#penobscot — Public Fediverse posts

Hype for the Future 63U: Places to Stay in Camden, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/02/hype-for-the-future-63u-places-to-stay-in-camden-maine/

Hype for the Future 63U: Places to Stay in Camden, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/02/hype-for-the-future-63u-places-to-stay-in-camden-maine/

Hype for the Future 63U: Places to Stay in Camden, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/02/hype-for-the-future-63u-places-to-stay-in-camden-maine/

Hype for the Future 63U: Places to Stay in Camden, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/02/hype-for-the-future-63u-places-to-stay-in-camden-maine/

Hype for the Future 63U: Places to Stay in Camden, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/02/hype-for-the-future-63u-places-to-stay-in-camden-maine/

Hype for the Future 63T: Towns of Camden and Rockport, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/02/hype-for-the-future-63t-towns-of-camden-and-rockport-maine/

Hype for the Future 63T: Towns of Camden and Rockport, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/02/hype-for-the-future-63t-towns-of-camden-and-rockport-maine/

Hype for the Future 63T: Towns of Camden and Rockport, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/02/hype-for-the-future-63t-towns-of-camden-and-rockport-maine/

Hype for the Future 63T: Towns of Camden and Rockport, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/02/hype-for-the-future-63t-towns-of-camden-and-rockport-maine/

Hype for the Future 63T: Towns of Camden and Rockport, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/02/hype-for-the-future-63t-towns-of-camden-and-rockport-maine/

Hype for the Future 63B: Town of Newport, Maine

Overview

The Town of Newport is located in western Penobscot County, Maine, accessible from Interstate 95 and United States Route 2. While the town does not contain a major tourist base, the Angler’s Restaurant is perhaps a specialty of the community. The village area of the Town of Newport is located immediately off Interstate 95 in the southwestern corner of the Town.

Hype for the Future 63/284: Town of Corinna, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/02/hype-for-the-future-63-284-town-of-corinna-maine/

Hype for the Future 62MLO: Town of Milo, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62mlo-town-of-milo-maine/

Hype for the Future 62MLO: Town of Milo, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62mlo-town-of-milo-maine/

Hype for the Future 62MLO: Town of Milo, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62mlo-town-of-milo-maine/

Hype for the Future 62MLO: Town of Milo, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62mlo-town-of-milo-maine/

Hype for the Future 62MLO: Town of Milo, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62mlo-town-of-milo-maine/

Hype for the Future 62LPM: Town of Lincoln, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62lpm-town-of-lincoln-maine/

Hype for the Future 62LPM: Town of Lincoln, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62lpm-town-of-lincoln-maine/

Hype for the Future 62LPM: Town of Lincoln, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62lpm-town-of-lincoln-maine/

Hype for the Future 62LPM: Town of Lincoln, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62lpm-town-of-lincoln-maine/

Hype for the Future 62LPM: Town of Lincoln, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62lpm-town-of-lincoln-maine/

Hype for the Future 62MDM: Town of Medway, Maine

Overview

The Town of Medway is located in Penobscot County, Maine, south of the Mount Katahdin Scenic Overlook and rest area with no services along Interstate 95. At the exit to Route 157 is the Gateway Inn, which provides access to the general Millinocket area further west and the Mount Katahdin region somewhat further to the west.

Hype for the Future 62MDM: Town of Medway, Maine

Overview

The Town of Medway is located in Penobscot County, Maine, south of the Mount Katahdin Scenic Overlook and rest area with no services along Interstate 95. At the exit to Route 157 is the Gateway Inn, which provides access to the general Millinocket area further west and the Mount Katahdin region somewhat further to the west.

Hype for the Future 62MDM: Town of Medway, Maine

Overview

The Town of Medway is located in Penobscot County, Maine, south of the Mount Katahdin Scenic Overlook and rest area with no services along Interstate 95. At the exit to Route 157 is the Gateway Inn, which provides access to the general Millinocket area further west and the Mount Katahdin region somewhat further to the west.

Hype for the Future 62MDM: Town of Medway, Maine

Overview

The Town of Medway is located in Penobscot County, Maine, south of the Mount Katahdin Scenic Overlook and rest area with no services along Interstate 95. At the exit to Route 157 is the Gateway Inn, which provides access to the general Millinocket area further west and the Mount Katahdin region somewhat further to the west.

Hype for the Future 62MDM: Town of Medway, Maine

Overview

The Town of Medway is located in Penobscot County, Maine, south of the Mount Katahdin Scenic Overlook and rest area with no services along Interstate 95. At the exit to Route 157 is the Gateway Inn, which provides access to the general Millinocket area further west and the Mount Katahdin region somewhat further to the west.

Hype for the Future 62MLM: Town of Millinocket, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62mlm-town-of-millinocket-maine/

Hype for the Future 62MLM: Town of Millinocket, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62mlm-town-of-millinocket-maine/

Hype for the Future 62MLM: Town of Millinocket, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62mlm-town-of-millinocket-maine/

Hype for the Future 62MLM: Town of Millinocket, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62mlm-town-of-millinocket-maine/

Hype for the Future 62MLM: Town of Millinocket, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62mlm-town-of-millinocket-maine/

Hype for the Future 62U: Town of Patten, Maine

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62u-town-of-patten-maine/

Hype for the Future 62T: Mount Katahdin on I-95

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62t-mount-katahdin-on-i-95/

Hype for the Future 62K: Baxter State Park

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62k-baxter-state-park/

Hype for the Future 62K: Baxter State Park

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62k-baxter-state-park/

Hype for the Future 62K: Baxter State Park

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62k-baxter-state-park/

Hype for the Future 62K: Baxter State Park

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62k-baxter-state-park/

Hype for the Future 62K: Baxter State Park

https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/hype-for-the-future-62k-baxter-state-park/

#Sovereignty Starts Here: Land, Economy, and #TribalRights in #Maine

James Myall
October 14, 2025

"Maine has profited from centuries of #Wabanaki land loss. Supporting land return and sovereignty reforms is both a moral responsibility and a smart economic investment.

This report focuses on the fundamental importance of land acquisition and usage to lay out an economic case for fully recognizing the #WabanakiNations’ inherent sovereignty.

Key Facts

- For at least 13,000 years, Wabanaki people and their ancestors have cared for this region’s land, water, and natural resources through sustainable stewardship.
- About 12.5 million acres of Wabanaki territory, valued at $105 billion in 1976, were claimed by Maine before rulings showed the claims were based on invalid treaties. Between 1820 and 1980,
- Maine extracted hundreds of millions in profits from tribal land seizures and sales, resource exploitation, tourism, and taxes — without compensating the Wabanaki Nations.
- The 1980 Settlement Acts ended the federal land claims case but left the Wabanaki Nations uniquely constrained compared to other federally recognized tribes, granting the state unusual control over their affairs and sparking decades of contention over unfulfilled promises.
- The Federal government contributed $26.8 million each to trust funds for #Passamaquoddy and #Penobscot Nations to purchase a maximum of 150,000 acres each, and $900,000 for the Houlton Band of #Maliseet Indians to purchase 5,000 acres. But the funds were exhausted before the full amount of land could be secured. #Maine did not contribute any funds to the settlement.
- The federal land acquisition funding was based on a calculation of $181 per acre. A recent purchase on behalf of the Penobscot Nation was valued at more than $1,000 per acre.
- The #Mikmaq Nation did not receive any federal funding for land acquisition until 1991. Today, the Mi’kmaq Nation still faces more land acquisition restrictions than other Wabanaki Nations.
- In contrast to efforts across North America to foster tribal sovereignty, the Settlement Acts lock the Wabanaki in an outdated system that blocks access to federal programs and about $4.6 million in funding per year, limits land acquisition and usage, and stifles economic growth.
- Between 1989 and 2020, tribes in the US with full recognition of their sovereign authority had six times greater income growth per capita than Wabanaki Nations.
- Modernizing the Settlement Acts could add $330 million to Maine’s GDP each year, create 2,700 new jobs, and generate $51 million in state and local tax revenue.
- Collaboration between Wabanaki Nations and non-native organizations will secure the return of over 50,000 acres to Wabanaki communities. But the state and federal government can and should do far more to fund and facilitate land return."

Source:
www.mecep.org/maines-economy/sovereignty-starts-here/

#WabanakiNations #IndigenousSovereignty #MaineTribes #PassamaquoddyNation #PenobscotNation #HoultonBandOfMaliseetIndians #MikmaqNation #Maine #LandBack #SettlementAct

En el río

El club de los perdedores tienen un momento agradable en el río. Están disfrutando un maravilloso momento sin Pennywise...

#JamesPumita - 2024

#Derry #IT2017 #pennywise #losersclub #swimming #penobscot #stephenking

#NiweskokCollective Advances #FoodSovereignty and Obtains Land

"#Niweskok (From the Stars to Seeds) is a nonprofit collaboration of #Wabanaki farmers, health professionals, and educators working to revitalize food systems for tribes in northeast #Wabanakik (#Maine). The collection is responsible for reclaiming traditional foods & healing for their communities, their peoples of the #WabanakiConfederacy (#Penobscot, #Wolastoqiyik, #Mikmaq, #Passamaquoddy, #Abenaki), by practicing and promoting traditional crop cultivation, land-based education, and fisheries revitalization.

"From Tribal Business News’ article Wabanaki food sovereignty group secures no-strings land deal by Chez Oxendine, Niweskok has secured 245 acres of a piece of land called the #GooseRiverFarm in Wabanakik through innovative methods. This effort is an example of #Indigenous Sovereignty and self-determination through unconventional means. For the first time, Niweskok will have a permanent base for its programs after years of operating on borrowed and leased lands, according to co-director Alivia Moore to Tribal Business News.

Partners and Funding

"A coalition of 12 organizations and several private donors, including the #MaineFarmlandTrust and the #CoastalMountainsLandTrust, helped secure the land for Niweskok without easements, giving the Wabanaki nonprofit sovereignty over the property. Easements frequently accompany land returns or transfers which are often well-meaning. However, they can create barriers to Indigenous sovereignty and land management by preventing practices such as prescribed burning and fishing or zoning preventing buildings or infrastructure. Without restriction, Niwekok can continue to practice self-determination and food sovereignty, preserve the culture and traditions of the Wabanaki Confederation, and create a strong community."

https://www.indigenouscop.org/food-systems-agriculture/niweskok

#SolarPunkSunday #TraditionalFoods #Sovereignty #IndigenousFoodSovereignty #IndigeousAgriculture #BuildingCommunity #CulturalPreservation #LandConservation #IndigenousPeoplesDay

#PenobscotNation #Elder ‘Butch’ Phillips dies at 85

A celebrated #CultureBearer and artist, Reuben Elliot 'Butch' Phillips also was part of the team that negotiated the #Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980.

Reuben M. Schafir, July 29, 2025

"Reuben Elliot “Butch” Phillips, a Penobscot elder, artist, culture-bearer and the former lieutenant governor of the tribe, died Sunday at the age of 85.
Phillips was a leader within his tribe, an accomplished birch bark artist known for crafting moose calls adorned with intricate etchings, an athlete and a masterful hunter.

Scott Phillips, one of the elder Phillips’ three sons, said his father was a “very patient, very soulful” hunter who successfully hunted moose until just two years ago.

Phillips was often called upon to perform ceremonies and lead prayers at events. He cherished his role as a tribal elder, family members said, and was a living advocate for Penobscot traditions.

“He was a proponent of the Penobscot Nation,” Scott Phillips said. “All the traditions and customs, he wanted to keep that going for future generations, and he tried to pass a lot of that knowledge on to me and my brothers, his grandchildren and the people of the nation.”

“He never opened a ceremony without recalling the ancestors and ensuring that we honored them in our daily lives,” said #BarryDana, Phillips’ nephew and former two-term chief of the Penobscot Nation. “When you’re an elder and you preserve a value, you repeat it as early and as often as needed, and he didn’t hesitate to repeat it all the time. And now he’s an ancestor.”

#MaulianBryant, Dana’s daughter, recalled her great-uncle as well-spoken, diplomatic and warm, yet stalwart in his convictions. Known for his impeccable presentation, Bryant said he sported a neatly combed coif of dark hair well into old age and was often present at tribal ceremonies in full regalia.

Phillips was born May 7, 1940, and grew up on Indian Island, the seat of the Penobscot Nation’s government. He served in the U.S. Army and had a lengthy career in telecommunications, in addition to the various positions he held within the Penobscot Nation and associated causes, according to an obituary written by his family. He served as lieutenant governor, a position now known as vice chief, of the Penobscot Nation from 1992 to 1994. He lived in his later years on Penobscot ancestral homelands known today as Milford, across the river from the tribe’s headquarters.

In the 1970s, Philips was one of the Penobscot representatives on the team that negotiated the Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement of 1980. The legislation was viewed by many at the time as the only way for tribes to secure limited compensation for stolen land. It also subjected tribal nations to state government control and excepted them from the sovereignty all other federally recognized tribes have.

The law was a divisive topic internally among tribal members during negotiations. Its impacts have shaped the work of Dana and Bryant, who served as Penobscot tribal ambassador before she became executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance in January 2025. Bryant’s work today is largely dedicated to unraveling many of the restrictions imposed by the settlement act. Conversations with her great-uncle caused her to shift her thinking of the law and of the negotiators who partook in its crafting.

“I never wanted those tribal leaders to feel ashamed or that they did a bad thing, because it was a historic thing and there were good things for the tribe and they were between a rock and a hard place,” she said. “I really credit him with me shifting my approach to the whole thing and seeing it in a wholesale way and just remembering the humanity of everyone involved.”

Dana and Phillips never spoke of the negotiations outside of a single town-hall meeting — but Dana said he knew his uncle was fully behind him when he went head-to-head with the state on several occasions.

By working on the negotiating team, Phillips was fulfilling a duty asked of him by his government, said John Dieffenbacher-Krall, the former executive director of the Wabanki Alliance.

“There can be no greater example of citizenship,” he said.

Phillips was also an outspoken advocate of the #PenobscotRiver restoration.
“My generation, we saw the Penobscot River at its worst. It was like an open sewer,” he told #WERU Community Radio and #SunlightMediaCollective in 2018. “And as children, it really didn’t mean too much to us. We still swam in it, we still ate the fish, we still canoed in it and so forth. But I also witnessed the cleansing of the river.”

He was part of a group in 2002 that built the first birch bark canoe on Indian Island in 60 years and helped paddle the boat up the Penobscot River to Katahdin.
Butch Phillips at his Milford home in 1997. (John Ewing/Staff Photographer)
“It was a really strong moment in the revitalization of our culture,” Dana said.
Phillips was married for 40 years to Linda Ann Stewart, who died in 2001. He is survived by his three sons, four siblings and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and friends.

In his final days, family members say Phillips asked those around him to show love.

“He hoped people would put their differences aside and just love each other,” Scott Phillips said."

Source:
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/07/29/penobscot-elder-butch-phillips-dies-at-85/

Archived version:
https://archive.md/Dmby4

#Penobscot #PenobscotElder #MaineSettlementAct #WaterIsLife #PenobscotRiver #WaterKeeper #NativeAmericanArtist #CultureKeeper

#PenobscotNation #Elder ‘Butch’ Phillips dies at 85

A celebrated #CultureBearer and artist, Reuben Elliot 'Butch' Phillips also was part of the team that negotiated the #Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980.

Reuben M. Schafir, July 29, 2025

"Reuben Elliot “Butch” Phillips, a Penobscot elder, artist, culture-bearer and the former lieutenant governor of the tribe, died Sunday at the age of 85.
Phillips was a leader within his tribe, an accomplished birch bark artist known for crafting moose calls adorned with intricate etchings, an athlete and a masterful hunter.

Scott Phillips, one of the elder Phillips’ three sons, said his father was a “very patient, very soulful” hunter who successfully hunted moose until just two years ago.

Phillips was often called upon to perform ceremonies and lead prayers at events. He cherished his role as a tribal elder, family members said, and was a living advocate for Penobscot traditions.

“He was a proponent of the Penobscot Nation,” Scott Phillips said. “All the traditions and customs, he wanted to keep that going for future generations, and he tried to pass a lot of that knowledge on to me and my brothers, his grandchildren and the people of the nation.”

“He never opened a ceremony without recalling the ancestors and ensuring that we honored them in our daily lives,” said #BarryDana, Phillips’ nephew and former two-term chief of the Penobscot Nation. “When you’re an elder and you preserve a value, you repeat it as early and as often as needed, and he didn’t hesitate to repeat it all the time. And now he’s an ancestor.”

#MaulianBryant, Dana’s daughter, recalled her great-uncle as well-spoken, diplomatic and warm, yet stalwart in his convictions. Known for his impeccable presentation, Bryant said he sported a neatly combed coif of dark hair well into old age and was often present at tribal ceremonies in full regalia.

Phillips was born May 7, 1940, and grew up on Indian Island, the seat of the Penobscot Nation’s government. He served in the U.S. Army and had a lengthy career in telecommunications, in addition to the various positions he held within the Penobscot Nation and associated causes, according to an obituary written by his family. He served as lieutenant governor, a position now known as vice chief, of the Penobscot Nation from 1992 to 1994. He lived in his later years on Penobscot ancestral homelands known today as Milford, across the river from the tribe’s headquarters.

In the 1970s, Philips was one of the Penobscot representatives on the team that negotiated the Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement of 1980. The legislation was viewed by many at the time as the only way for tribes to secure limited compensation for stolen land. It also subjected tribal nations to state government control and excepted them from the sovereignty all other federally recognized tribes have.

The law was a divisive topic internally among tribal members during negotiations. Its impacts have shaped the work of Dana and Bryant, who served as Penobscot tribal ambassador before she became executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance in January 2025. Bryant’s work today is largely dedicated to unraveling many of the restrictions imposed by the settlement act. Conversations with her great-uncle caused her to shift her thinking of the law and of the negotiators who partook in its crafting.

“I never wanted those tribal leaders to feel ashamed or that they did a bad thing, because it was a historic thing and there were good things for the tribe and they were between a rock and a hard place,” she said. “I really credit him with me shifting my approach to the whole thing and seeing it in a wholesale way and just remembering the humanity of everyone involved.”

Dana and Phillips never spoke of the negotiations outside of a single town-hall meeting — but Dana said he knew his uncle was fully behind him when he went head-to-head with the state on several occasions.

By working on the negotiating team, Phillips was fulfilling a duty asked of him by his government, said John Dieffenbacher-Krall, the former executive director of the Wabanki Alliance.

“There can be no greater example of citizenship,” he said.

Phillips was also an outspoken advocate of the #PenobscotRiver restoration.
“My generation, we saw the Penobscot River at its worst. It was like an open sewer,” he told #WERU Community Radio and #SunlightMediaCollective in 2018. “And as children, it really didn’t mean too much to us. We still swam in it, we still ate the fish, we still canoed in it and so forth. But I also witnessed the cleansing of the river.”

He was part of a group in 2002 that built the first birch bark canoe on Indian Island in 60 years and helped paddle the boat up the Penobscot River to Katahdin.
Butch Phillips at his Milford home in 1997. (John Ewing/Staff Photographer)
“It was a really strong moment in the revitalization of our culture,” Dana said.
Phillips was married for 40 years to Linda Ann Stewart, who died in 2001. He is survived by his three sons, four siblings and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and friends.

In his final days, family members say Phillips asked those around him to show love.

“He hoped people would put their differences aside and just love each other,” Scott Phillips said."

Source:
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/07/29/penobscot-elder-butch-phillips-dies-at-85/

Archived version:
https://archive.md/Dmby4

#Penobscot #PenobscotElder #MaineSettlementAct #WaterIsLife #PenobscotRiver #WaterKeeper #NativeAmericanArtist #CultureKeeper

#PenobscotNation #Elder ‘Butch’ Phillips dies at 85

A celebrated #CultureBearer and artist, Reuben Elliot 'Butch' Phillips also was part of the team that negotiated the #Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980.

Reuben M. Schafir, July 29, 2025

"Reuben Elliot “Butch” Phillips, a Penobscot elder, artist, culture-bearer and the former lieutenant governor of the tribe, died Sunday at the age of 85.
Phillips was a leader within his tribe, an accomplished birch bark artist known for crafting moose calls adorned with intricate etchings, an athlete and a masterful hunter.

Scott Phillips, one of the elder Phillips’ three sons, said his father was a “very patient, very soulful” hunter who successfully hunted moose until just two years ago.

Phillips was often called upon to perform ceremonies and lead prayers at events. He cherished his role as a tribal elder, family members said, and was a living advocate for Penobscot traditions.

“He was a proponent of the Penobscot Nation,” Scott Phillips said. “All the traditions and customs, he wanted to keep that going for future generations, and he tried to pass a lot of that knowledge on to me and my brothers, his grandchildren and the people of the nation.”

“He never opened a ceremony without recalling the ancestors and ensuring that we honored them in our daily lives,” said #BarryDana, Phillips’ nephew and former two-term chief of the Penobscot Nation. “When you’re an elder and you preserve a value, you repeat it as early and as often as needed, and he didn’t hesitate to repeat it all the time. And now he’s an ancestor.”

#MaulianBryant, Dana’s daughter, recalled her great-uncle as well-spoken, diplomatic and warm, yet stalwart in his convictions. Known for his impeccable presentation, Bryant said he sported a neatly combed coif of dark hair well into old age and was often present at tribal ceremonies in full regalia.

Phillips was born May 7, 1940, and grew up on Indian Island, the seat of the Penobscot Nation’s government. He served in the U.S. Army and had a lengthy career in telecommunications, in addition to the various positions he held within the Penobscot Nation and associated causes, according to an obituary written by his family. He served as lieutenant governor, a position now known as vice chief, of the Penobscot Nation from 1992 to 1994. He lived in his later years on Penobscot ancestral homelands known today as Milford, across the river from the tribe’s headquarters.

In the 1970s, Philips was one of the Penobscot representatives on the team that negotiated the Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement of 1980. The legislation was viewed by many at the time as the only way for tribes to secure limited compensation for stolen land. It also subjected tribal nations to state government control and excepted them from the sovereignty all other federally recognized tribes have.

The law was a divisive topic internally among tribal members during negotiations. Its impacts have shaped the work of Dana and Bryant, who served as Penobscot tribal ambassador before she became executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance in January 2025. Bryant’s work today is largely dedicated to unraveling many of the restrictions imposed by the settlement act. Conversations with her great-uncle caused her to shift her thinking of the law and of the negotiators who partook in its crafting.

“I never wanted those tribal leaders to feel ashamed or that they did a bad thing, because it was a historic thing and there were good things for the tribe and they were between a rock and a hard place,” she said. “I really credit him with me shifting my approach to the whole thing and seeing it in a wholesale way and just remembering the humanity of everyone involved.”

Dana and Phillips never spoke of the negotiations outside of a single town-hall meeting — but Dana said he knew his uncle was fully behind him when he went head-to-head with the state on several occasions.

By working on the negotiating team, Phillips was fulfilling a duty asked of him by his government, said John Dieffenbacher-Krall, the former executive director of the Wabanki Alliance.

“There can be no greater example of citizenship,” he said.

Phillips was also an outspoken advocate of the #PenobscotRiver restoration.
“My generation, we saw the Penobscot River at its worst. It was like an open sewer,” he told #WERU Community Radio and #SunlightMediaCollective in 2018. “And as children, it really didn’t mean too much to us. We still swam in it, we still ate the fish, we still canoed in it and so forth. But I also witnessed the cleansing of the river.”

He was part of a group in 2002 that built the first birch bark canoe on Indian Island in 60 years and helped paddle the boat up the Penobscot River to Katahdin.
Butch Phillips at his Milford home in 1997. (John Ewing/Staff Photographer)
“It was a really strong moment in the revitalization of our culture,” Dana said.
Phillips was married for 40 years to Linda Ann Stewart, who died in 2001. He is survived by his three sons, four siblings and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and friends.

In his final days, family members say Phillips asked those around him to show love.

“He hoped people would put their differences aside and just love each other,” Scott Phillips said."

Source:
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/07/29/penobscot-elder-butch-phillips-dies-at-85/

Archived version:
https://archive.md/Dmby4

#Penobscot #PenobscotElder #MaineSettlementAct #WaterIsLife #PenobscotRiver #WaterKeeper #NativeAmericanArtist #CultureKeeper

#PenobscotNation #Elder ‘Butch’ Phillips dies at 85

A celebrated #CultureBearer and artist, Reuben Elliot 'Butch' Phillips also was part of the team that negotiated the #Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980.

Reuben M. Schafir, July 29, 2025

"Reuben Elliot “Butch” Phillips, a Penobscot elder, artist, culture-bearer and the former lieutenant governor of the tribe, died Sunday at the age of 85.
Phillips was a leader within his tribe, an accomplished birch bark artist known for crafting moose calls adorned with intricate etchings, an athlete and a masterful hunter.

Scott Phillips, one of the elder Phillips’ three sons, said his father was a “very patient, very soulful” hunter who successfully hunted moose until just two years ago.

Phillips was often called upon to perform ceremonies and lead prayers at events. He cherished his role as a tribal elder, family members said, and was a living advocate for Penobscot traditions.

“He was a proponent of the Penobscot Nation,” Scott Phillips said. “All the traditions and customs, he wanted to keep that going for future generations, and he tried to pass a lot of that knowledge on to me and my brothers, his grandchildren and the people of the nation.”

“He never opened a ceremony without recalling the ancestors and ensuring that we honored them in our daily lives,” said #BarryDana, Phillips’ nephew and former two-term chief of the Penobscot Nation. “When you’re an elder and you preserve a value, you repeat it as early and as often as needed, and he didn’t hesitate to repeat it all the time. And now he’s an ancestor.”

#MaulianBryant, Dana’s daughter, recalled her great-uncle as well-spoken, diplomatic and warm, yet stalwart in his convictions. Known for his impeccable presentation, Bryant said he sported a neatly combed coif of dark hair well into old age and was often present at tribal ceremonies in full regalia.

Phillips was born May 7, 1940, and grew up on Indian Island, the seat of the Penobscot Nation’s government. He served in the U.S. Army and had a lengthy career in telecommunications, in addition to the various positions he held within the Penobscot Nation and associated causes, according to an obituary written by his family. He served as lieutenant governor, a position now known as vice chief, of the Penobscot Nation from 1992 to 1994. He lived in his later years on Penobscot ancestral homelands known today as Milford, across the river from the tribe’s headquarters.

In the 1970s, Philips was one of the Penobscot representatives on the team that negotiated the Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement of 1980. The legislation was viewed by many at the time as the only way for tribes to secure limited compensation for stolen land. It also subjected tribal nations to state government control and excepted them from the sovereignty all other federally recognized tribes have.

The law was a divisive topic internally among tribal members during negotiations. Its impacts have shaped the work of Dana and Bryant, who served as Penobscot tribal ambassador before she became executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance in January 2025. Bryant’s work today is largely dedicated to unraveling many of the restrictions imposed by the settlement act. Conversations with her great-uncle caused her to shift her thinking of the law and of the negotiators who partook in its crafting.

“I never wanted those tribal leaders to feel ashamed or that they did a bad thing, because it was a historic thing and there were good things for the tribe and they were between a rock and a hard place,” she said. “I really credit him with me shifting my approach to the whole thing and seeing it in a wholesale way and just remembering the humanity of everyone involved.”

Dana and Phillips never spoke of the negotiations outside of a single town-hall meeting — but Dana said he knew his uncle was fully behind him when he went head-to-head with the state on several occasions.

By working on the negotiating team, Phillips was fulfilling a duty asked of him by his government, said John Dieffenbacher-Krall, the former executive director of the Wabanki Alliance.

“There can be no greater example of citizenship,” he said.

Phillips was also an outspoken advocate of the #PenobscotRiver restoration.
“My generation, we saw the Penobscot River at its worst. It was like an open sewer,” he told #WERU Community Radio and #SunlightMediaCollective in 2018. “And as children, it really didn’t mean too much to us. We still swam in it, we still ate the fish, we still canoed in it and so forth. But I also witnessed the cleansing of the river.”

He was part of a group in 2002 that built the first birch bark canoe on Indian Island in 60 years and helped paddle the boat up the Penobscot River to Katahdin.
Butch Phillips at his Milford home in 1997. (John Ewing/Staff Photographer)
“It was a really strong moment in the revitalization of our culture,” Dana said.
Phillips was married for 40 years to Linda Ann Stewart, who died in 2001. He is survived by his three sons, four siblings and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and friends.

In his final days, family members say Phillips asked those around him to show love.

“He hoped people would put their differences aside and just love each other,” Scott Phillips said."

Source:
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/07/29/penobscot-elder-butch-phillips-dies-at-85/

Archived version:
https://archive.md/Dmby4

#Penobscot #PenobscotElder #MaineSettlementAct #WaterIsLife #PenobscotRiver #WaterKeeper #NativeAmericanArtist #CultureKeeper

[Note: This event has passed. Reposting so folks know who Dwayne Tomah is].

#Wabanaki Voices: Their Stories, Their Art

Friday, August 1, 2025
6:00 to 9:30 PM
Camden Hills State Park
280 Belfast Road #CamdenME 04843 / (207) 236-0849

The Wabanaki Presenters:
Dr. #DwayneTomah — #Passamaquoddy language keeper
#LaurenStevens—Passamagquoddy singer & writer/poet
#IsaacSyliboy—#Mikmaq & Passamaquoddy dancer & singer
#RichardSilliboy—Mi'kmaq basket maker
#JanPaul — #Penobscot storyteller & education specialist

"Experience an evening of Wabanaki art, dance, song, history, and culture.
Each presenter will share their expertise, followed by a short Q&A session.

One night only! Don't miss it.

Be sure to bring a lawn chair or blanket and a picnic with you. All ages are welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Cost: Programs are free with park admission. Day use: $1.00 ages 5-11, $4.00 Maine residents age 12-64, $6.00 non residents age 12-64, $2.00 non residents 65+; persons under 5 & Maine residents 65+ free

Sponsored by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.

#MaineEvents #Maine #WabanakiNations #WabanakiConfederancy #PreservingCulture #NativeAmericanArt #NativeAmericanStorytelling #NativeAmericanPoetry #PreservingLanguage #NativeAmericans #MaineFirstNations

[Note: This event has passed. Reposting so folks know who Dwayne Tomah is].

#Wabanaki Voices: Their Stories, Their Art

Friday, August 1, 2025
6:00 to 9:30 PM
Camden Hills State Park
280 Belfast Road #CamdenME 04843 / (207) 236-0849

The Wabanaki Presenters:
Dr. #DwayneTomah — #Passamaquoddy language keeper
#LaurenStevens—Passamagquoddy singer & writer/poet
#IsaacSyliboy—#Mikmaq & Passamaquoddy dancer & singer
#RichardSilliboy—Mi'kmaq basket maker
#JanPaul — #Penobscot storyteller & education specialist

"Experience an evening of Wabanaki art, dance, song, history, and culture.
Each presenter will share their expertise, followed by a short Q&A session.

One night only! Don't miss it.

Be sure to bring a lawn chair or blanket and a picnic with you. All ages are welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Cost: Programs are free with park admission. Day use: $1.00 ages 5-11, $4.00 Maine residents age 12-64, $6.00 non residents age 12-64, $2.00 non residents 65+; persons under 5 & Maine residents 65+ free

Sponsored by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.

#MaineEvents #Maine #WabanakiNations #WabanakiConfederancy #PreservingCulture #NativeAmericanArt #NativeAmericanStorytelling #NativeAmericanPoetry #PreservingLanguage #NativeAmericans #MaineFirstNations

[Note: This event has passed. Reposting so folks know who Dwayne Tomah is].

#Wabanaki Voices: Their Stories, Their Art

Friday, August 1, 2025
6:00 to 9:30 PM
Camden Hills State Park
280 Belfast Road #CamdenME 04843 / (207) 236-0849

The Wabanaki Presenters:
Dr. #DwayneTomah — #Passamaquoddy language keeper
#LaurenStevens—Passamagquoddy singer & writer/poet
#IsaacSyliboy—#Mikmaq & Passamaquoddy dancer & singer
#RichardSilliboy—Mi'kmaq basket maker
#JanPaul — #Penobscot storyteller & education specialist

"Experience an evening of Wabanaki art, dance, song, history, and culture.
Each presenter will share their expertise, followed by a short Q&A session.

One night only! Don't miss it.

Be sure to bring a lawn chair or blanket and a picnic with you. All ages are welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Cost: Programs are free with park admission. Day use: $1.00 ages 5-11, $4.00 Maine residents age 12-64, $6.00 non residents age 12-64, $2.00 non residents 65+; persons under 5 & Maine residents 65+ free

Sponsored by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.

#MaineEvents #Maine #WabanakiNations #WabanakiConfederancy #PreservingCulture #NativeAmericanArt #NativeAmericanStorytelling #NativeAmericanPoetry #PreservingLanguage #NativeAmericans #MaineFirstNations

[Note: This event has passed. Reposting so folks know who Dwayne Tomah is].

#Wabanaki Voices: Their Stories, Their Art

Friday, August 1, 2025
6:00 to 9:30 PM
Camden Hills State Park
280 Belfast Road #CamdenME 04843 / (207) 236-0849

The Wabanaki Presenters:
Dr. #DwayneTomah — #Passamaquoddy language keeper
#LaurenStevens—Passamagquoddy singer & writer/poet
#IsaacSyliboy—#Mikmaq & Passamaquoddy dancer & singer
#RichardSilliboy—Mi'kmaq basket maker
#JanPaul — #Penobscot storyteller & education specialist

"Experience an evening of Wabanaki art, dance, song, history, and culture.
Each presenter will share their expertise, followed by a short Q&A session.

One night only! Don't miss it.

Be sure to bring a lawn chair or blanket and a picnic with you. All ages are welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Cost: Programs are free with park admission. Day use: $1.00 ages 5-11, $4.00 Maine residents age 12-64, $6.00 non residents age 12-64, $2.00 non residents 65+; persons under 5 & Maine residents 65+ free

Sponsored by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.

#MaineEvents #Maine #WabanakiNations #WabanakiConfederancy #PreservingCulture #NativeAmericanArt #NativeAmericanStorytelling #NativeAmericanPoetry #PreservingLanguage #NativeAmericans #MaineFirstNations