On October 11, 2026, the first Indigenous People’s Day Film Festival will take place. A flyer for that event is in our gallery. It will be held at the Unitarian-Universalist Church in Bangor, 120 Park Street, from 1:30 PM to 7:30 PM. There is no cost, but donations will be accepted.
The festival will feature films primarily from the Sunlight Media Collective, a locally-based (Bangor/Downeast) group that has made about 150 films that can help those living on Wabanaki land, including all those living in Maine, to better understand the culture and issues facing the region’s Wabanaki tribes and nations. Event Link HERE.
We invite you and your organization to:
*Help publicize the film festival to your members/supporters by sending the attached flyer to various email lists;
*Attend the festival and watch the films on October 11 in Bangor;
*Become a listed co-sponsor of the festival by, if possible, making a donation of any amount to the Festival;
*Participate in the “Harvest Potluck Supper” and enjoy the traditional fry bread that will also be provided;
*Continue learning about Wabanaki communities by showing other Sunlight Media Collective films.
The Festival is sponsored by Sunlight and by the Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine. For more information, contact the Center at peacectr@gmail.com.
Peace and Ceasefire in Gaza
We hold a weekly vigil on Wednesdays in Bangor, for peace and ceasefire from 12-12:30pm on near the crosswalk & the 6 State St. Building
We also coordinate with likeminded individuals and organizations who are demonstrating peacefully for an end to conflict.
June 1st “Singing Truth & Power: Community in Song”
On Sunday, June 1st, from 2 pm to 4 pm, Food and Medicine and the Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine will present a community musical event with the band For Peace (Leslie and Larry Latour, Art Bottie, Dave Meeks, and Judd Esty Kendall) at the Food and Medicine building at 20 Ivers Street in Brewer. All are welcome! Come and sing, listen, and participate. Indoors or outdoors as weather permits. Free to the public but donations are encouraged to the sponsoring organizations.
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Community Forum Series Continued on March 18th
Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine held our seventh community forum on March 18th, "Reweaving the Social Fabric" brought us together to share, empathize and strategize our responses to the new Administration’s attacks on liberty and human rights. This series began shortly after the election and has been a touchstone for many community members and groups to share and present information.
“Social Change happens at the Speed of Relationships, and relationships happen at the speed of trust”
We are continuing our Social Listening and Public Storytelling project this year.
In this moment when policy & society must grapple with the inadequate provision of housing (& wages to support those housing costs), the narratives of people for whom the system has not worked must be acknowledged and understood. While each individual circumstance may be different, as a society being familiar with the myriad ways a person can be denied housing would inform how better to provision resources at the state & local level to address that problem.
Systemically we know that when people are unable to identify with or relate to the life struggles of a marginalized group, policy & social attitudes towards that group tend to be counterproductive, ineffective or even harmful. Building a cohesive community that includes unhoused people and works to repair the systems which have excluded them from housing and other assistance begins with someone taking time to listen. We as staff and volunteers will be having conversations with unhoused individuals (and compensating them) and presenting the findings in the upcoming months.