| 2003 |
A New Dawn
Now-1950
The
Wabanaki are contemporary communities
with distinct cultures and traditions.
The Tribes are concerned with developing
greater cultural and economic self-sufficiency,
while maintaining age-old traditions.
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| 2006 |
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June 28
Members of the United South and Eastern
Tribes, including the Maliseet, Micmac,
Passamaquoddy and Penobscot endorse the
principles described in the Kyoto Protocol.
The 24 federally recognized tribes have
agreed to embrace the international environmental
treaty that the current United States
administration has rejected.
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| 2003 |
| In November
of 2003 Maine voters overwhelming defeat
a proposal by the Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy
Tribe to open a casino in southern Maine. |
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The Referendum
Question asked:
“Do you want to
allow a casino to be run by the Passamaquoddy
Tribe and Penobscot Nation if part of
the revenue is used for state education
and municipal revenue sharing?”
The vote was 346,583
No to 170,500 Yes. The No vote backers
argued that gambling was inconsistent
with Maine lifestyles and that a casino
would increase crime, gambling addiction
and traffic. The Maine Tribes and other
supporters countered that gambling profits
would increase economic opportunity for
rural Mainers and the Tribes and provide
increased revenue for the state.
In the same election,
video lottery gambling at certain horse
racing tracks passed by a vote of 272,394
to 242,490. |
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| 2003 |
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The federal Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) approves the State
of Maine’s application to administer
and enforce wastewater discharge permits
for most facilities in the State.
The only exceptions are those that the
EPA considers internal tribal matters.
This decision affects portions of the
Penobscot and St. Croix Rivers that are
considered to be part of the territories
of the Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy
Tribe.
In its decision
the EPA asserts that provisions of the
Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act gave
the State statutory authority to regulate
environmental protection in the territories
of the Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy
Tribe that also affect non-Indians.
In response, Indian
leaders file a federal court appeal seeking
to overturn the decision.
In a press conference, Penobscot Chief,
Barry Dana said,
“…[The
EPA action]
is another
example of the continued lack of respect
and recognition of tribal sovereignty,
both in Maine and across the nation. As
a sovereign people, we have no choice
but to fight this ruling to protect our
resources and our way of life.”
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| Tribal
Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs)
Are Appointed
The Penobscot
Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe appoint
THPOs
to manage tribal historic resources and
to oversee cultural preservation programs.
THPOs are officially designated by federally
recognized Indian Tribes and are responsible
for the preservation of significant historic
properties on tribal lands. THPOs conduct
archaeological surveys to identify culturally
significant properties and conduct environmental
reviews of federal projects on tribal
lands. Both Maine tribal historic preservation
offices are involved with programs to
preserve language and traditional cultural
practices and to expand tribal museums.
To date, 48 Indian nations across the
country have tribal historic preservation
programs.
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The
Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance (MIBA)
celebrates ten years of revitalizing
the art of basketmaking. Since
its creation in 1993, the membership of
skilled basketmakers in the Alliance has
grown from 50 to 120, while the average
age of MIBA members has dropped from 63
to 43. |
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Penobcots
build birchbark canoe as revitalzation
project.
When
you learn the process of making the birch-bark
canoe, there's very little today that's
different, in terms of process that was
done for thousands of years. Materials
are identical, the final construction
is identical, the process of doing the
roots, the pitch, taking the bark off
the tree, carving the cedar, everything
is identical.
Barry Dana – Chief of the
Penobscot Nation
Home the Story
of Maine, Maine Public Broadcasting Network
(http://www.mpbn.net/homestom/homestom.html) |
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Patrick
Almenas, Penobscot, working on a birchbark
canoe built at Indian Island.
Photo courtesy of
Patrick Almenas |
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| 2002 |
| First
State of the Tribes Address
Leaders of the Passamaquoddy
Tribe, Governor Richard Doyle and Governor
Richard Stevens, along with Penobscot
Nation Chief Barry Dana address a joint
session of the State of Maine’s
legislature.This
is the first ever State of the Tribes
Address in Maine’s 182-year history.
In their speeches,
the leaders talked about the need for
economic development in Indian communities
and the importance of protecting water
quality.
"Our rivers, our waters,
are not just a resource, they are us,"
said Penobscot Chief Barry Dana. "Our
waters are sacred, not just to the Penobscot,
not just to the Passamaquoddy, Maliseets
or Micmacs, but to all the people of Maine."
Read
Chief Dana's speech here...
Read Governor
Doyle's speech here...
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Buzz
Off!
A Native owned company run by Maliseet/Passamaquoddy
Alison Lewey, Lewey’s Eco-Blends releases
its flagship product throughout New England—an
all-natural insect repellent. Based on Native
herbal wisdom and a respect for the environment,
Lewey's Eco-Blends is a leader in the
insect repellent industry. |
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| 2001 |
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LD 291
An Act to Require the Teaching of Maine
Native American History and Culture in
Maine’s Schools
was passed by the 120th Maine Legislature
and signed into law in June 2001. Sponsored
by Penobscot Legislative Representative
Donna Loring, the law requires public
schools to teach about the Wabanaki in
grades K-12.
A study by the Passamaquoddy
Tribe detects high levels of toxic cadmium
in the livers of moose hunted by Passamaquoddy
and Penobscot hunters.
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| Patch
of the Passamaquoddy Environmental Department
at indian Township
Earth- Katahkomiq
Water- Samaqan
Wind- Wocawson
Courtesy of Martin Dana |
We are unique....
Sovereignty
is absolute. We are unique to this
land. And with that uniqueness come special
powers of sovereignty. We're still here
today, and we're asserting our sovereignty.
We're not going to go away.
Reuben "Butch"
Phillips, Penobscot, Earth Day, 2001
(from the Bangor Daily News) |
"Eagle Spirit"
"I wanted people
to see the polluted Penobscot River
through the eyes of the Eagle. The eagle
gets fish from the river to feed its
family. Something might get in the fish
that is poisonous and it can kill them.
If we have the courage to change this
the Eagle will bring healing to the
Penobscot River.
Lisa, Grade
6, Indian Island School
2001 Waponahki Student Art Show
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| 2000 |
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Tribal leaders
of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot
Nation are held in contempt of court for
refusing to turn over documents requested
under a Freedom of Access request. The
documents relate to discussions about
water quality issues between the state
and federal environmental protection agencies.
The tribes claim that internal tribal
matters are not subject to the state's
freedom of access law.
Place names in Maine
that are derogatory
to Wabanaki women are changed by
state legislation proposed by Passamaquoddy
Legislative Representative Donald Soctomah.
He also sponsors a bill to provide funding
to monitor and protect Indian archaeological
sites.
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| 1998 |
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Andrea Pardilla, Penobscot,
is named Miss Maine Basketball.
Anne Akins Wood,
Penobscot dancer, educator and elder,
performs as Molly Molasses at the Abbe
Museum. |
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| 1997 |
Brenda
Commander is elected as the first woman
chief of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians.
The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians (HBMI)
is comprised of some 800 members. HBMI has
a farm and commercial land holdings in Aroostook
County. Much of the land borders a significant
amount of the Meduxnekeag River, a critical
link in preserving tribal practices, traditions
and history. |
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| Courtesy of
Brenda Commander |
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| 1994 |
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A National Treasure
Mary Mitchell Gabriel
(1908-2004), Passamaquoddy basketmaker,
is recognized by the National Endowment
for the Arts as a National
Heritage Fellow. |
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| Bob Noonan
Photo |
Ash
and Sweetgrass basket,
Mary Gabriel, 1996
Abbe Museum Collections |
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| 1992 |
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Indian Island
School students complete one of three
award winning animated movies in the collection
"Frog Monster and other Penobscot
stories" based on oral tradition.
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Still image
of a frame from the 1992 animated
film "Koluskap and his People"
Courtesy of Indian Island School
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| Oral Tradition |
Koluskap
and His People
In
the beginning there was just the sea and
the forest - no people and no animals. Then
Koluskap came. He possessed great magic.
Out of the rocks, he made the Mihkomuwehsisok,
small people who dwelt among the rocks and
made wonderful music on the flute. Next
Koluskap made the people. Wiith his bow
he shot arrows into the trunks of Ash trees.
Out of the trees stepped men and women.
They were strong and graceful people with
light brown skin and shining black hair.
Koluskap called them Wabanaki, people of
the dawn.
Adapted
from The Algonquin Legends of New England
by Charles G. Leland, 1884 |
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| 1991 |
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| 1990 |
| NAGPRA
Native American
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
(NAGPRA) is signed into law, requiring
federal agencies and museums to consult
with Native communities regarding
human remains and culturally significant
objects held in public institutions. |
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| 1988 |
| The Passamaquoddy
Tribe sells Dragon Cement Plant, Thomaston,
Maine, a tribally run company started
with settlement funds from the 1980 Land
Claims. The Tribe secures a $60 million
profit.
Dragon Cement is New
England's only cement manufacturer. |
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| 1982 |
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Northeast Blueberry Company
Passamaquoddy Tribe, with Land Claims
settlement funds, buys one of the largest
blueberry farms in Maine.
"Today, Northeast Blueberry Co.
employs 20 tribal members year-round,
and about 800 seasonal workers in the
summer who rake the blueberry barrens
by hand, said manager Darrell Newell.
It yields about $500,000 each year, much
of which is reinvested in the business,
he said." (http://news.mainetoday.com/indepth/,
September, 2003)
Each summer, hundreds of Mi'kmaq from
Eastern Canada travel to the Northeast
Blueberry Company to work as seasonal
blueberry harvesters. Unlike Wyman’s
and Cherryfield Foods, Inc, two large
blueberry companies in Maine, the Passamaquoddy
have long resisted mechanization—replacing
seasonal workers with mechanical harvesters.
Instead, they have promised the Mi' kmaq
that as long as they continue to come
work for the season, Northeast Blueberry
Company will continue to harvest their
blueberries by hand. |
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| Courtesy
of Darrell Newell |
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| 1981 |
Katahdin
100
The first Katahdin 100
Run, a spiritual journey from Indian Island
to Mt. Katahdin, is made by members of
the Penobscot Nation.
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| Running shoes
worn by Barry Dana, Governor of the Penobscot
Nation, during the Katahdin 100 Spiritual
Run. Chief Dana made the first run alone.
Today, this event is an important community
journey. |
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| 1980 |
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| 1975 |
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| 1972 |
| Scholarship
program for Native students is established
at the University of Maine at Orono.
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| 1971 |
Traditional
Art
Senebeh Francis,
master Penobscot carver, teaches the traditional
art of root club carving to Stan Neptune(left).
Today, Stan is nationally recognized as
a carver, and has taught his son, Joe
Dana (right). |
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| 1968 |
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Vietnam War
The only picture
I have of myself in Vietnam was taken
with me in civilian clothes outside the
main office of the WAC Det. The picture
was taken by Terry Lolar, a member of
the Penobscot Nation who was also stationed
in Vietnam. He had just come out of the
field. The picture was taken in 1968;
that was the year of the big Tet Offensive.
I was nineteen years old at the time.
Donna Loring, Penobscot, Vietnam War Veteran |
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| 1967 |
| Native
people in Maine are given the right to vote
in Maine state elections. |
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| 1965 |
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Cultural Pride
Joseph Nicholas,
Passamaquoddy, begins programs to
instill cultural pride in Passamaquoddy
youth through language and traditional
dance.
Joe is seen here at the
2002 Native American Festival in Bar Harbor. |
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| 1957 |
Louise
Sockabesin finds a copy of the 1794 treaty
between the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the
State of Massachussetts in a shoe box.
Tribal leader John Stevens would later
use this treaty to back up tribal claims
that huge tracts of Passamaquoddy land
had been illegally taken from them. He
initiates the land claims case that is
finally settled in 1980.
Read the
Treaty... |
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| 1955/54 |
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Native people are
given the right to vote in federal elections
in 1954. The first federal election
after the right was granted occurred the
following year, in 1955. The first eligible
presidential election was in 1956.
The caption for this picture reads:
Princess Watawaso of the Penobscot Indian
Tribe at Old Town casts the first vote
of an Indian on a reservation in Maine
in 1955. The only Indians who voted previously
were those who moved to cities and started
paying taxes. Behind the Princess is her
husband, Chief Bruce Poolaw. Clerks (left
to right) are Mrs. Mary Cross and Mrs.
Hollis Monaghan.
(Bangor Daily News File Photo by Danny
Maher) (Picture of the Past sponsored
by Susie Saver)
Courtesy Bangor Daily News |
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| 1950 |
A one-lane bridge
is built connecting Indian Island to the
mainland at Old Town.
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| Courtesy
of Bunny McBride |
Mechanical
potato harvester is introduced, gradually
diminishing the need both for hand pickers
and Indian-made harvesting baskets.
By 1990, only 15% of Maine's potato crop
is picked by hand.
Nora
Estabrook, Maliseet, picking potatoes
in Houlton, Maine.
She began picking when she was seven years
old. |
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