Rediscovering The Story in Ourselves, with John Bear Mitchell

Inclusive SciComm Symposium 2023 Keynote
The first storyteller tells us that we all have a story within ourselves. It’s easy to forget because our lives get busy with routine. It’s important to remember to keep our story strong and we can do this by simply listening. Together we will learn to understand the importance of our inner story and how to keep that light glowing within our hearts.
John Bear Mitchell is a citizen of the Penobscot Nation from Indian Island in Maine. He presently serves as the University of Maine System Office Native American Waiver and Educational Program Coordinator, University of Maine’s Wabanaki Center Outreach and Student Development Coordinator, as well as, a Lecturer of Wabanaki Studies and Multicultural Studies at the University of Maine in Orono. He has served on numerous museum and educational boards throughout the state with missions based on Maine’s Wabanaki people.
John’s research centers around the history of Native Americans in higher education. He also speaks about Tribal Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in regards to the traditional use of natural methods of surviving in cooperation with the natural world.
For 15 years John visited schools in Maine as a Maine Touring Artist delivering an Arts in Education program. During that time, he visited over 150 schools. While working his way through college, he toured with the Native American Storytellers of New England. He presented a traditional and contemporary program in Native American Stories and Song. His singing and storytelling can be heard in many Maine PBS, tribal-sponsored awareness videos, independent film, HBO Lionsgate TV, and many documentaries with topics on Maine’s Native People.