up Wabanaki stories that cause people to contemplate their relationship with nature, while promoting the preservation of wild places everywhere. Layered by outdoor, travel, adventure, canoeing, and cultural subjects, Jason is known for images that are punctuated by cultural, Wabanaki landscapes. Through the camera lens Jason strives to share his vision of Wabanaki homeland with all people, and inspire them to explore for themselves.
Jason’s perspective has earned him opportunities to work with exceptional people, build a birchbark canoe, and represent his tribe as a Penobscot Nation Tribal Councilor. Along with his tribe, Jason lives in his homeland in the Penobscot River Valley. Jason has established himself as a river guide and creative. He is happiest with his family spending time on the Penobscot River.
Larry is co-director of the Ohketeau Cultural Center and Founder of the Native Youth Empowerment Foundation. Another very important part of Mann’s work has been advocating for drug and alcohol prevention In Native American Teens. This is certainly an issue for all youth but by far Native American teens have one of the highest rates of drug and alcohol problems which has lead to staggering levels of teen suicide. Mann, along with other Native American leaders worked in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to create a booklet as a resource for the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse. Wunnanumaonk ( A blessing to share)- Now more than ever, We must come together as One people & One World. The most precious thing that we have is each other. In these difficult times, I want to share my thoughts of Healing & Blessings to all of you. Please take care of yourselves and each other- Larry Spotted Crow Mann.
A member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe of Martha’s Vineyard MA, performing songwriter Thea Hopkins calls her music Red Roots Americana. She has been described as a “standout writer” by the Washington Post. In 2024, Thea attended the ISPA Congress in Perth (AUS) and WOMEX in Manchester (UK) as a Western Arts Alliance artist delegate. The New York Stage and Film fund selected Thea as a 2024 and 2025 Northeast Indigenous Voices artist resident in support of her play “An American Ghost Dance”.
Venues where Thea has performed include Massey Hall (CN), Banff Centre For The Arts (CN) Kennedy Center (DC), Woody Guthrie Festival (OK), the Moseley Folk Festival (UK), the Atkinson (UK), the Summertyne Americana Festival (UK) and the Bluebird Cafe (TN). This August she will be bringing her music to globalFEST at Lincoln Center in NYC. She first came to wider public notice when Peter, Paul & Mary recorded her song “Jesus Is On The Wire” in 2004, and then again in 2010 with the Prague Symphony Orchestra. It is considered one of their later signature songs. Her new album is scheduled to be released in January 2026.
Mi’kmaq first nation drum group, will share drum songs and participatory dances. Based out of Charlottetown and Scotchfort, Prince Edward Island, Canada, they share and produce traditional music. Lonecry has performed all over the East Coast from Atlantic Canada to Quebec and Ontario as well as New England. Tim Sock is founder of Lonecry is a knowledge keeper in his community of Abegweit First Nation, PEI, Canada, as well a pipe carrier, drum keeper and drum maker as well other cultural teachings. He works for the Canadian Government in Indigenous Service Canada (ISC) with First Nation Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) as a Senior Program Officer in Mental Health directorate.
Hawk is an artist, composer, and flute musician (Chaubunagungamaug band of Nipmuc). He expertly crafts Eastern Woodlands flutes through ancestral and contemporary techniques. His transformative performances create contemplative spaces for unity and meaningful reflection on how we each have the capacity to make change in the world. Through music, discussion, and a note of humor, he weaves a calm, engaging, and thought-provoking experience.
Hawk has had the honor of presenting at venues such as The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Harvard Medical School Graduation, and in the U.K. with the London Mozart Players.He also enjoys educational settings from kindergarten to university and small venues where he can engage the audience in dialogue. As a seasoned flute maker, Hawk has flutes all over the world and in several museums. He has three original CD’s; First Flight, Keeping the Fire and Voices. He is also featured on the compilation CD Tribal Winds. His music has been used in a variety of films and documentaries, some of which won or were nominated for Emmy awards. Hawk is featured in the 2022 Reciprocity Project film Weckuwapok (The Approaching Dawn). To learn more: Hawk Henries Flute Maker/Musician
Nicholas Paul
Nicholas Paul (Passamaquoddy from Motahmikuk, Indian Township, Maine and Wolastoqiyik, Maliseet, From Tobique First Nations in New Brunswick Canada, and Pauochau Nohkunnawai Waupi, “She who dances on night winds,” Narrangansett From Rhode Island and Peqout from Connecticut- Will be joined by their children. This family has travelled to pow wows across the United States and Canada and have competed in different dance styles and drumming. They have also traveled to showcase and teach about their culture through various dances and singing, social and pow wow style. “As a family we still follow traditions and teachings that have been passed down to us from our elders and the ones who have gone before us. We hope to pass these same teachings on to younger generations.”
Pauochau Nohkunnawai Waupi
“She who dances on night winds,” comes from a long line of inherited Medicine people. Her grandmother was the medicine woman, tribal historian, keeper of cultural preservation, and linguist for the Narragansett Tribe. Pauochau grew up learning and teaching the culture through the arts of dancing, singing, weaving, beading, leather work, traditional recipes, language and much more.
2023 NEA Heritage award recipient Elizabeth James-Perry (Aquinnah Wampanoag) engages with Northeastern Woodlands Native cultural expressions, primarily in sculptural forms of wampum shell-carving and bead-making with its connection to identity and sovereignty, maritime traditions and restorative Native gardening. She is a culture bearer, lecturer, educator and plant walk leader in addition to textile, wampum and quill work. Her newest work is a Sea Turtle Mound garden created with the Native students at Amherst College.
Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers
A group of musicians, educators, and artisans from the tribal communities of Mashpee on Cape Cod, Aquinnah on Martha’s Vineyard, and Herring Pond in Bourne. Their performances of eastern social songs and dances have both educated and entertained audiences of all ages in museums, schools, and various multi-cultural events. They dress in our traditional clothing and our songs are accompanied by a water drum and handcrafted rattles. They encourage audience participation and prefer to dance with the people instead of for the people.
Born on the Motahkomikuk Indian reservation near Princeton, Maine to a Passamaquoddy mother and a Maliseet father, Roger Paul grew up speaking both languages and began learning English around the age of five. Living on various reservations in Maine and New Brunswick during his childhood, he attended Catholic schools, as well as public schools off the reservation. After touring the world with the U.S. Marine Corps, he earned his Bachelors degree in Sociology at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. It was during this time he realized the public’s lack of understanding and connection to the indigenous peoples of Maine and New Brunswick. As such, he chose to educate anyone who would want to learn about the Wabanaki Peoples of Turtle Island and their vital role in the communities in which they are ever-present. Roger has done work for; the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, the Houlton Band of Maliseets, Tobique First Nation in Canada, his home tribe of Passamaquoddy, and is presently working as a teacher with the Penobscot Nation and the University of Maine at Orono. His work history mirrors his background from being cultural director, teacher, counselor, story teller, and consultant, in which he takes an active role towards the preservation of culture and educating people on the importance of realizing the significance of indigenous peoples in Maine and New Brunswick. A mihtaqs (father) of three and a muhssumss (grandfather) of five, Roger works diligently to share and ensure the continuing growth and prosperity of the Wabanaki language and culture. Roger is featured in the 2022 Reciprocity Project film Weckuwapok (The Approaching Dawn). He is also a co-Director of the Upstander Project Teacher’s Academy.
a Wolastoqey writer and visual artist who grew up on a wild Maine river. Her family is from Kingsclear First Nations. She created a one-woman exhibit at the Abbe Museum while a grad student; Look Twice: The Waponaki in Image & Verse, and is the author of 20th Century PowWow Playland. Mihku is a Fellow this year with the first inaugural Maine Literary Festival and recent work can be seen on the Atlantic Vernacular online exhibit of art/poetry, N.B. Canada. And Littoral Books anthologies Wait: Poems from the Pandemic and Enough! Poem of Protest and Resistance. Mihku lives and works in Portland, Maine.
A Newichawannock Tribal Elder, Two-Spirit person, multi-disciplinary artist who primarily works in torchwork glass, photography, fashion design, and fiber arts. Jenny brings a deep understanding and appreciation of Indigenous perspectives on gender identity and spirituality. They have a particular interest in herbal medicine, teaching about the medicinal properties and traditional uses of native plants. Jenny explains: ‘The relationship within Indigenous cultures to the land is not centered in ownership or rights, but rather as a responsibility and primary relationship…” READ MORE
Tribal member of the Iukaieke Guainia Taino-Arawak Tribal Community, board member of MA Center for Native American Awareness and the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness, a Massachusetts liaison for the United Confederation of Taino People, professional educator and social justice activist. Awards: Citation from The Massachusetts House of Representatives for “scholarship, activism, and tireless work to give voice to the experiences of Indigenous and Native American People.” a “Mentoring Champion” on Ad Club’s Equity Project Honor Roll.
Claudia facilitates courses and workshops on having difficult conversations about diversity and anti-racism. In decolonizing equity conversations, she centers present Indigenous experiences and inclusive history in what is now known as North and South America. Her presentations center on marginalized Native American identities and missing contributions while dismantling stereotypes and historical inaccuracies. She asks allies and co-conspirators to come on the journey with her. Claudia will address assumptions that perpetuate stereotypes and myths, expand ideas about “American history,” and explore the role of language. The journey of developing a counter narrative to missing information and misinformation about the First Nations people of this land begins with un-erasing Indigenous voices, learning what we were not taught, and continuing to have those conversations with families and friends.
Lonewolf Studios
Lenny and Kelly Novak- featuring hand crafted artisan antler Dreamcatchers, and one of a kind Sterling Silver, Copper, and many other mediums Jewelry. Much of our art is Antler, and Necklaces and Earrings of all kinds, we also do gourds, hide covered Baskets, Bone and Horn chokers, Bracelets.
Don’t miss a special sculpture exhibition by Joseph Gray, who has been working with stone for four decades, creating pieces using the ancient, hands-on technique of hammer and chisel. As part Abenaki, Gray believes his Native American background plays a key role in his art. “It connects me with the earth and nature… When I am carving an ancestor or spirit animal, I do not know what I am carving when I start. I can feel my ancestors guiding me. It is a spiritual experience for me and I lose myself in every sculpture.” “I believe I will make an impact on the world with my stone sculpture. A smile and a warming of one’s soul is my goal as a sculptor.” – Joseph Gray
See photos of Gray’s sculpture above, “Harboring Thoughts,” carved for the city of Newburyport, designed to be placed along the Merrimack river, on the clipper city heritage trail. The mother seal and the baby seal represent the Newburyport community, family, and our connection to nature, along the Merrimack. For a complete catalogue.
Mother, Singer, Composer, and Teacher – Jennifer (Tuscarora, North Carolina) comes from four generations of Seven Singing Sisters through the maternal line. She is known for fierce vocals, soaring range and lilting, breath-taking harmonies. Jennifer has been singing since she was a child. When she was seventeen, she joined the critically acclaimed Native women’s Trio ULALI. Her voice perfectly wove the high strand of Ulali’s renowned harmony with incomparable skill and grace for over twenty years. Together, they created a new sound in Indian Country. Jennifer’s sharp wit and stage presence infused Ulali’s shows with strong vocals, humor and camaraderie with the audience.
Sarah (Small Turtle) Levenson
Sarah Levenson (spirit name Small Turtle) is a proud member of the Lennox Island First Nation of the Mi’kmaq Nation in Prince Edward Island. Of mixed ancestry, Sarah carries the legacy of her grandmother, a survivor of the Shubenacadie Residential School in Nova Scotia, and honors that history through her advocacy and art. With a strong back background in early childhood education, Sarah previously ran a land based childcare program, in her hometown, where she integrated Mi’kmaq language and cultural teachings into the daily lives of children . Today, she continues her work as a multimedia artist and passionate advocate for indigenous causes, with a special focus on Every Child Matters and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). This year marks Sarahs fifth time attending Indigenous Peoples Day, where she also serves as a membe4r of the organizing committee. She will be joined by her niece, Amelia ad the advocacy table for Orange Shirt Day and MMIW. Sarah’s presence and continued commitment serva as a powerful reminder of resilience and healing and the strength of the Indigenous communities.
Daniela Currie-Gutierre
Rooted deeply in culture, community, and creativity, Daniela’s spirit shines through her dedicated work and artistic endeavors. This summer has been particularly meaningful, offering numerous opportunities to weave these core values together and collaborate with inspiring women who are actively shaping the community.
Daniela expresses immense gratitude for the chance to contribute to impactful projects. She felt privileged to help build the new yurt again alongside her dad at Heartwood Nature School, create tiles with community members while participating in the installation of The Wave Mural in downtown Amesbury. She also cherishes the opportunity to return to her passion for teaching art, assisting in the preparation of The Center Art + Community in Amesbury for its magical summer program. Further demonstrating her dedication to arts and culture, she will continue to teach after-school art classes in the fall.
Contact Imagine Studios for More Information
(978) 834-0367 / kristine@imaginestudios.org
Imagine Studios 