Native American art | River's world…..

I love a good museum, and the fact that this one was a complete surprise made it all the more special.

The Hudson at the University of Maine, Orono is billed as a Native American/Anthropology museum and features an impressive collection from indigenous people all around the world.

I fell in love with Kachinas when we visited Arizona in 2019.

They’re marvelous!

Seriously, what’s not to love?

For a small museum, the Hudson has some wonderful pieces.

Both ancient and modern.

Have you ever heard of a potlatch?

I hadn’t either, but I really liked the whale in the back.

So many beautiful handcrafted pieces of art.

To be continued….

I saw an advertisement for a Native American gathering and craft show last week, so we headed north to Orono.

Passing through Bangor we saw Paul Bunyan.

And some lovely churches.

On the way to our University of Maine destination.

Which, with its giant blue M, was hard to miss .

The Collins Center for the Arts was the venue and never having attended this yearly event, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

The Wabanaki Confederacy (Waponahki) — translated as “People of the First Light” or “Dawnland” — currently comprises five principal nations: the Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, and Abenaki.

There were some fabulous crafts on sale made by various artists but instead of the arena like setting I was expecting, they were set up in a curved hallway which made navigation a problem.

Jewelry, textiles, root clubs, beading, woodworking, and birch bark items were all on display … but honestly? It was all about the baskets.

Fabulously intricate pieces of art which went for extremely high prices. I would have photographed more, but almost every table prohibited it.

I really wanted to come home with one, but after picking up a tiny little jewel that fit in the palm of my hand and seeing the $600 price tag… I didn’t.

I also fell in love with an amazing root club carved with a bear head that would have been perfect for the Man Cave/Barn Mahal… but again, with an almost $600 price tag, I came home without that as well.

After oohing and ahhing over the crafts, we looked up.