Dr. Dwayne Tomah

Passamaquoddy Language Keeper

Passamaquoddy

Edmunds, ME

“If you know where you come from, you know where you’re going.”

Dr. Dwayne Tomah

Pow wow dancer.

Annual Celebration and get-together of Passamaquoddy community members with dancing, drumming, and singing in Split Rock. Photo courtesy of Dr. Dwayne Tomah.

Sharing an old ancestral dance called the Canoe Dance at Split Rock in 2023.

of 3

Language keeper, singer, & dancer

Dr. Dwayne Tomah is a Language Keeper, he is a teacher of the Passamaquoddy language and culture. He is the youngest fluent speaker of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and has served on the Tribal Council. His life has been dedicated to working on the language and culture preservation, he has edited the Passamaquoddy dictionary and worked to help create the Apple ~ Passamaquoddy Language App. He shares Native legends through song and dance.

Dwayne is currently working with the Library of Congress on translating the Passamaquoddy Wax Cylinders. These recordings are the first recordings in the world of Native languages. They were recorded in 1890 by Jesse Walter Fewkes, who borrowed the device from the inventor Thomas Edison. Dwayne has also been involved in repatriation and Land Back issues. He shares historical truth regarding The Doctrine of Discovery from an Indigenous perspective. He has also worked with Animal Planet on a segment called Winged Creatures, highlighting the history of the Thunderbird.

Meet more of our Fellows

Willard John

Moko Jumbie Stilt Dancer

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Veronica Castillo

Mexican Polychromatic Ceramicist

San Antonio, TX

Theresa Secord

Penobscot Basketmaker

Farmington, ME

Stan Rodriguez

Kumeyaay Culture Bearer

Santa Ysabel, CA

Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto

Japanese Koto Musician

Oakland, CA

Shaka Zulu

New Orleans Black Masking craftsman & stiltdancer

New Orleans, Louisiana

Sami Abu Shumays

Arab Musician

Queens, New York, NY

Roy & PJ Hirabayashi

Japanese American Taiko Musicians

San Jose, CA

Pedro Adorno Irizarry

Puerto Rican theater artist and director

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Ofelia Esparza & Rosanna Esparza Ahrens

Chicana Altaristas

East Los Angeles, CA

Meklit Hadero

Ethio-Jazz Vocalist & Composer

San Francisco, CA

King Khazm

Hip Hop Artist

Seattle, WA

Juan Longoria, Jr.

Conjunto Accordionist & Educator

Los Fresnos, TX

Jontavious Willis

Blues Musician

Luthersville, GA

Jesus M. Cepeda Brenes

Afro-Puerto Rican Musician & Folklorist

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Iris Brown

Puerto Rican Foodways & Agriculture

Philadelphia, PA

Gertie Lopez

Tohono O'odham Waila Musician

Tucson, AZ

Eva Ybarra

Conjunto Accordionist & Bandleader

San Antonio, TX

Dr. Dwayne Tomah

Passamaquoddy Language Keeper

Edmunds, ME

Deborah Gourneau

Anishinaabe (Chippewa) Culture Bearer

Belcourt, ND

Dani Pikolakitisaata Tippmann

Miami Plant Tradition-Bearer

Myaamionki (Indiana)

Bill Harris

Catawba Master Potter

McConnells, SC

Carolyn Mazloomi

Quiltmaker

West Chester, OH

Portrait of Amikogaabawiikwe (Adrienne Benjamin)

Adrienne Benjamin | Amikogaabawiikwe

Jingle Dress Maker, Cultural Artist

Chiminising, Misizaagaiganing (Isle, Minnesota)

Anwan “Big G” Glover

Go-Go Music Pioneer

Washington D.C.