About Us

 

Joe Mell, my great grandfather, asleep in one of his canoes (Duck Lake, ME (ca.1895).

Deborah Gabriel Brooks passamaquoddy weaver of
traditional art

Who We Are

Wabanaki Presence through weaving

The youngest of seven children and born on the Maine Passamaquoddy reservation at Indian Township, I grew up in a basketmaking family of many generations and learned the traditional art as a child from my mother, aunt, grandmother, and other relatives. I use the same molds, equipment, and tools passed down to me from earlier generations of basketmakers.

In 1994, my mother (and mentor), Mary Mitchell Gabriel, received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts for her basketry. She was the first Wabanaki weaver to achieve this coveted national award for her outstanding work as an artist. Importantly, her achievement raised public awareness of the quality of Passamaquoddy basketry when Passamaquoddy baskets were not well known. I apprenticed with my mother in ’97 to learn her specialized techniques in order to increase my skills. I am truly fortunate to have had my loving mother as my teacher and mentor with her great love of basketmaking, and desire to pass on those skills to me.

Education & artistic career

I have an MS Psychology, MA Humanities, and my MA in history is nearing completion. In the past, I worked at the Hudson Museum, UMO as Manager for the Native Art Shop, curated special basket exhibits in Maine; and worked for the Downeast Heritage Museum in Calais, Maine as a cultural history educator on Passamaquoddy history and traditional art. I have a featured video at Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine, detailing the construction of traditional sewing baskets. More recently, my work and interview is featured in the book, Baskets of Time: Profiles of Maine Indian Basket Makers, by David Shultz, as well as the March 2021  issue of Native American Art magazine.

I have been fortunate to sell my baskets at many Native American events throughout the years and have my baskets marketed at various Native American museums such as Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor, Maine; Hudson Museum, Orono, Maine, and Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, along with various online art galleries.

A little family history . . . .

My mother, Mary Mitchell Gabriel with one of her famous “sewing flats” in the mid-90s.

Joe Mell (Piel-Pole), my great grand-father (ca. 1895).

My mother’s grandparents, Joe (Susap) and Julia (Sulyan) Mell (1849-1930), raised my mother at Indian Township. Joe, a hunter and trapper, was a famous Passamaquoddy travel guide in the Maine woods for seasonal sportsmen. Always industrious, Joe made canoes, paddles, axe handles, and snowshoes for sale. Joe is featured in William Lyman Underwood’s (1864-1929) book of 1927 Wilderness Adventures as a trusted loyal friend and guide through the Maine wilderness (Joe was Underwood’s travel guide for 40 years, beginning in 1883). Sulyan was an expert basket maker and one of her baskets is showcased at the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, Maine.

Our Vision

We hope to share some early history of the tribe and their struggles to survive through the devastation of disease and expropriation of land and resources in the early years of contact. The tribes have overcome many barriers of language, colonial imposition, and the transition into a cash economy. Through constant adaptation, creativity, and resistance to assimilation, the Wabanaki have succeeded in maintaining tribal sovereignty and self determination apart from the dominant culture. We envision a broader audience will become familiar with the amazing artistry of the Wabanaki and recognize the endurance of tradition within the context of the modern world.

Our Mission

We educate the world through our baskets and the stories they tell of long ago in the dance of life. Each basket is a history lesson that provides meaning in a global environment that forgets to respect and becomes lost in commercialism. Wabanaki baskets express an ancient tradition and culture that endures. Our traditional baskets provide a lens through which we can view the history and culture of the Passamaquoddy through woven artistry.

Our baskets express how Wabanaki traditions endure, maintained by weavers who have not forgotten the beauty of our ancestors and the stories they wove.