Stories – Donald Soctomah

“Our territory, our homeland, covers 3 million acres. You can imagine all the stories within those 3 million acres. And then after we were put on 10 acres, and kept away from certain places, with stories starting to fade but they didn’t disappear” – Donald Soctomah

Part 1 (15 min)

Hear the story of Koluskap and Kci-Qapit (Giant Beaver) at Spoon Island in Oak Bay; and the story of the giant codfish that swallows Passamaquoddy Bay twice every day at the Old Sow whirlpool (some of the biggest tides in the world); and the story of the protective powers of Chamcook Mountain.

Settle in with some water or tea, and let yourself listen. Notice how the storytelling affects your body and mind differently than other kinds of talking.

Take a break from the screen and go for a short walk, or stretch the parts of your body that feel stiff, counting to 8. Gratitude to Donald Soctomah for sharing these stories.

Part 2 (12 min)

What are the stories that bring us into an understanding of all the other Peskotomuhkati stories? Hear about the more than 1,000 petroglyphs on the shores of Passamaquoddy Bay, some as old as 3,000 years, and some as recent as the 1600s (the same time that the French sailed down the Skutik river).

A quote to take with you from Donald Soctomah in Part 2:

“When we consider the sturgeon the grandfather, when we consider the moon our grandmother, we’re looking at everything around us as a relative, as a spirit. Everything has a spirit”

What if everyone saw everything around us as relatives?

Part 3 (10 min)

Stories help to understand local and global events. When you don’t have a story for an event, you can go looking for one. You never know what new realizations a story will bring to the bigger world around us.

The next time a unique event happens, start asking around for stories. Call your grandmother, grandfather, or an Auntie. 

Donald Soctomah Bio

Donald Soctomah is a Peskotomuhkati historian, author of 7 books, teacher, filmmaker, lecturer, storyteller, and community leader who lives in Motahkomikuk. He serves as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Passamaquoddy Tribal communities in Maine and New Brunswick. Donald works with both the U.S. and Canadian governments on the protection of culturally significant sites, artifacts and knowledge. He has written several books about Passamaquoddy history, as well as co-authored two children’s books, Remember Me: Tomah Joseph’s Gift to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and The Canoe Maker. Donald has appeared on National Public Television, Maine Public Television, Canadian Broadcasting, Animal Planet and is a frequent consultant to the Smithsonian Institution, US Library of Congress, and Maine State Museum.