Join Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library and the Harbor Theater for the final event in the Unearth a Story Summer Speaker Series. Osihkiyol (Zeke) Crofton-Macdonald, Tribal Ambassador for the Houlton Band of Maliseets, will present “The Watertown Treaty of 1776: A Wabanaki Perspective” on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Harbor Theater (185 Townsend Ave).  

On July 19, 1776, only two weeks after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the United States signed its first international treaty. The Watertown Treaty of 1776 was a treaty of alliance and friendship between the Second Continental Congress and the Wolastoqey and Mi’kmaq Nations. Crofton-Macdonald will explain the significance of this treaty from a Wabanaki perspective. 

Crofton-Macdonald is a Wolastoqey person from the Houlton Band of Maliseets in Maine (Metaksonekiyak) and the Oromocto First Nation (Welamukotuk) in New Brunswick, Canada. Zeke has spent his life advocating for Native rights in the United States and Canada. He currently serves as the Tribal Ambassador for the Houlton Band of Maliseets in Maine. He serves as the president of the Wabanaki Alliance and as a Tribal Commissioner for the Houlton Band on the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission (MITSC). 

Harbor Theater is honored to be the venue for this final presentation in the Unearth a Story Summer Speaker Series. As frequent partners with BHML in community events involving books and films, this speaker program broadens our partnership and outreach. We look forward to welcoming Zeke as he presents this often overlooked aspect of America’s early history.

The Unearth a Story Summer Speaker Series features four speakers from throughout the state. Each presentation focuses on stories and history from Maine during the time of the American Revolution. Though this event will mark the end of the Summer Speaker Series, interested parties are encouraged to visit bbhlibrary.org/unearth-a-story to read the full Watertown Treaty and to find more information about related upcoming events at organizations around Lincoln County.

The series is made possible through grant funding from the Maine State Library and through partnership with the American Legion Post #36, Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor, Harbor Theater, and the Rotary Club of Boothbay Harbor. All events are free and open to the public.

For more information about this summer speaker series, please visit bbhlibrary.org/unearth-a-story.