Many of the items in the permanent collection on the upper floors deal with the subject matter of the new exhibit at the Maine MILL in the Bates Mill Complex in Lewiston.
Photos on a series of panels at the Maine MILL help tell the story of Maine’s labor force in the early 1900s.
Tom and Nowetah Cyr own and operate Nowetah's American Indian Museum and Gift Store in New Portland. Nowetah traces her heritage to the St. Francis Abenaki and Paugussett Indians. Tom, who grew up in Lewiston, discovered a few decades ago that he may have some Maliseet Indian roots.
Nicholas and Delia Ranco were photographed on the Penobscot Reservation on Indian Island in Old Town. Nicholas was know to be a skilled canoe racer and his wife was an expert basket weaver.
The Maine Indian basket room has hundreds of examples of baskets made from within Maine's tribes.
Kachina dolls represent spirits in the animal kingdom. They are used as teaching aids for young children within the Indian tribe.
Nowetah's American Indian Museum and Gift Store in New Portland has artifacts from Maine's Indian tribes, as well as from tribes all the way down to South America.
The bear-hanging on the wall of Nowetah's American Indian Museum and Gift Store was given to Nowetah Cyr decades ago to help the single mother of seven girls feed her children.
Nowetah Cyr opened an Indian heritage museum in her living room when she was 22. Her museum and gift shop in New Portland turned 50 in February.
Every artifact in Nowetah's American Indian Museum and Gift Store has a handwritten description by Nowetah Cyr.
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