Two years after it was introduced, more than 1,000 people, including many teachers, have completed a University of Maine System course about the history of the Wabanaki Nations in Maine, system administrators announced Friday.
The program, launched in November 2022, allows students to learn about Wabanaki Nations history from the Ice Age through today and earn a digital credential demonstrating their understanding of the subject material.
Called the Dawnland credential, the certification was created by John Bear Mitchell, a lecturer and outreach and student development coordinator for the Wabanaki Center and UMaine system’s Native American waiver and educational program coordinator. A citizen of the Penobscot Nation, Mitchell created it to better prepare Maine’s educators to teach Wabanaki studies.
The state of Maine has required K-12 schools to teach Wabanaki studies for more than two decades. Sponsored by then-Rep. Donna Loring, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation, the 2001 Wabanaki Studies Law mandated the subject but did not include funding or resources to support schools in its instruction. The Dawnland credential seeks to fill in some of those gaps.
“It’s great to see there is so much interest in this credential,” Mitchell said in a prepared statement. “My hope, for those who take it, is for them to teach about the tribes that lived on this land before and since Maine became a state from our perspective. To learn about us and to teach about us makes all of Maine a better place to live. By taking away misunderstandings and misrepresented ideology, we can create a true sense of place.”
Many Maine schools have benefited from the Dawnland credential, USM spokesperson Samantha Warren said in a statement. About 300 educators in the RSU 21 district serving Arundel, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport have earned the credential.
In addition, all teacher education students at the University of Maine and the University of Maine at Augusta earn the Dawnland credential before they begin their student teaching.
“Our System’s Dawnland credential equips educators with essential knowledge about the first people of this land we now call Maine and the ability to share with their students the history, culture and contributions of the citizens of the Wabanaki Nations,” said UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy.
The online course takes about 10 hours to complete and costs $25.
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