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The Penobscot Nation is an Indigenous group that has continuously occupied large stretches of land across Maine and eastern Canada for more than 10,000 years. Within the United States, the Penobscot are now concentrated within the Penobscot Reservation. The name “Penobscot” means “the people from where white rocks extend out” and references the Penobscot’s original territory along the Penobscot River. Historically a hunter-gatherer society, the Penobscot made use of their territory’s rich natural resources, hunting moose, beaver, otters, bears, caribou, fish, and other seafood and gathering eggs, berries, nuts, and plants. They moved seasonally, following the migratory patterns of the game they hunted. 

During the 16th century, the Penobscot made first contact with Europeans through the fur trade. Initially, the fur trade was lucrative for the Penobscot, and they were able to profit handsomely from their regional knowledge of hunting and trapping. The Europeans, however, brought disease and destruction to Penobscot communities and increasingly began to encroach on Penobscot lands. By the late 18th century, the Penobscot had ceded much of their territory to the United States and were forced into the small area that became the Penobscot Indian Reservation. During the 1970s, the Penobscot sued the US government, asserting that their land treaties violated the Nonintercourse Act.