Jennifer Pictou: “Mi'kmaq stories”

How do stories change over time, and what can we learn from them? In this presentation, the first in the 2026 season of the Downeast Storytellers series, Jennifer Pictou will share stories from the Mi'kmaq people - along with the insights she has gained from oral histories over time.

Jennifer's presentation will be preceded by Geo Neptune, who will share Passamaquoddy songs.

Downeast Storytellers is a collaborative venture among the Eastport Arts Center, the Sipayik Museum at Pleasant Point, and The Quoddy Tides. 

No one turned away due to lack of funds.

About the presenter

Jennifer began her storytelling journey when she was eight years old at an indigenous summer camp for Wabanaki children in Northern Maine. There she was exposed to traditional stories in skit format which ignited a deep desire to know more. As she paid more attention to them, she began to realize differences between stories told at home, those told in professional storytelling spaces, and those told casually among tribal members in everyday settings. These observations were key to providing her with a life-long love of oral history and an understanding of nuances, structure, and cultural context.

As an adult Jennifer has enjoyed many opportunities to share her tribe’s traditional stories with broad audiences from school groups to stage work to international tour groups. Jennifer states, “There is a value in storytelling that goes beyond merely listening to a good tale as I have used stories as a form of currency, been gifted with stories in return, and debated the veracity of story translations written down hundreds of years ago with other storytellers. I am not a folklorist in the academic sense but a culture keeper in a broader context, sharing oral traditions that have been passed through thousands of generations.”

In addition to live storytelling, Jennifer is an award-winning glass artist and co-author of Haunted Bar Harbor. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Maine at Presque Isle, later getting a B.S. in Anthropology, and her Master’s in American and New England Studies from the University of Southern Maine.