Downeast Maine NHA_Feasibility Study 2022 | Page 74

Jean-Baptist Louis Franquelin ' s " Carte our servir a l ' eclaircissement du Papier Terrier de la Nouvelle-France ," 1678 , MNC 17393 , National Archives of Canada , original at Bibliotheque Nationale , Paris , Francis , SH PF 125 , div . 1 , no 1 .
Collections of Maine Historical Society
Courtesy of Donald Soctomah
A Gathering Place - Peskotomuhkatik
The homeland of the Passamaquoddy People
Peskotomuhkat Passamaquoddy person , one who spears pollock
The Passamaquoddy have been here for thousands of years . This place , and their way of life , is special to them .
Kehsamqahk-al kis kehsikotokil , yut iyuss peskotomuhkat ; kinuwikon yut eyultihtits nit-ona kinuwikon eli-pomawsultihtits .
Machias Bay has always been a good place to live . Passamaquoddy people hunted on the land , fished the waters , and collected shellfish from the shores . They returned
oqiton canoe
every year for the abundant food resources , following convenient canoe travel routes .
Beginning in the 1500s , Basque , French , and English
fishermen , traders , explorers , missionaries , and settlers were
drawn to the region ’ s rich resources . The Passamaquoddy and
their Wabanaki neighbors ( the Abenaki , Penobscot , Maliseet , and
Mi ’ kmaq ) faced new challenges
and formed new relationships
across cultures .
Thousands of Passamaquoddy people died
in the centuries following the arrival of Europeans ,
astuwi coming into contact
the result of violence , disease , and the colonial taking
of their land and resources . The Passamaquoddy were resilient
and formed alliances with the French and English settlers . They
found new ways to live in a rapidly changing world .
The Passamaquoddy people are still building and paddling birchbark canoes .
Following the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet about 13,000 years ago , Passamaquoddy ancestors hunted the last of the Ice Age megafauna and followed herds of migrating caribou . As the environment changed , they adapted to life in the forests along the coast and waterways . By 3,000 years ago , Machias Bay looked much as it does today , and Passamaquoddy ancestors lived along its shores .
Today , Passamaquoddy People are still here , living in their homeland , speaking their language , carrying on their culture and traditions .
Original illustration by Stephanie Francis-Soctomah
The Passamaquoddy people living on Machias Bay were part of extensive social and trade networks . They paddled their canoes along well-traveled routes to neighboring communities across present-day New England and eastern Canada .
kekkom journey
Based on the Discovery Doctrine , first put forth by the Catholic Church in 1493 , the French and English assumed that their religion and government were superior to the religions and self-government of Native Americans . The Doctrine also claimed that non-Christian people could not own or have control over land and resources , and that Christian nations could claim these lands as they pleased .
Original illustration by Stephanie Francis-Soctomah
Petroglyphs
amalhuwikhasutik in , at , to place where petroglyphs are located
For thousands of years , Passamaquoddy and
other Wabanaki people created petroglyphs -
pecked stone images - on rock outcrops around
the bay . Machias Bay is home to perhaps the
largest concentration of petroglyphs on the east
coast of North America . The oldest are about
2500 years old , and they were still being created
when the first European ships arrived .
Understanding and protecting the petroglyphs
provides a foundation for collaboration between
the Passamaquoddy Tribe , MCHT , the Maine
Historic Preservation Commission , archaeologists ,
and the surrounding towns .
Petroglyphs are extremely fragile , and are easily
damaged by foot traffic . Because they are difficult
to find and vulnerable , we ask that you do not visit
the petroglyphs without a qualified
Passamaquoddy guide .
To arrange a visit , contact the Passamaquoddy Tribal
Historic Preservation Office , PO Box 159 , Princeton ,
Maine 04668 .
" A Gathering Place " is one of three panels at Long Point sharing stories of rich natural resources and the people who have been drawn here for generations .
Wabanaki trading and social networks extended across the territory depicted in this French map from 1678 .
esunke trade
To learn more about the Passamaquoddy people , you can visit the Waponahki Museum at Pleasant Point , the Passamaquoddy Cultural Heritage Museum at Indian Township , the Wabanaki Cultural Center and Museum in Calais , the Gallery of Maine History at the University of Maine at Machias , the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor , the Hudson Museum at the University of Maine , Orono , and the St . Croix Island International Site in Robbinston .
Francis Joseph Neptune , Passamaquoddy , created this map in 1798 , showing a canoe route between Whiting and Machias using the Orange River . Wabanaki travelers carried knowledge of canoe routes atonike extending from the Gulf of Maine to the portage St . Lawrence River and all points in between .
To view an enlarged version of this map , visit https :// www . mainememory . net / artifact / 10832 .
Maine Coast Heritage Trust , a statewide land conservation organization , thanks the Long Point Advisory Committee , the Machiasport Historical Society and the Passamaquoddy Historic Preservation Office for their help creating these panels .
“ A Gathering Place ” is one of three panels at Long Point sharing stories of rich natural resources and the people who have been drawn here for generations . To learn more about the Passamaquoddy people , visit the Waponahki Museum at Pleasant Point , the Passamaquoddy Cultural Heritage Museum at Indian Township , the Wabanaki Cultural Center and Museum in Calais , the Gallery of Maine History at the University of Maine at Machias , the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor , the Hudson Museum at the University of Maine , Orono , and the St . Croix Island International Site in Robbinston . These panels were made through a collaboration between Maine Coast Heritage Trust , a Passamaquoddy artist , the Long Point Advisory Committee , the Machiasport Historical Society and the Passamaquoddy Historic Preservation Office . Image courtesy of Maine Coast Heritage Trust .
Pangea eventually broke apart and separated into North America and Europe . What is known today as Downeast Maine , located at this split , was left perched at the eastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean , on the continent of North America . This activity forever influenced the geomorphology , ecology , and culture of the region .
Maine emerged from the last continental glacier as a treeless tundra that supported woolly mammoths and other large animals . Extensive inland waterways carved by glacial meltwater and the convoluted coastline provided an interconnected network of transportation routes extending from the Gulf of Maine to the St . Lawrence River . Nomadic Paleo Indians arrived in Downeast Maine 12,000 +/ - years ago . People lived in small groups and traveled across the landscape hunting migratory animals and gathering wild plants .
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