Story by Keri Moskowitz, Gulf of Maine Research Institute
For the Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Reservation, also known as Sipayik, located in Downeast Maine along Passamaquoddy Bay, the ocean has long served as a teacher. Generations of Indigenous inhabitants have drawn knowledge from the tides, the landscape, and their elders. Today, however, the shoreline is receding at an accelerating pace, eroding land that already bears the weight of historical loss.
In summer 2023, after attending the “Climate Change in My Community” workshop in Fairbanks, Alaska—hosted by the NASA Science Activation (SciAct) program’s Arctic and Earth Signs project—the SciAct Learning Ecosystems Northeast (LENE) team initiated collaboration with Indigenous leaders and scientists. Their aim was to explore what coastal erosion signifies for a community that has already experienced land loss.
By November 2024, plans were taking shape at Sipayik Elementary School. The objective was to integrate Western scientific methods with Indigenous knowledge, enabling students to comprehend the transformations occurring in their locality.
Instruction commenced in March 2025. Over five weeks, nine fifth‑grade pupils examined erosion through multiple lenses. They visited nearby field sites, listened to elders recount how the coastline once appeared, and used those narratives to quantify changes both on the ground and via classroom maps. They constructed simple erosion trays to test wave impacts, measured present high‑tide lines against historic baselines, analyzed aerial photographs and satellite imagery spanning 1942 to 2023, and contrasted 300‑year‑old tribal maps with future flood projections.
Participants discovered that science extends beyond textbooks. As one observer noted, “Our people were scientists without formal schooling.”
The students exhibited curiosity, engagement, and pride. They recognized resilience as an integral part of their identity, having continually adapted while preserving cultural heritage.
In June 2026, the learners were invited to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to present their findings to scientists, staff, and REU interns. After a 3.5‑hour journey, they shared their work; during the Q&A following their presentation, a question arose about the difficulty of interpreting the various maps. One student replied that these were not ordinary maps but NASA satellite images.
Looking ahead, the project aims to involve additional elders, expand field sites, deepen language and cultural ties, disseminate student insights to other Native youth, and develop resilience strategies such as marsh restoration in partnership with tribal leadership. When asked whether they would continue studying and working on this issue after the classroom unit concluded, every student affirmed with a resounding “YES”.
In Sipayik, the narrative of erosion transcends mere land loss; it encompasses memory, knowledge, identity, and the enduring strength of a community that continues to learn from the shore.
