ORONO — More than 1,000 learners, many of them pre-kindergarten to grade 12 educators, have completed a self-directed University of Maine System course about the history of the Wabanaki Nations in Maine and earned the corresponding Dawnland digital credential, according to a news release from the university.

Launched in November 2022, the Dawnland credential was created by John Bear Mitchell, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation who serves as a lecturer and outreach and student development coordinator for the Wabanaki Center at the University of Maine and is also the system’s Native American Waiver and educational program coordinator.

His goal was to better prepare the state’s educators to teach Wabanaki Studies, as has been required by Maine law since 2001. That law was sponsored by then-Rep. Donna Loring, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation and UMaine graduate who now serves on the system’s board of trustees.

All teacher education students at UMaine and the University of Maine at Augusta now earn the Dawnland credential before starting their student teaching.

To earn the credential, learners must demonstrate their own knowledge and ability to communicate to others about Indigenous movement and ways of life during the Ice Age and prior to the arrival of European settlers, early interactions with European settlers and current political and cultural issues facing the citizens of the Wabanaki Nations. That content is covered and assessed in four online modules, which typically take about 10 hours total to complete.

A $25 fee offsets a portion of the costs for UMS to administer the credential, including licensing of the platform that provides those who complete the course with a verified digital badge that can be used on digital resumes and social media sites like LinkedIn to indicate proficiency in the subject to employers.

For more information visit bit.ly/UMSDawnland.

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