Organization
Wabanaki REACH
Wabanaki REACH, a Maine 501(c)(3) born from a child-welfare truth commission, does education and truth-telling for Wabanaki self-determination; land work is indirect.
- Kind
- 501(c)(3) Native and non-Native collaboration (mixed)
- Native-led
- mixed
- Works with
- Wabanaki Nations in Maine (Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Maliseet, Mi'kmaq)
- Region
- Northeast; ME
- Focus
- Truth-seeking, decolonization education and Wabanaki wellbeing; adjacent to land return and sovereignty education in Maine
- Registry
- EIN 83-0757221 (ProPublica: Maine-Wabanaki Reach, Old Town ME)
What happened
Wabanaki REACH, formally Maine-Wabanaki REACH, says it supports the self-determination of Wabanaki people through education, truth-telling, restorative justice and restorative practices in Wabanaki and Maine communities. Its history page traces it to an ICWA Workgroup formed after a 1999 federal review found Maine out of compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act. In 2008 the group decided to set up the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission and took the name REACH. The page says the Commission was seated in 2013, spent 27 months on its work, and interviewed over 150 people.
REACH says it operated under an outside fiscal sponsor for years before incorporating on April 1, 2018 and becoming a 501(c)(3). ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer lists Maine-wabanaki Reach of Old Town, Maine, with exemption issued March 2019.
Its board page lists Passamaquoddy and other Wabanaki members, including one who has worked for the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Maine Coast Heritage Trust on land return. A blog post on its site describes a land purchase made by Niweskok, a separate Wabanaki group, free of a conservation easement. That land belongs to Niweskok, not REACH.
REACH's own programs are educational and healing programs, a Wabanaki Studies institute and truth-seeking work. REACH describes no land acquisitions of its own.
Good to know. An education and healing organization; its link to land is indirect, and the land purchase described on its blog belongs to a separate group, Niweskok.
Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error
What the sources say, and how this was checked
Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.
We support the self-determination of Wabanaki people through education, truth-telling, restorative justice, and restorative practices
Mission, Vision & Values - Wabanaki REACHIn 2008, when the members of the ICWA Workgroup decided to establish the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission
History - Wabanaki REACHwe incorporated on April 1, 2018
History - Wabanaki REACHOld Town, ME Tax exemption issued: March 2019 EIN: 83-0757221
ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer: Maine-wabanaki Reach
Research notes. Land is indirect: its programs are education and healing. The board is not stated to be all Native, so the atlas should label it mixed. The history page quotes Maria Girouard as Executive Director in a 2014 talk; current leadership was not confirmed.
Visit the organization’s website or give directly on its own page. This site takes no money.
Connections
These links were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.
Works with 4
Works in 1
Sources
No source is linked to this record yet. That is a gap we are working to close.
The record’s fields
- Vetting notes
- 2026-10-17: ProPublica match on Old Town ME; donate page says 501(C)(3), gifts fully tax-deductible; board page names Passamaquoddy tribal citizens (e.g. a member who works on land return) but board is not stated to be all Native, hence mixed; land focus is indirect. Source: https://www.wabanakireach.org/donate ("Wabanaki REACH is a 501(C)(3); all gifts are fully tax-deductible.")
- Kind
- Organization
- Confidence
- Medium