John Bear Mitchell is a citizen of the Penobscot Nation from Indian Island in Maine. He presently serves as the University of Maine System Office Native American Waiver and Educational Program Coordinator, University of Maine’s Wabanaki Center Outreach and Student Development Coordinator, as well as a Lecturer of Wabanaki Studies and Multicultural Studies at the University of Maine in Orono. Raised in ceremony, his family carries the Wabanaki traditions and teachings.  Through traditional medicine – both physical and spiritual, he is part of a long legacy of those who maintain traditional knowledge and pass it on through the telling of stories and the singing of songs.