Native Americans in Maine have been documented since the 17C through oral traditions & written observations by Europeans. Members of the Algonquian language family in Maine have been known as “Wabanaki” & “Abenaki” people. The term means “Dawnlanders” or “People of the Dawn.” The broad notion of Wabanaki includes Micmac, Maliseet & Passamaquoddy in the east, Penobscot along the river of that name, & the Abenaki & Pennacook further west. The term “Abenaki” usually excludes the three easternmost groups & refers to members of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock.
The name Abnakis (or Abenakis) was given to them by the French, but it has been spelled Abenaques, Abenaquiois, Wapanachkis, Wabenakies, & Wobanahis. According to one source, the name derives from woban, “daybreak,” & ki, “earth, land,” & has been variously interpreted as those “living at the sunrise,” “a person from the land where the sun rises,” or “an easterner.”
The Abnakis lived mostly in what is now Maine, New Hampshire, & Vermont. Abnaki legend has it that they came from the Southwest, but the exact time is unsure. One historian estimates that about 13,000 were in Maine in the early 17th century, divided among four tribes: the Sokokis on the Saco River; the Anasagunticooks on the Androscoggin; the Wawenocks east of Merrymeeting Bay; & the Kennebecs on the river of that name. The Abnakis were in settled villages, often surrounded by palisades, & lived by growing corn, fishing, & hunting. Their name for their conical huts covered with bark or mats, wigwam, came to be generally used in English.
The Wabanaki Confederation of Penobscots, Passamaquoddies, Micmacs & Maliseets encompassed the major tribes of the area. Formed to reduce conflict & foster cooperation, this Confederation relied on procedures & traditions which, while varied with time & circumstance, maintained a basic model of tribal integration. (This is distinct from the Caughnawaga Confederacy that included the Wabanaki members in addition to other eastern tribes.)
The Wabanaki Confederation played a role in the selection of tribal chiefs. When a new chief was to be selected, delegates from the other tribes attended the ceremonies & formally approved the locally elected candidate. This not only gave the chiefs status within their own tribes but also insured harmony among the tribes. Various European governments attempted to use the Confederation against their opponents. An important unit of social organization was the band, a loosely organized collection of people, frequently related family members, who occupied a particular tract of land, moved & camped together, & felt a common identity, including a name for themselves. Several bands comprised a tribe, which, like the band, was loosely organized & which in many parts of the area was not so much a political unit as a cultural one–a group of people who spoke a common language & had similar customs. Although chieftainships often were inherited, personal ability was the basis for the influence that was exercised by a chief, sometimes termed sachem. The man, or sometimes woman, who had the requisite abilities was chosen to succeed. Particularly important to a chief was his ability to persuade. As one result, oratory was highly valued & developed into a fine art; even in English translations, the power of Indian oratory is evident. Typically, the councils of the Indians involved the making of speeches, although the intent of this oratory was not to impress others with mere rhetoric but to find a solution to the issue at hand. If unanimity was not achieved, no action could be taken. The dissidents would either continue to express their opposition or withdraw; in either case, the effectiveness of the group would be weakened.
Though they lived in peace with each other, Maine tribes feared their traditional enemies the Iroquois & the Mohawks, often engaging in warfare. However, they did treat the first Europeans, French & English, with friendship until the English antagonized, mistreated, & exploited them. Samoset & Squanto (or Squando) assisted the Plymouth Pilgrims during difficult times.
See:
Calloway, Colin G. The Abenaki. Indians of North America Series. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1989.
Calvert, Mary R. Dawn over the Kennebec. Lewiston, Me. Twin City Printery. c1983.
Cronin, William. Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England. New York. Hill and Wang. 1983.
DePold, Hans. “Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route.” WRRR Newsletter No. 28. http://www.ctssar.org/revroad/news28.htm. Accessed November 6, 2003.
Eckstorm, Fanny Hardy. Old John Neptune and Other Maine Indian Shamans. Orono: University of Maine Press, 1980.
Hudson Museum. “Maine Indians: A Web Resource List for Teachers.” http://www.umaine.edu/hudsonmuseum/reso.php (accesssed January 30, 2012)
Leamon, James S. Revolution Downeast: The War for American Independence in Maine. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. 1993.
McBride, Bunny. Women of the Dawn. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999.
Morison, Samuel Eliot. The Story of Mount Desert Island. Boston: Little Brown. 1960.
Pawling, Micah A. Wabanaki Homeland and the New State of Maine. Amherst, MA. University of Massachusetts Press. 2007.
Speck, Frank G. Penobscot Man. Orono: University of Maine Press, 1997.
Starkey, Glenn Wendell. Maine: Its History, Resources, and Government. Boston: Silver, Burdett and Company. 1920.
Thoreau, Henry David. The Maine Woods. (there are several editions.)
The Wabanakis of Maine and the Maritimes. Bath: American Friends Service Committee, 1989.
