Bounty - A film screening and conversation with Ambassador Maulian Dana

425 Congress Street,Portland ME 04101

06 May, 2023

Description

“We are citizens of the Penobscot Nation. Together we bring our families to Boston to read our ancestors’ death warrant.” The 9-minute short documentary Bounty, part of Upstander Project’s Dawnland film series, reveals the hidden story of the Phips Proclamation, one of many scalp-bounty proclamations used to exterminate Native people in order to take their land in what is now New England. In the film, Penobscot parents and children resist erasure and commemorate survival by reading and reacting to the government-issued Phips Proclamation’s call for colonial settlers to hunt, scalp, and murder Penobscot people. First Parish UU Church has engaged in Truth Telling about their longest serving minister, Rev. Thomas Smith, and other prominent church elders who financed and equipped a scalp bounty posse in 1757 following the Phips Declaration, enriching themselves through the genocide against Penobscot citizens. The Wabanaki Ally Team is engaging in education on correcting the historical record, has participated in an exhibit at the Maine Historical Society, is an active ally advocating for Wabanaki Sovereignty with the Maine Unitarian Universalist State Advocacy Network, and sponsors events with Wabanaki citizens. First Parish was the recipient of the 2022 Bennett Award for Social Justice. As the congregation continues to struggle with seeking Truth and Reconciliation, this event is the next step of direct engagement with Penobscot citizens.