Native Languages of the Americas: Penobscot (Eastern Abnaki, Penawahpskewi, Penobscott)
Language:: Abnaki-Penobscot is an Algonquian language
still spoken today by Western Abenaki elders in Canada. Eastern Abenaki was another dialect of the same language once spoken by the Penobscot
people in Maine. Though the last fully fluent speaker of the Penobscot dialect has passed on, several Penobscot elders remember the language and
are working to revive its use in the Penobscot Nation today.
People: The Penobscot tribe, together with the Mi'kmaq,
Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, and
Abenaki Indians, were members of the old
Wabanaki Confederacy. These allies from the
eastern seaboard region spoke related languages, and "Abenaki" and "Wabanaki" have the
same Algonquian root, meaning "people from the east." The Penobscot are not affiliated
with the Abenakis today, and distance themselves from the Abenaki of New England.
There are 3000 Penobscot Indians now, most of whom live in Maine.
History: Like other Wabanaki tribes, the Penobscot Indians
were longstanding enemies of the Iroquois, particularly the
Mohawk. This led them to side with the French and
Algonquins in the costly war against the English and Iroquoians.
The English paid out bounties for dead Penobscots, but it was European diseases
(especially smallpox) that really decimated their nation, killing at least 75% of the population.
Still angry with the British, the much-reduced Penobscot tribe supported the Americans in the Revolutionary
War, and having picked the winning side they were not expelled from New England, remaining on reservations in
their native Maine to this day. Recently the Penobscot Indians and their Passamaquoddy
allies--despite formidable harassment from white neighbors--successfully
argued that their treaty rights had been violated, and in 1980 received a settlement of $81 million for land that
was illegally stolen from them. The Penobscot tribe was able to buy back some of their ancestral lands, and today they
are a sovereign nation working to maintain their traditions, language, and self-sufficiency.
As a complement to our information about the Penobscot language, we would like to share our
collection of indexed links about the Penobscot Indian people and various aspects of their society.
Native Americans are living people with a present and future as well as a past. Penobscot history is interesting and
important, but the Penobscot are still here today, too, and we have tried to feature modern writers as well as traditional
folklore, contemporary art as well as museum pieces, and the issues and struggles of today as well as the tragedies
of yesterday. Suggestions for new links are always welcome.
Native Americans of New England:
Map showing the location of early Penobscot Indian territory in New England.
Maine Native American Culture:
Historical maps and timeline for the Penobscot tribe in Maine.
Maine Indian Maps:
Tribal map showing the original territory of the Penobscot Indians and their neighbors.
Native American tribes:
Penobscot Indian Nation:
Reservation Schools Preserve Cultures:
