{"id":434,"date":"2019-07-24T18:30:40","date_gmt":"2019-07-24T18:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.une.edu\/mwwc\/?page_id=434"},"modified":"2026-08-25T09:53:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T13:53:49","slug":"donna-m-loring-lecture-series","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.une.edu\/mwwc\/home\/workshops-events\/donna-m-loring-lecture-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Donna M. Loring Lecture Series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Donna M. Loring Lecture Series is a space for education, dialogue, and reflection on issues that matter. Through lectures, book readings, and plays, the series explores Indigenous rights, civil rights, social justice, environmental issues, and human rights\u2014bringing both historical insight and fresh perspective to today\u2019s challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2026 Lecture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Psite ehpicik kcipokehtuwannuk – We Honor All Women<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

During this time when women\u2019s rights are being eroded and women\u2019s historical accomplishments are being suppressed, we must have productive conversations about why this is happening and what can be done to support and protect the rights of women as full participants in society and culture. This event provides a space for such dialogue and creative collaboration. As a Waponahki woman, Mihku Paul is acutely aware of the historic oppression of Maine\u2019s Indigenous peoples and the societal forces impeding their expressive freedoms and professional growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here in the Dawnland, Waponahki women have achieved impressive milestones in support of their communities and in their professional lives that continue to influence social, political, educational, and artistic arenas in Maine and beyond. To honor these women, and all women, as we strive to maintain equity within the changing landscape of American society, Mihku Paul envisions \u201cProfiles of Wapohahki Women,\u201d a project that will bring together community members, students, historians, and others toward this goal. This talk will offer a preview of what that project might entail. Mihku, well known for her poetry, will also share a topical poem written especially for this occasion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday, October 16, 2026 – A UNE Homecoming & Family Weekend Event<\/strong>
2:00 – 3:30 p.m. 
St. Francis Room, Ketchum Library, UNE Biddeford Campus
Free and open to the public; light refreshments will be served.<\/strong>
Watch the lecture online.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free copies of Mihku\u2019s book of poetry, 20th<\/sup> Century Powwow Playland<\/em>, will be available for students with ID (while supplies last).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaker<\/h4>\n\n\n
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\"Mihku<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Mihku Paul is a Maliseet elder and knowledge keeper who grew up on the banks of the Penobscot river. Her family hails from Kingsclear, NB First Nation in Canada. The author of 20th<\/sup> Century Powwow Playland<\/em>, she is a writer and poet by profession, as well as a food sovereignty grower and consultant and, like many Waponahki women, an artist and beadworker. She attended the University of Maine Farmington and UMaine Orono before completing her BA at the University of Southern Maine, with concentrations in Communication and Human Development, Magna Cum Laude in 1993. At the age of fifty, she entered USM\u2019s Stonecoast MFA program, earning her master\u2019s degree, then went on to publish, leveraging both her visual art and poetry to increase awareness of Waponahki culture and presence in Maine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mihku is executive editor at Dawnland Voices 2.0<\/em>, an online journal dedicated to Indigenous literature in northern New England. For several decades she has taught Waponahki Studies and curriculum enrichment in Portland Public Schools. She created an Indigenous seed saving project, Skoniminol Kuliwot or \u201cGood Seed,\u201d and protects open pollinated seed for distribution. Mihku also serves on the board of Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and the Traditional Arts Network at Mayo Street Arts. Her visual art has graced the cover of MELUS<\/em> (Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the United States), and she serves in a Waponahki arts collective known as Spinning Wampum. Her creative work now spans film as well, with the experimental film Putep Potatokot-te Elewestaq \u201cThe Whale was Speaking\u201d<\/em> to address climate change. Mihku lives and works in Portland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Past Lectures<\/polyline><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/h2>
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October 28, 2025<\/dt>\n
Truth in the Present Tense: Wabanaki Voices, Museums, and the Struggle against Erasure<\/a><\/dd>\n
October 1, 2024<\/dt>\n
A Salute to Cpt. Joanne Murphy and the Women Who Served in Vietnam<\/a><\/dd>\n
October 5, 2023<\/dt>\n
A Reading by Morgan Talty, author of\u00a0Night of the Living Rez<\/em><\/a><\/dd>\n
October 12, 2022<\/dt>\n
One Nation, Under Fraud: A Remonstrance<\/a><\/dd>\n
October 6, 2021<\/dt>\n
Racial Justice in Maine State Policy: Understanding the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations<\/a><\/dd>\n
October 27, 2020<\/dt>\n
Racial Health Disparities and COVID-19 in Maine: Shining a Light on Systemic Inequality<\/a><\/dd>\n
October 8, 2019<\/dt>\n
Teaching Wabanaki History and Culture in Maine: Challenges and Opportunities<\/a><\/dd>\n
October 1, 2018<\/dt>\n
Wabanaki Basketmaking Traditions Under Threat? Art, Culture, and the Future of Maine Indian Basketmaking<\/a><\/dd>\n
March 19, 2018<\/dt>\n
Penobscot Nation v. Janet Mills: A Case of Cultural Identity and Tribal Stewardship<\/a><\/dd>\n
April 6, 2017<\/dt>\n
“Mary and Molly: In the Spirit of the Ancestors” a play by Donna M. Loring<\/dd>\n
November 12, 2015<\/dt>\n
Racism in Maine: Beyond Black and White<\/a><\/dd>\n
October 28, 2014<\/dt>\n
The Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission: New Opportunities for Understanding Post-Colonialism<\/dd>\n
November 7, 2013<\/dt>\n
Listening with Fifteen Hearts: Life Stories of Women across Cultures<\/a><\/dd>\n
November 8, 2012<\/dt>\n
Winona LaDuke: Environmental Justice from a Native Perspective<\/a><\/dd>\n
October 11, 2011<\/dt>\n
Truth and Reconciliation in Maine: a Model of Collaboration and Process of Decolonization<\/a><\/dd>\n
October 12, 2010<\/dt>\n
Out of the Depths: A personal account of a residential school experience and the effects of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s apology many years later<\/a><\/dd>\n
October 1, 2009<\/dt>\n
Weaving Waponahki Policy toward Decolonization<\/a><\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Support the Work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your support helps keep these vital conversations going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Donna M. Loring Lecture is made possible by two funds. The Donna Loring Endowed Fund was started with generous gifts from Cpt. Joanne Murphy, Donna\u2019s commanding officer during the Vietnam War; the Maine Community Foundation; and other committed donors. The Donna Loring Annual Fund was established in 2026 as another way for donors to support the work of the lecture. With your help, we can continue to grow the reach and impact of this important work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Donate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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By Check<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Make payable to: UNE
Memo line: Specify which fund – Donna Loring Endowed Fund or Donna Loring Annual Fund<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mail to:
University of New England
Office of Institutional Advancement
716 Stevens Avenue
Portland, ME 04103<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Online<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Go to the UNE Online Giving Form<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n