REACH has been through many changes and transitions over the years, evolving from an idea of decolonization to becoming an official non-profit with a board, staff and many volunteers. It has been quite the journey thus far and we continue to transform to meet the emerging needs of the people in the dawnland. 

Many of the same individuals who formed Wabanaki REACH gathered in 1999 to improve the state’s compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). When tribal and state child welfare professionals first came together for that purpose, they did not envision the impact they would continue to have twenty-five years later.

The Tribal-State ICWA Workgroup initiated the historic Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission to further the work of increasing ICWA compliance and honoring tribal self-determination. As the Commission was launched, REACH began to form as an organization, first with a fiscal sponsor to help us gain access funding and administrative support for our work. Then in 2018, REACH became an official non-profit organization.

In 2015, the Truth Commission’s final report spoke to the importance of the Tribal-State Workgroup and Wabanaki REACH. The Commission's recommendations continue to guide their respective work. 

The Tribal-State ICWA Workgroup continues to meet regularly to practice co-case management of ICWA cases and provide support to tribal child welfare partners; they recruit, train, and support community members to serve as ICWA Qualified Expert Witnesses; they provide a day-long educational experience for caseworkers, assess and update state child welfare policy, provide ICWA education to Guardians ad Litem, attorneys, judges, and other service providers, and they helped create the new state law Maine Indian Child Welfare Act in 2023.

REACH’s decolonization work centers on how to restore Wabanaki lands, water, culture, and people by:

• Continuing truth-telling initiatives. Beyond the Claims:Stories from the Land and the Heart is completing its work that sought to deepen understanding of the experiences and impacts of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act. We are focusing on what needs to come next. 
• Supporting Wabanaki wellbeing through education, building and celebrating community, reclaiming Wabanaki ways, and protecting the earth we share. REACH supports Native inmates with newsletters, books, peace and healing circles, and sweat lodge ceremonies. Food sovereignty work has been focused on creating medicine gardens, restoring clam beds, supporting food pantries, and partnering on events to increase awareness of protecting the fisheries. We hold wellness gatherings and provide direct support to community members in need. This summer, REACH supported sending 21 Wabanaki youth to summer camp. 
• REACH has developed and provides impactful educational programming, believing that when people more deeply understand what happened in this territory they wish to be part of writing a different history for our grandchildren. 

The truth and reconciliation commission has truly helped people understand intergenerational trauma and strength and the process of truth, healing, and change that is now taking place in many forms in both Wabanaki and non-native spaces. We are so heartened to see these planted seeds of decolonization sprouting all over Wabanaki territory.. 

REACH seeks to deepen that understanding in a way that results in transformation of our present day systems. We have always known that the heart of our work is the land - Wabanakik, and talking about what has happened here, what is happening here and what can happen here as we practice restoration and uphold the values of reciprocity, responsibility, and love.

The heart of our work is truth, healing, and change. Change is the goal that we celebrate and so it is for the change that REACH is now experiencing with the departure of staff and board members. We show them gratitude for their presence and contributions to what REACH has become. We support them to make their next move in the best way possible. And we feel genuine happiness for their next chapters. We are all connected. 

REACH’s work continues. With change comes an opportunity to ask questions of ourselves and of key partners to guide the journey of truth, healing, and change.