BDN map project reveals influence of Penobscots

Centuries ago, when ancestors of the Penobscot Indian Nation trekked across the ground that was to become Maine, they gave names to areas based on characteristics or resources of the land and based on Wabanaki legends passed down orally generation after generation.

All around Maine there are locales, mountains, streams and rivers with American Indian names, including the Penobscot River, Nesowadnehunk Falls and Katahdin, all with connections to the Penobscot Nation and its almost forgotten language.

“Place names are windows into the past,” Penobscot Nation tribal historian James Eric Francis Sr. said Monday.

One way to preserve the tribe’s history is by telling the story behind how the place names were created, and to accomplish this goal, the Penobscot Nation joined with the Bangor Daily News to create “Naming Places the Penobscot Way,” a special color insert scheduled for this weekend’s paper.

The insert is the result of several months of collaborative research done by Francis, who has studied place names for 15 years, and others from the Penobscot Nation working hand in hand with Bangor Daily News reporter Aimee Dolloff, who covers the Old Town region, including Indian Island, photojournalist Gabor Degre and graphics editor Eric Zelz.

Members of the group traveled by canoe to some of the waterways listed on the map, and along the way, Francis and former Penobscot Chief Barry Dana told stories about how the Penobscots traversed the area and pointed out landmarks that have been used for centuries to guide the way.

“The Penobscot place names really do have a significant meaning to the people who use this land, not only as a place to live but as a way of life,” Dolloff said. “And getting out on the water, … it really does make sense when you are in these places and hear the stories.”

The idea for the map insert came from a presentation in February about the history of the Penobscot Nation at Orono’s bicentennial celebration, given by Penobscot Chief James Sappier and Francis, that was attended by Mark Woodward, Bangor Daily News executive editor.

“I thought, ‘This is fascinating,'” Woodward said Monday, referring to the February presentation.

Unlike Europeans and North Americans who typically name places after people, places or things, “the tribes use poetic place names that are descriptive,” he said.

The four-page layout for Saturday’s insert includes a map that depicts from Katahdin south to the Maine coast and lists each individualized spot with its Anglicized name – the name it’s known by – its Penobscot name, if different, and what it means when translated.

A Penobscot Nation pronunciation guide is included, and it lists the 25 sounds for each of the letters in the Penobscot alphabet, a key tool to keeping the almost-lost language alive, Francis said.

There was a time when speaking the native language was frowned on in parochial schools in the state, but Francis and others are working to revive its use, including using Penobscot words with local schoolchildren.

In 2001, the Legislature passed a bill requiring teachers to include American Indian cultures in their curriculum, and a grant associated with the bill is paying for a portion of research.

“It’s been a collaborative project between the Bangor Daily News and Penobscot Nation, and we’re partnering with Channel 2 [WLBZ] to get it out to the public,” Dolloff said. “It’s also part of our Newspapers in Education program and will be used by teachers throughout the state.”

Doing the research, Dolloff found herself impressed with the richness of the Penobscot heritage and the tribe’s ties to the waterways of the state.

“Another important piece [of the project] is preservation and how they’re working to preserve their traditions and culture,” the reporter said. “It’s been a fascinating project to work on.

“I’ve learned a lot and am excited about sharing the information with our readers,” she said.