The Abbe Museum’s Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas returns. This annual celebration showcases Wabanaki art, music, and thought leadership, bringing together Indigenous artists, performers, and public scholars in an immersive two-day experience.

"Native arts and cultures cannot be separated from Native ways of knowing. The Dawnland Festival of Arts & Ideas continues to celebrate the Native creative economy on Wabanaki homelands while lifting up Indigenous thought leadership vital to the conversation on a healthy planet and society for us all."

Betsy Richards (Cherokee), Executive Director & Senior Partner with Wabanaki Nations

Steps from Acadia National Park’s entrance, this outdoor summer festival in Maine invites you to browse an arts market with over 50 talented Indigenous artisans, enjoy live music and performances celebrating Native living cultures, and engage with panel discussions by Wabanaki and other Indigenous leaders about topics such as environment, history, food sovereignty, and the role of the arts in society. 

Schedule of Events:

July 12, 2025

9:00 am — Market Opens
10:00am - 10:30am — Market Performance: Hawk Henries (Nipmuc)
11:00 - 11:30 am — Market Performance: Jennifer Pictou (Mi’kmaq Nation)
Noon — Food Trucks
1:00 -1:45 pm — Featured Performance: Ty Defoe (Ojibwe + Oneida Nations)
2:30 - 3:20 pm — Panel  #1: Native Arts, Cultures, & Technology
Ty Defoe (Ojibwe + Oneida Nations)
Emma Hassencahl-Perley (Wolastoqey)
Dwayne Tomah (Passamaquoddy Nation)
4:00 - 4:50 pm — Panel #2: Wabanaki Forest Futures
Tyler Everett (Mi’kmaq Nation)
Chuck Loring (Penobscot Nation)
Richard Silliboy (Mi’kmaq Nation)
5:00 pm — Festival Close

July 13, 2025

9:00 am — Market Opens 
10:00 am to 10:30 am — Market Performance: Minquansis Sapiel (Passamaquoddy)
11:00 - 11:30 pm — Market Performance: David Sanipass (Mi’kmaq Nation)
Noon — Food Trucks
1:00 - 1:45 pm — Featured Performance: Cipelahq ehpicik - Thunderbird Women (Wabanaki)
2:30 - 3:20 pm — Panel #3: Centering Wabanaki Voices in America’s 250th
Zeke Crofton-MacDonald (Houlton Band of Maliseet)
James Francis (Penobscot Nation)
Siera Hyte (Cherokee)
4:00 - 4:50 pm — Panel #4: Indigenous Farm to Table
Cassius Spears (Narragansett)
Dawn Spears (Narragansett)
Anthony Sutton (Passamaquoddy Nation)
Jasmine Thompson-Tintor (Penobscot Nation)
5:00 pm — Festival Close

Date: July 12 - 13, 2025

Location: College Of The Atlantic, 105 Eden Street Bar Harbor, ME 04609

Click here for more Information