PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — With a new tribal center opening next year, the Aroostook Band of Micmacs is hoping to reconnect youth and elders, and begin work in new areas.
On Oct. 19, 2015, members of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs and representatives from the federal government celebrated the start of construction on the tribe’s wellness center. Located on the tribe’s existing 24.6-acre complex adjacent to the Northern Maine Community College campus, the 8,800-square-foot building will host early childhood education, two kitchens, a gym and a variety of cultural and health programs for tribal members of all ages.
“We’re building a community,” said Micmac Tribal Chief Edward Peter-Paul, who is originally from Fort Fairfield.
Since 1995, Micmac programs such as Little Feathers Head Start early childhood education have been held in older residential buildings at the BonAire neighborhood in the western part of Presque Isle. When the center is finished next spring, Head Start, nutrition classes, elder events and tribal celebrations will have a large space just down the street from the Micmacs’ headquarters.
With more energy-efficiency and flexibility at the new wellness center, organizations like Head Start will be able to “spend less on fuel and more on programming,” Peter-Paul said, adding that it could one day host day care services.
The center will be much-needed shared space to celebrate Micmac culture and spirituality and help younger and older generations learn about sustaining their health and the planet, said Donna Thunderbird Turtle Woman Augustine.
“We need to think about the next seven generations,” said Augustine, who was born in Eagle Lake and now lives in Elsipogtog, New Brunswick. “It’s not what we say to our children. It’s what we do, because they watch us. If they see us speaking our language — at least to try — singing, drumming and taking part in our culture and being proud of who we are, we don’t need alcohol and drugs.”
The $2.1 million wellness center is being funded with grants of $1.2 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and $423,000 from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, plus a $545,000 direct loan to the tribe from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Peter-Paul and other Micmac leaders see the wellness center as part of an ongoing effort to celebrate the tribe’s history and create opportunities for members to live good lives in Aroostook County.
The tribe has secured a grant to renovate 25 homes in the BonAire development, which dates back to the 1950s and Loring Air Force Base, and separate funding is also being pursued to replace 40 other units with modern, affordable housing.
Peter-Paul, whose term as chief runs through 2017, is also looking to create a Micmac tribal corporation that could launch new businesses focused on sustainable employment for both the tribe and nontribal residents.
“We’re thinking of manufacturing, call centers and cultural tourism,” he said. “We’re going to go after the business ventures ourselves. We’d rather employ 50 people in good jobs than make a bunch of money.”
