Anonymous donors’ $55,000 gift to create the Native American Cultural Sustainability Fund at the University of Maine Foundation provided the seed funding to assist a collaborative hire between Native American Programs and UMaine Extension. Tony Sutton began the fall semester as Assistant Professor of Native American Food Systems at UMaine.

Sutton’s position will focus on Native American food systems and sovereignty, building on relationships established with the Tribes and grants and programs developed in Native American Programs.

Sutton moved to Maine from Oregon in 2008. His mother is a member of the Passamaquoddy Nation, so even though he grew up on the West Coast, moving to Maine felt like a homecoming. Plus, after studying history for his undergraduate degree, Sutton felt like he had a mission to represent Wabanaki stories and knowledge, which were so often excluded from historical narratives.

As the donors shared, “We understand that Wabanaki ecological knowledge is based on the premise that all beings and things on earth are relatives to humans, and that putting this viewpoint into practice has sustained earth’s gifts for the benefit of all for thousands of years. We want to encourage such vital practices. By supporting the university’s Wabanaki science programs, we hope to move western scientific thinking into accepting that Wabanaki ecological knowledge is an equally valid approach to the world, one that is necessary for survival in a sustainable way.”

Darren Ranco, chair of Native American Programs, says that filling the position has been “one of the top priorities for university collaboration by the Tribal Nations over the last several years.” When Sutton applied, the choice was clear.