“This is the result of a deliberative and collaborative effort with tribal nations to fully honor the traditions, languages, images, kinship and ancestral representations of these lands original stewards.”
Tekαkαpimək Ribbon Cutting, Photo Credit: Wright-Ryan
KATAHDIN WOODS AND WATERS NATIONAL MONUMENT – Tekαkαpimək Contact Station is a stunning 7,900 square-foot building and 23-acre site atop Lookout Mountain created to welcome the global public to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. The monument is located within the present and traditional homeland of the Penobscot Nation. The land and waters hold special significance to the Penobscot Nation and is inextricably linked with Penobscot culture, ceremonies, oral traditions, language, history, and Indigenous stewardship which continues the respectful relationship with the land and waterways that has gone back more than 11,000 years. Katahdin is a culturally significant place to the Wabanaki people where connecting watersheds provide important travel routes for Wabanaki people of Maine, comprised of Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot Nations.
An August 19, 2024 story by Maine Public highlights the Tekαkαpimək Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, held August 17th – featuring the unveiling of the new Contact Station. The facility is the first permanent visitor contact station in the area, meant to serve as a gateway for visitors. The contact station helps raise awareness for the cultural significance of the land for the Wabanaki people and provides educational resources about the monument. Tekαkαpimək is a Penobscot language word for “as far as one can see”, pronounced deh gah-gah bee mook.
Maine Public News Reporter, Kaitlyn Budion, writes in the article, “Integral to the project is that the Wabanaki Nations maintain the intellectual property rights to the information shared and how the National Park Service can use it. Altogether, it’s a unique endeavor, said U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to serve in a cabinet position. Haaland, who is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna, traveled to see the station for herself on Saturday. ‘It is extraordinary, not only in the what- a beautiful space- but in the how- this is the result of a deliberative and collaborative effort with tribal nations to fully honor the traditions, languages, images, kinship and ancestral representations of these lands original stewards,’ she said.”
Wright-Ryan Construction is proud to serve as the Construction Manager for the Tekαkαpimək Contact Station and other affiliated projects within the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.
Elliotsville Foundation led the contact station project in consultation with the National Park Service, and in close collaboration with a Wabanaki Advisory Board, Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters, National Park Foundation, and other stakeholders. Other project partners include Wiphunakson LLC, Saunders Architecture, Alisberg Parker Architects, Atelier One, Haley Ward, Inc, Reed Hilderbrand, Transsolar Inc, Allied Engineering, Inc., Tuhura Communications, Jennifer Neptune (Penobscot), WeShouldDoItAll (WSDIA), Split Rock Studios, DCL, Emery Lee & Sons Inc., OBP Trailworks, LLC, Maine Waterside Trails, Wright-Ryan Construction, Erin Hutton Projects, and Stern Consulting International.
The design process for Tekαkαpimək began in 2019 and construction will be completed in 2024. The National Park Service will announce normal visiting hours in the coming months.
CLICK HERE to access the full feature by Maine Public.
All Wabanaki Cultural Knowledge and Intellectual Property shared within this project is owned by the Wabanaki Nations.
