Corn Woman, 2008, by Cheryl Savageau, is on display at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor as part of a new exhibit “Twisted Path: Contemporary Native American Artists Walking in Two Worlds.”—ISLANDER PHOTOS BY ROBERT LEVIN

Marie Watt’s Blanket Stories, a multi-colored stack of folded blankets that rises 15 feet into the room, towers overhead, seemingly daring the viewer to knock it over. Lenny Novak’s exquisite dream catchers pull in elements of the forest and wildlife to create small, sacred spaces, holy in feel and quieting in effect.

Other artists explore the contemporary native gestalt more explicitly. The exhibit is anchored by two of them, Cheryl Savageau and George Longfish. Both are given large amounts of space, their work hanging on opposing walls of the gallery.

It is fitting, because the two deal with similar themes from opposing perspectives. Ms. Savageau, ever the optimist, focuses on joyful moments, full of Native themes, a living spirituality, and a sense of the sacred. Her Corn Woman is one such example. A gorgeously crafted work, the two-dimensional sculpture is paired with a poem that informs it so completely that its meaning is brought to the present, offering a powerful transmission of exuberance.

Mr. Longfish, meanwhile, expresses the frustration of carrying the ideas of Native spirituality within the modern world. With dynamic designs, phrases and word, he puts forth an insider’s sense of tension and anger the rest of us can only suspect. Modern Times, a three-panel lithograph, flirts with these elements to transmit meaning without giving too much, and gives a strong sense of the painful truth the artist refuses to ignore.

The exhibit, as a whole, is meditative, each piece easily drawing the viewer’s attention for minutes on end. Substantial artist statements that accompany each set of work are a great boon, providing deep context for each painting, sculpture, or photo.

One piece, though, threatened throughout the show to undermine the entire experience. A portion of a CD by Penobscot Watie Akins was playing on a continual loop, loud enough to hear everywhere in the gallery.

Had this been music, as I assume is on the recording, then it might have provided a nice backdrop for the art. However, the portion that played, over and over again, was of Mr. Akins talking about music. It is almost impossible to ignore his sonorous monotone voice while reading artist statements or trying to digest some of the show’s weightier works.

The overarching history of America’s indigenous peoples is well known to many. In some sense, one might be able to imagine the pain and suffering that has pervaded the community since Native Americans found themselves at the losing end of European conquest several hundred years ago. But how many people have heard the story from the inside? How many voices from contemporary Indian culture, so full of questions, conflict and pride, make it into the everyday mainstream world?

With the “Twisted Path” exhibit, these voices come through loud and clear. The show is educational without being preachy, visually arresting, and offers a fascinating window into a culture usually kept to the margins of mainstream perception.