The Penobscot Indians are a Native American tribe from Maine, part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. They lived in wigwams and traveled seasonally for fishing and hunting. They fought against the Iroquois and allied with the French and British. They suffered from warfare and European diseases, lost land to settlers, and turned to gambling for economic improvement.
The Penobscot Indians are a Native American tribe originating primarily from Maine in the United States. Historically, there was a time period where the tribe also had a significant presence in Nova Scotia, Canada. They were part of a group of tribes called the Wabanaki Confederacy that controlled much of the New England area. The confederacy was formed primarily as a military alliance to repel attacks by the Iroquois. There are several thousand Penobscot Indians left, and one of their reservations remains in Maine on Indian Island, near old town.
Historical Penobscot Indians traveled seasonally between different settlements. During the summer, they generally stayed close to the sea, which allowed them to take advantage of the fishing opportunities. In the winter, they normally move inland to hunt bear, deer and elk. The tribe lived mainly in tent-like structures called wigwams, covered with birch bark. In the winter, the area they occupied was very cold and they received a lot of snowfall and members of the tribe often needed snowshoes to help them navigate while hunting or traveling.
Along with the rest of the Wabanaki Confederacy, the Penobscot Indians had many battles with the Iroquois tribes. This rivalry dates back to the distant past and is generally considered one of the main reasons the confederacy was formed. As a result of this conflict, the Penobscot Indians were allied with the French against the Iroquois and the British in King William’s War, which was the first major battle between the French and the British involving native tribes.
Warfare, as well as several outbreaks of European disease among the tribe, contributed to the reduction in Penobscot’s population during the 1600s. In the mid-1700s, the British finally defeated the French and began moving into the Penobscot territory. The chief at that time, who went by the name Orono, chose not to resist the settlers. Over time, the tribe was gradually confined to the island village near the Old City. Many of the Wabanaki tribes ended up retreating to Canada during this period, but the Penobscot generally chose to stay.
During the 1700s and early 1800s, the tribe experienced food shortages and other problems, mainly because European settlers were using too much of their land. The tribe made several attempts to negotiate and maintain access to their hunting grounds, but they proved unsuccessful. In 1820, after Maine was officially incorporated into the United States, the tribe lost much of its most valuable land, forcing the tribe’s members to rely on traditional crafts and other means to make a living. In the 1970s, the Penobscot were among the very first tribes to set up gambling businesses, and this generally helped improve their economic situation. A few years later, in the 1980s, they received a settlement from the state of Maine, which they used to repurchase some important ancestral lands and provide greater financial security for members of the tribe.
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