A disappearing Mi’kmaq art form, porcupine quillwork gets renewed attention The Abbe Museum is showing items from its collection and the work of artisans determined to keep the tradition alive. Share A quilled box, made of porcupine quill, birchbark and pine between 1830 and 1849, is part of the “Stitching Ourselves Together” exhibit of Mi’kmaq quill art at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer In 2012, while working as historic preservation officer for the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, Jennifer Pictou surveyed the tribal community in northern Maine about its porcupine quillwork practices, a long tradition for the Mi’kmaq people. What she learned alarmed her.