Dr. Anthony Sutton is a Passamaquoddy Community Food Facilitator, a member of the Maine Shellfish Learning Network, and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Communications and Journalism at the University of Maine. He describes himself as a social scientist who creates research designs that centre Indigenous community visions of the future.
This recorded talk, which was hosted by the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, is about what Sutton calls “sites of sustenance.” He repeats this statement throughout the talk: “The natural world is not unlike the social world. It can be maintained or broken by the ways in which one behaves.” Sites of sustenance are also sites of knowledge and learning. In Maine, colonists targeted these life-giving places, key fisheries and portage landings, when looking for places to build their forts. These sites are about sustenance, but not only about food – they are about families, about teaching people, they are learning places, places meant to organize where and how people live their lives. Dr. Sutton discusses the importance of restoring Wabanaki access to these sites.
Please note that this video can not be embedded in websites; contact the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine for more information.