It wasn’t long ago that one of Maine’s oldest art forms—ash and sweet grass basketry—was in danger of disappearing entirely. Activists and advocates from the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Maliseet, and Micmac tribes saved the tradition through a long, hard-fought struggle, preserving a crucial piece of the region’s cultural heritage. One of the people at the fore of this movement was Theresa Secord, an activist, arts preservationist, and renowned artist—with work in the PMA collection—who has led creative change throughout Native American communities since 1988. In this very special lecture, Secord shares this story, as well as insights from her decades of experience advocating for artists and the arts from Maine to Hawaii. Named a 2016 National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts, she will give examples of national models in her current work with indigenous foundations and tribal governments, in which she helps build better infrastructure for culture bearers and emerging artist entrepreneurs within tribes across the Nation.