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Dwayne Tomah

About the Speaker

Dwayne Tomah is a Passamaquoddy Language and Cultural Knowledge Carrier. As the youngest fluent Passamaquoddy speaker in a race against time to save his language, Tomah is translating and interpreting songs and stories from recordings of his ancestors. The recordings were made using wax cylinders nearly 130 years ago and are the earliest known field recordings of Indigenous voices. Tomah uses songs and stories to teach about Passamaquoddy language, history, and culture, and the lessons the songs have to teach us, if we take time to listen.