It should come as no surprise that a waterfront festival focused on the lives of fishermen and farmers should feature music, cooking demonstrations and traditional skills from Native American tribes who have harvested their food from the land, sea and river for generations.
The bulging schedule for this weekend’s Working Waterfront Festival includes a variety of opportunities to learn from Native American performers, among them: Inupiat whalemen from Barrow, Alaska; Choctaw fishermen and farmers from Mississippi; and native singers and drummers representing the Wampanoag, Chippewa and Abenaki native nations.
"These folks harvest from the water and they harvest from the land," said Bob Rocha of the New Bedford Whaling Museum. "They do their best to do it in the way that they have for a long, long time. Obviously they do it to provide for their needs and in a way that minimizes waste and shows a respect for the resources."