In consultation with the U.S. National Park Service, Tekαkαpimək, Penobscot for “as far as one can see,” is imbued with Indigenous knowledges from the Wabanaki Nations: Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Mi’kmaq Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe – Sipayik and Motahkomikuk, and Penobscot Nation. It intentionally incorporates cultural narratives, languages, images, kinship relations, ancestral representations, contemporary practices, and native materials of these lands and waters. The project was conceived as a gift by Maine-based Roxanne Quimby and Elliotsville Foundations, who selected Norway-based Saunders Architecture.

Tekαkαpimək reimagines our relationship with natural and cultural landscapes, building in balance with challenging terrain, designing with Indigenous sensibilities, and mustering a local workforce in harsh conditions to solve for structural integrity, accessibility, and beauty. Contending with the painful history of settler-colonialism, cross-cultural expressions of growing trust and creativity have emerged: a confluence of people showing a way forward.

Tekαkαpimək is a collective action: Wabanaki people; designers and builders; philanthropists; and the woods, waters, and their many inhabitants. We hope that like nature, it gives more than it takes.

Landscape Architect: Reed Hilderbrand

Photography Credit: James Florio

All Wabanaki Cultural Knowledge and Intellectual Property shared within this project is owned by the Wabanaki Nations.