The natural resources of the woodlands are rich and plentiful. On the coast or near waterways, Woodlands communities fished, collected shellfish, and hunted marine mammals. Inland, they hunted deer, moose, bear, elk and smaller mammals. They gathered leaves and roots, berries, nuts, and seeds, and collected maple sap to create maple syrup and sugar. They also cultivated crops, like corn, beans, and squash.
The Hood Museum of Art’s collection of Wabanaki baskets speaks to these traditions. The artists who wove these baskets into the forms of squash, corn, berries, nuts, and shellfish honor the gifts of the natural world. Although Wabanaki people today, like all modern people, buy food in grocery stores and markets, some also choose to practice traditional lifeways by continuing to hunt, fish, gather, and farm as their ancestors did.
