Native American Tribes of Maine

Welcome to our Maine State Facts section, part of an educational project designed to provide information about indigenous people in different U.S. states. Follow the links to the right of our tribal map for more information about the language, culture and history of each Maine tribe, or scroll below the map for Maine Native activities including a wordsearch, fact sheets for kids about each tribe, and worksheets teaching words from the different Native American languages of Maine. Feel free to print any of these materials out for classroom use!

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American Indians in Maine

The original inhabitants of the area that is now Maine included:

About Our Maps

The Maliseet tribe

The Passamaquoddy tribe

The Abenaki tribe

The Penobscot Indians

Other Indian tribes who migrated into Ohio after Europeans arrived included:

The Micmac tribe

The traditional Micmac territory is north and east of Maine, in what is now Canada. In the 1700's, the Micmac, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, Abenaki, and Penobscot people joined together into an alliance known as the Wabanaki Confederacy, and after that, some Micmac people settled in Maine as well. Their descendants still live in Maine today.

There are five federally recognized Indian tribes in Maine today.

Here are the addresses of Maine's Indian reservations:

1 Aroostook Band of Micmacs:
PO Box 772
Presque Isle, ME 04769

2 Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians:
RR 3 Box 450
Houlton, ME 04730
http://www.maliseets.com/ (under construction)

3 Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indian Township:
PO Box 301
Princeton, ME 04668
http://www.passamaquoddy.com/

4 Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point:
PO Box 343
Perry, ME 04667
http://www.wabanaki.com/

5 Penobscot Nation:
Community Building
Old Town, ME 04468
http://www.penobscotnation.org/

Teaching and learning activities about Maine Native Americans:

Feel free to print these out for classroom use!

Maine Tribes Word Search: Printable puzzle hiding the names of Maine's Indian tribes.

Maine Language Greetings: Learn to say "hello" in several Native American languages spoken in Maine.

Maine Native Animals: Learn the Indian names of native Maine animals.

Maine Indian Facts for Kids: Answers to frequently asked questions about the Indian tribes of Maine.
We currently have pages for the Abenaki, Penobscot, Micmac, Maliseet and Passamaquoddy tribes.

Recommended books about Maine Native Americans:

Twelve Thousand Years:
Good history book on the Wabanaki Indians of Maine.

Women of the Dawn:
Interesting biographies of four Maine Indian women.

Maine Indians:
Introducing Maine's Native American history and culture to kids.

Encyclopedia of Maine Indians:
Thorough reference book about the Native American tribes of Maine.

Unsettled Past, Unsettled Future:
The history of relations between Native Americans and European Americans in Maine.

Canoe Indians of Down East Maine:
History of the Etchemin and Wabanaki Indians of Maine.

Wabanaki Homeland and the New State of Maine:
Collection of 19th-century journals and maps about the Wabanaki tribes of Maine.

Native American Place Names of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont:
The native etymology of present-day place-names in New England.

Other resources about American Indian history, culture and society in Maine state:

Abbe Museum: People of the Dawn: Bar Harbor museum dedicated to Maine's Native American heritage.

Passamaquoddy Teaching Kit: Online lesson plans about the Passamaquoddy tribe in Maine.

Gifts From Gluskabe: Maine Indian Art: Photos and information about Maine Native American art.

Wabanaki: Articles about native issues from the Maine Rural Development Council.

Maine Native American Culture: Historical timeline and maps for the Wabanaki tribes.

American Indigenous Studies: Maine: Resources and links about Maine Indian tribes.

Indian Tribes in Maine: History and genealogy of American Indians in Maine.

Maine Native American Resources: Maine Indian links pages.