A League of Women Voters Presentation: Penobscot Nation Ambassador Maulian Dana on Decolonizing Thanksgiving

Recorded by Linda Washburn
Lightly edited by Amy Browne

NOTE: There is some noise near the microphone in the first minute or two of the recording – bear with us as the audio quality does improve significantly when Ambassador Dana begins speaking.

From the program description:

We look at the Thanksgiving holiday through Native American eyes. History has always been written by the winners — those who feel that they have won the right to portray that history in a light that waters down the consequences of their ‘winning’. However, by unpacking the truth we can all reach a place of better understanding and humanity.

Maulian Dana serves as the appointed Tribal Ambassador of the Penobscot Nation where she grew up and now raises her two daughters. The Ambassador role functions as the government relations position of the nation and assists the Chief with matters in local, state, and federal government. Her biggest accomplishment in her first term was her role in the new Maine laws banning Indian mascots in Maine Public Schools and Universities along with replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day in Maine. Maulian was an elected Tribal Council member before being appointed as Ambassador and is a 2006 graduate of the University of Maine Orono where she earned a BA in Political Science. In addition to her important day job, she also loves being a mother, writer, activist, dog-mom, and reads a lot of books.