Niweskok Receives 2025 Espy Land Heritage Award as It Secures Landmark 245-Acre Wabanaki Food Sovereignty Hub

The award recognizes an extraordinary Wabanaki-led effort to create a lasting home for traditional agriculture, cultural and educational programming, and stewardship of natural resources.

[Augusta, Maine — April 29, 2025] — Maine Coast Heritage Trust announced today that it has awarded the 2025 Espy Land Heritage Award to Niweskok: From the Stars to Seeds, a Wabanaki-led food sovereignty organization based in Swanville, Maine, Penobscot territory. The annual award was announced at the 2025 Maine Land Conservation Conference and recognizes those who are making outstanding contributions to land conservation, and includes a $5,000 donation to a conservation effort of the recipient’s choice.

The recognition comes at a historic moment for Niweskok, following the January 31, 2024 acquisition of a 245-acre farm in what is now called Swanville. The property—featuring agricultural fields, mature forests, wetlands, ponds, and access to the Goose River—marks the organization’s first permanent land base and a return to the region for Wabanaki. Rooted in ancestral knowledge and traditional foodways, Niweskok’s mission centers on reconnecting Wabanaki communities to the land and their cultural food systems. The new site offers the organization an enduring setting to cultivate traditional crops, steward natural resources, and host cultural and educational programming.

“We’ve already been doing this work across disparate locations for years—reinvigorating our traditional crops and land management strategies, hosting workshops, and distributing traditional foods,” said Alivia Moore, Penobscot Nation citizen and co-director at Niweskok. “Now, with this land, we have permanency of place—and the ability to continue this work for generations to come.”

This acquisition is a major step toward restoring the Penobscot Bay region as a Wabanaki food hub, reconnecting Indigenous communities with traditional foodways, medicines, and ecological stewardship. The new land will support educational programming, seed saving, wild harvesting, and cultural camps. Niweskok envisions the space as a safe, intergenerational hub where Wabanaki values of care, reciprocity, and sustainability can flourish for generations to come.

The name of the farm has yet to be chosen. According to Niweskok, the land itself will help reveal its name over time.

“Niweskok’s efforts to reclaim land and restore the Penobscot Bay region as a Wabanaki food hub are an inspiring example of how land conservation in Maine is evolving. Their work embodies resilience and a deep commitment to healing and nourishing both the land and the community.” said Angela Twitchell, Senior Director of Partnerships & Public Policy at Maine Coast Heritage Trust. “The collaborative work between land trusts and Niweskok stands as a model to be replicated.”

To support Niweskok’s mission of land return, food sovereignty, and Wabanaki cultural restoration, visit: Niweskok | wabanaki food sovereignty.