Dwayne Tomah Submitted photo

A lecture with Dwayne Tomah, “The Doctrine of Discovery From an Indigenous Perspective,” presented by the The Bowdoin Museum of Art will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 26, in the Kresge Auditorium of the Visual Arts Center.

Tomah is a language keeper, director, and curator of the Sipayik Museum and teacher of the Passamaquoddy language and culture. He is the youngest fluent speaker of the Passamoquoddy Tribe and has served on the tribal council. His life has been dedicated to language and culture preservation; he has edited the Passamaquoddy dictionary and helped create a Passamaquoddy language app available through Apple. He shares Native legends through song and dance. He also worked with Animal Planet on a segment called “Winged Creatures,” highlighting the history of the thunderbird.

Tomah is currently working with the Library of Congress on translating the Passamaquoddy wax cylinders. The first recordings in the world of Native languages, they were recorded in 1890 by Jesse Walter Fewkes, who borrowed the device from inventor Thomas Edison. Tomah has also been involved in repatriation and the Land Back movement and shares historical truth regarding the Doctrine of Discovery from an Indigenous perspective.

This event is free and open to the public. The Visual Arts Center is located at 239 Maine St., Brunswick, on the campus of Bowdoin College. For more information, visit https://www.bowdoin.edu/art-museum.