YORK, Maine — Celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day 2024 with a noncommunity day at the Old York Historical Society on Monday, Oct. 14.
The event, which runs from 11am to 2pm, will see the Old Gaol open to the public and a special exhibition in the Remick Gallery showcasing a 500-year-old Aboriginal artefact from York. This object, a pottery fragment found in the York River in Kittery, Maine in 2014 by Kevin Cambridge, is dated to between 1500 and 1620. This period marks the first contact between local indigenous peoples and Europeans. The area then known as York was called Agamenticus and was home to the Pennacooks.
“Original pottery from this period, especially a fragment this large, is extremely rare,” said Peggy Wishart, director of the Old York Historical Society’s Research Center and a former archaeologist. “I really couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it!”
Wishart and Cambridge worked with Maine archaeologists to identify the fragment and prepare it for public display. To honor York’s indigenous history and provide visitors with a complete picture, Wishart collaborated with New York Onondaga pottery artist Peter B. Jones to create a replica of the original cooking vessel. Jones, who has studied indigenous pottery since the 1970s, used traditional methods to build and fire the replica.
“Our traditional pottery became extinct around the 16th century,” Jones explained. “The transition to European pots and pans superseded early vessels.”
“On this day to honor and celebrate Native Americans and remember their history and cultures,” said Joel Lefever, executive director of the Old York Historical Society, “we are pleased to highlight this extraordinary find and replica pot in our gallery space.”
The creation of the replica pot was made possible by a grant from the Rosamond Thaxter Charitable Foundation.
This article originally appeared in the Portsmouth Herald: Old York Historical Society hosts Community Free Day