Wabanaki tribes may soon have the ability to gather sweetgrass in Acadia National Park for traditional uses after more than a century of not being able to do so.
The National Park Service announced Wednesday that Acadia can enter individual agreements with the federally recognized tribes with historical and cultural ties to the land there.
The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Mi’kmaq Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribes at Pleasant Point and at Indian Township and the Penobscot Nation, collectively called the Wabanaki Nations, have a cultural heritage of using the grass medicinally, ceremonially and in basket making.
Sweetgrass grows in marsh land such as Bass Harbor Marsh within the park.
Harvesting for these traditional uses has been impossible at Acadia since the park’s establishment in 1916, when it became governed by national rules and policies that ended harvests.
Research on the possibility of sustainable harvests began in 2016. An environmental assessment of potential impacts from traditional tribal gathering methods was completed this year. The park said it is working with the Wabanaki tribes to reestablish relationships with the land.
“This is a critical step in both preserving and protecting the park through co-stewardship with the Wabanaki tribes and providing space for Wabanaki citizens to heal and re-connect with their homeland,” Acadia National Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider said in a statement.
