In 2015, Jane was part of a project funded by the Administration for Native American Language Grant that focused on securing and protecting the Penobscot Nation language. Working with James E. Francis, Jane did research on ownership of the language materials as well as locating the institutions where Penobscot language materials were held. At one of the Penobscot Tribal Council meetings that was reporting on this work, Council representatives expressed the desire to have more formalized relationships with these institutions that hold Penobscot material, with the closest institution to the Penobscot Nation - the University of Maine - as the first institution. Jane held extensive meetings with Tribal Council and University of Maine representatives in drafting the agreement.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was established as a mechanism to formalize the various informal sets of practices that the Penobscot Nation and the University of Maine have been collaboratively developing for the management of Penobscot cultural heritage over the last ten years. The agreement indicated a commitment to extend and elaborate upon these for the mutual benefit of the Penobscot Nation and the University of Maine (Orono). The purpose of the MOU was to clarify Penobscot Nation and University of Maine (Orono) expectations with regards to the following discrete areas:
University and Penobscot Nation Institutional Research Boards.
Care and management of Penobscot collections and cultural heritage items held at the Hudson Museum.
Care and management of Penobscot collections and cultural heritage items held at the Fogler Library (Special Collections).
Publication of Penobscot Nation cultural heritage material through the University of Maine Press.
Cataloguing and care of Penobscot collections in the Anthropology Department.