Penobscot

The Penobscot are a Wabanaki people whose homeland lies along the river that bears their name. Their own name refers to a place where white rocks extend out, on a stretch of the river between Old Town and Verona Island. Families moved with the seasons, hunting and gathering in the forests and taking fish and shellfish from the rivers and coast.

Trade with Europeans brought metal tools and other goods in exchange for pelts. During the French and Indian War the Penobscot allied with France, and Massachusetts placed a scalp bounty on them in 1755. The fall of Quebec in 1759 deprived them of their principal European ally. Their support for the American Patriots during the Revolution did not halt settler encroachment after independence. Between 1794 and 1833, treaties transferred much of their land to Massachusetts and then Maine. The Penobscot retained their community on Indian Island in the river, while state authorities asserted control over their affairs.