“Dawnland follows the commission through its process and doesn’t hide the fact that, at times, the commission and the film crew were perceived as outsiders, discouraging some Wabanaki community members from participating in the commission’s events.”
Listen to a discussion with the filmmaker, along with a Penobscot woman who was taken from her family as a child and one of the founders of the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
"Indigenous people are not members of a race. They are citizens of a sovereign nation. You're not taking a child out of a race. You're putting them with people ... of the dominant culture." - DAWN NEPTUNE ADAMS
‘“Dawnland" follows the first government-created “truth and reconciliation commission” in Maine, which investigated the impact of the removal of native children from their homes.”
“A new documentary follows the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission as it explores the legacy of forced child relocation policies.”
““Dawnland” documents the first government-sanctioned truth and reconciliation commission in the U.S., which investigates the impact of Maine’s child welfare practices on Native American communities.”
