Photo credit: Brooke Mercier at Resound Photography
Emma Soctomah is one of three individuals honored by the Wabanaki Alliance at the 2025 Nihkaniyane event. Soctomah is a Passamaquoddy citizen of Motahkomikuk who was the valedictorian of this year’s graduating class at the University of Maine Machias, where she majored in psychology and community studies. She also was an active participant in the college’s Kinap Mentorship Program, which creates both on- and off-campus programs aimed at bringing together Wabanaki cultural values and Indigenous ways of knowing with Western education.
Maulian Bryant, executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance, says Soctomah’s selection was inspired by a sense that as important as it is to highlight Lolar’s work in advancing Wabanaki studies and Banks’ long career of service to the environment, Soctomah’s impressive academic achievements at a young age conveys a key message as well. “We are so excited to honor Emma this year. She is paving the way for young people in Wabanaki Nations to combine their deep ties to culture and community with advancement in scholarship and academic excellence. We are proud of her and want to elevate her achievements.”
Soctomah is the daughter of Donald Soctomah and Elizabeth Neptune as well as the granddaughter of world renowned basket-maker Molly Neptune Parker. In her valedictorian address at the UMaine Machias’ 2025 commencement, she held up her parents and grandmother as important role models and guides as she moved forward in life.
“I thank my Mom for being my constant representation that no goal is out of my reach,” Emma said in the videotape of her May 10 address. “I thank my Dad for reminding me to smile, because it really is never that serious.” Then, with a smile, she added: “And lastly I want to thank all of my siblings for going through all of life’s lessons so that I didn’t have to.”
Soctomah then shared a very personal homage to her late grandmother — who introduced her to basket-making when she was very young — highlighting a different element of their close relationship that was linked to ongoing social and economic inequities in the Passamaquoddy communities of Motahkomikuk and Sipayik.
“My late grandmother always said the proudest moment of her life was when her children and grandchildren were to graduate,” she told her fellow graduates. “I never truly understood why that was the case until fairly recently. Of course, she was happy to see us succeed but the pride went deeper than that. It comes from the obstacles that we, as Indigenous peoples, have to overcome. It is saddening to say that for my community only 1 in every 7 individuals are to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. This is to be compared with a 1 in 3 statistic for the overall population. Not only am I grateful for beating the odds, I am thrilled to have excelled beyond my own expectations and receive this honor today.”
Past, present and future are reflected in the next sentence of her valedictorian address: “Not only have I done it for myself and my late grandmother, I have also done it for all of the next generation of Passamaquoddy people who need someone to show them that they can do whatever they set their minds to.”
Emma’s is also an accomplished basketmaker who is deeply committed to making sure the long Passamaquoddy tradition of making baskets is alive and well. In addition to her late grandmother’s example, guidance and support, Emma began weaving with her sibling, Geo Neptune, at age 5, eventually becoming their apprentice. She has received national recognition for her work, including being one of the first artists to receive an Abbe Museum Wabanaki Artist Fellowship.
In closing remarks to her fellow graduates, Soctomah offered these inclusive words of encouragement:
“To my fellow graduates: Although life’s obstacles force us to change and alter what we believed to be our past, but the one thing that will never change is that regardless of economic status, race, gender, who you love or what you call home, you belong here. You belong in this room today because of your dedication, hard work, talent and every relationship you have made along the way. Just know that whatever life you create for yourself, or wherever you take the skills you have learned, you belong there too.”
Soctomah plans to continue working at the elementary school in Motahkomikuk, where she focuses on teaching social-emotional skills to students, and will pursue a master’s degree beginning in fall 2026.
Return to the Nihkaniyane: Let’s Go Forward Together post to read more about honorees John Banks and Brianne Lolar.
