This downtown museum contains a fascinating collection of cultural artifacts related to Maine's Native American heritage – particularly the Wabanaki people, who inhabited Mount Desert Island for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived. More than 50,000 objects are in the collection, including pottery, tools, combs and fishing implements spanning the last 2000 years. Contemporary pieces include finely wrought wood carvings, birch-bark containers and baskets.
The museum also has a smaller, summer-only branch in a lush park-like setting at Sieur de Monts Spring, inside Acadia National Park.