WERU is thrilled to announce that Wabanaki Windows and host Donna Loring have received a 2025 Hometown Media Award in the category of racial justice and civil rights, presented by the Alliance for Community Media Foundation! Wabanaki Windows airs on WERU on the 4th Tuesday of every month from 4 to 5 pm, and also airs on WMPG Community Radio in Portland. Congratulations, Donna, on this recognition and thank you for your many years of excellent programming! “Read more” to see the full press release.
Wabanaki Windows Wins National Award for Racial Justice and Civil Rights Programming
East Orland, ME — Wabanaki Windows, the groundbreaking monthly radio program created and hosted by Penobscot Nation Elder Donna M. Loring, has been honored with a 2025 Hometown Media Award from the Alliance for Community Media (ACM). The program received Best in Category for Racial Justice and Civil Rights Programming in Community Radio, a national recognition of its enduring impact on public understanding of Indigenous issues.
Produced at WERU Community Radio and also broadcast by WMPG Community Radio in Portland, Wabanaki Windows has been a trusted source of Native perspectives and analysis for over 15 years. The program explores a wide range of topics—Wabanaki sovereignty, blood quantum, federal and state recognition, and the lasting effects of the Maine Indian Land Claims Act. Through insightful commentary and powerful storytelling, the show exposes policies that have stifled tribal self-determination and economic growth, while also celebrating Wabanaki resilience and leadership.
The program has featured nationally and internationally recognized guests including:
– Professor Harald Prins, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Kansas State University
– Professor Darren Ranco, Penobscot Nation citizen and Chair of Native American Studies, University of Maine
– David de Jong, journalist and author of Nazi Billionaires
– Rebecca Clarren, author of The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance
– Morgan Talty, Penobscot author of Night of the Living Rez and Fire Exit
– Carrie Schuettpelz, author of Indian Card: Who Gets to Be Native in America
– Mali Obomsawin, Grammy-winning Abenaki jazz musician and social justice advocate
– The late William S. Yellow Robe Jr., acclaimed Assiniboine playwright
These voices—along with many others—have helped Wabanaki Windows become a powerful platform for Indigenous advocacy, truth-telling, and education.
Donna M. Loring brings deep experience and distinguished public service to the program. She served as Tribal Representative for the Penobscot Nation in the Maine State Legislature for over a decade, was Senior Advisor on Tribal Affairs to Governor Janet Mills, and authored In the Shadow of the Eagle: A Tribal Representative in Maine. She is the namesake of the Donna M. Loring Lecture Series at the University of New England, which addresses Indigenous rights, social justice, and human rights. She has received honorary doctorates from the University of Maine and Thomas College, as well as the University of Maine Alumni Service Award—the institution’s highest alumni honor.
“This award affirms the importance of lifting up Indigenous voices and sharing truths that have too often been ignored or silenced,” said Loring. “I’m grateful to the community radio stations who’ve supported this program from the beginning—and to the Wabanaki people whose stories and strength inspire it.”
WERU Community Radio is an independent, listener-supported media organization powered by over 100 volunteer producers. Since 1988, WERU has provided diverse music, public affairs programming, and community engagement to listeners across Maine and beyond. Wabanaki Windows is one of its flagship public affairs shows, with a unique and vital focus on Indigenous perspectives.
The Alliance for Community Media, founded in 1976, supports more than 1,700 Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) access centers and community radio stations across the country. The Hometown Media Awards are the nation’s most prestigious recognition for community-based media programming. This year’s celebration will be held June 25 at Boston University during the ACM National Conference.