#penobscot — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #penobscot, aggregated by home.social.
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Hype for the Future 63U: Places to Stay in Camden, Maine
Introduction The Town of Camden is a surprisingly significant tourist draw located in Knox County, Maine, along the Penobscot Bay. Despite not having the typical services associated with resort communities across the nation, the community of Camden may be silently welcoming to the LGBTQIA+ community in many of the following lodging options: Places to Stay (Not an Exhaustive List) Elm Street / Main Street / U.S. Route 1 (South to North) Cedar Crest Inn Elms of Camden Blackberry […]https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2026/01/02/hype-for-the-future-63u-places-to-stay-in-camden-maine/
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Hype for the Future 63T: Towns of Camden and Rockport, Maine
Overview Both Camden and Rockport are located along the Penobscot Bay in the northern part of Knox County, Maine. However, most of the educational, academic, and historical facilities are located in the more southerly Town of Rockport while the more northerly Town of Camden is notable for more modern amenities and a historic urban core. The special-focus higher-education institution of the Maine Media Workshops and College is located within Rockland, along with the Camden-Rockport Historical […] -
#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
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#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
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[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) 236-0849The 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
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The final #APCAW presentation is Thursday, July 12th. #Penobscot #basketmaker and founding director of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, #TheresaSecord will be the guest speaker.
APCAW was kind enough to provide me with a link to last week's video and a PDF guide from the conference. I will be looking through the guide and will post about some of the key points at a later date.
Even though the conference is free, pre-registration is required.
To register:
https://maineaudubon.org/events/everything-ash-webinar-series-june12/Link to June 5th presentation video (including the bit I missed with #RichardSilliboy):
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/n63rnkAomz4AitHdAfBRC1hbSMCS2fuFUrQ7HU2UfP5gmrJiXoLREHE5UePF9EWU.TQktDNJCVGQMJjfu#EmeraldAshBorer #AshTrees #TraditionalEcologicalKnowledge #NativeAmericanBasketry #Sustainability #IndigenousStewardship #CulturalPreservation #InvasiveSpecies #EAG #PreservingNature #Biodiversity #TEK #TIK #TraditionalIndigenousKnowledge #Basketry #PreservingTheSacred #PreservingTheForest #WabanakiConfederacy
#Wabanakik #WabanakiAlliance #MaineFirstNations #MaineWoods #TraditionalEcologicalKnowledgeStewards -
#PenobscotNation and #ConservationLawFoundation appeal to stop #JuniperRidgeLandfill expansion
Maine Public | By Carol Bousquet
Published November 13, 2024"The Penobscot Nation and Conservation Law Foundation have filed an appeal in Superior Court to stop the expansion of the Juniper Ridge Landfill in #OldTownMaine.
"In October the state concluded that the expansion was in the public's interest and set several conditions that #Casella Waste Management must meet to move forward with the project.
"Alexandra St. Pierre of the Conservation Law Foundation said the expansion runs contrary to the state's waste management goals, which prioritize reduction of waste volume and using #landfills.
"'Our goal here is to ensure that the decision is consistent with environmental justice and with the solid waste hierarchy as the law requires,' St. Pierre said.
"The Penobscot Nation and #CLF said that in its finding, the state failed to guarantee the safety of residents and the #environment.
"They argue that harmful exposure to #PFAS in the landfill's #leachate, #AirPollution and contamination of the #PenobscotRiver will all increase.
"'And we're really hoping we'll get adequate consideration for the issues that we raised and that the people actually themselves are considered and that #EnvironmentalJustice is implemented,' St. Pierre said.
"The DEP said it is unable to comment on pending litigation."
#MaineDEP #WabanakiConfederacy #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #EnvironmentalRacism #IndianIsland #Penobscot #MaineEnvironmentalNews #Maine