Issue date: 12/7/06 Section: Style

Nestled in the corner of the third floor of the Hudson Museum are the colorful stories of a young generation commemorating its past, present and future. These voices belong to the children and young adults participating in the Waponahki student art show, going on four years strong.

Organized by the Abbe Museum and Maine Indian Education, approximately 30 pieces represent the ideas expressed by young members of mostly the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes. Four tribes in all - including the Micmac and the Maliseet - comprise the people who are collectively known as the Waponahki, or "People of the Dawnland."

Students enrolled in grades kindergarten through 12 contributed works as varied as their mediums. Wolves, bears, eagles, flowers, dreamcatchers, warriors, foxes and more make up a forest of thoughts.

Some are uplifting and others are somber, but as the description below Ana Rapp's piece can apply to the rest of the works, these images serve as "a reminder that we must never forget who we are."

Even the youngest artists chose topics to illustrate that reflect a greater message, regardless of whether or not it was intentional. The inclusion of these young voices was a wise decision as it adds meaning to what museumgoers typically expect from an art show - the skill level. For example, kindergartener Austin Loring's depiction of a fox family traveling in front of a landscape of mountains to their den is simple and sweet, but it ties in with the rest of the exhibit's theme of the connection of nature with the Waponahki peoples.

The descriptions below the various drawings and paintings, made with differing methods like pastel, lithograph, block print transformation and watercolor add nearly as much value as the pictures themselves.

It sounds as if they were transcribed directly from the mouths of the students, and you can almost imagine them explaining in bashful tones why they drew what they drew.

One of the stand-out pieces is fourth-grader Sarah Sabattus' "My Powerful Bear." A bear head made from plaster, supported by criss-crossing rods with small sculpted bear paws, fish, an arrowhead and a smaller bear head affixed to their ends, is the centerpiece of two multi-colored hoops. Part of the description below reads, "My bear's mouth is open to make him look more fierce. My bear doesn't have any enemies."

The older students' pieces take on a more reflective look for their respective tribes. "Sacred Prayer," by 12th-grader Eve Andrews Dana, is a gorgeous pastel drawing of a Penobscot man exhaling from a pipe. Peering out from the cloud of smoke is a man's face and the description reads, "This piece represents the importance of the Native tradition of our ancestors watching over us all."

The exhibit premiered Monday and will remain open to the public through Jan. 31.

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