How the Penobscots named the lands and waters around us

For the Penobscots, place names are a window into their past and a connection to the way their ancestors saw the land. The names offer geography-, resource- and legend-based descriptions of the land that have been passed on in a variety of ways over time. Place names in the Penobscot Valley and Bay region are rich in this history.

Unlike Europeans and Americans who customarily name places after people, places, or things, the Penobscots had three basic ways of naming a particular location.

Places were named for their geography, the resources that were found there, or based on legends that usually were passed down from generation to generation as part of the tribe’s strong oral tradition.

“Sometimes you have stories that are attached to places that don’t get into writing,” Penobscot Nation historian James Eric Francis Sr. said.

Many of the names given to Maine towns, rivers, lakes and streams that can be found on the map today have their roots in the Penobscot language.

For example, the Penobscot (Panawhpskek) River is named for the falls at Old Town where the dam is today. The name is similar to the traditional Penobscot language and means “the place where the rocks widen out or place of the white rock.”

Others include Kenduskeag (KKataskkihtrk) Stream, meaning “stream of the water parsnip,” and Passadumkeag (Pasitamkihtrk), which means “above the gravel bar.”

“It’s kind of like a GPS [global positioning system] language system, pinpointing exactly where they were along the river,” said Penobscot tribal member and former Chief Barry Dana. “People who know the names have a deeper appreciation for the state.”

The names let you know whether you’re on a small stream, lake, or even the ocean.

“I think it’s neat that the language really describes the land, the water, the location,” Dana said. “It really shows our connection.”

Francis also gave the example of Katahdin (Ktatrn), which means “large mountain.” Americans put the word “mount” in front of Katahdin, which Francis finds humorous because it is redundant. When translated, it is “mount large mountain.”

But for Francis, the names are more than just words.

“It becomes that window into the past of how my ancestors saw the landscape,” he said.

Francis believes that some of the names became Anglicized and were passed down by explorers, such as Henry David Thoreau, who used American Indians to guide them through the unfamiliar land.

In translation, the pronunciation has become slightly different and the spelling and phonetics were altered to fit the English language. Different explorers also wrote down the places differently, creating alternate spellings.

“The guides indicated the names of the places, and those were documented by people like Thoreau,” Francis said. “Many remain on the landscape today.”

Thoreau was guided by Penobscots Joe Polis and Joe Attean. Attean later would become the Penobscots’ first elected chief.

Some Anglicized words were changed to sound like their ancient spelling, while others were changed to reflect their meaning.

The name for the Stillwater River (Mskithtej) was derived from a word meaning “place where the water is still,” and today’s Anglicized name sounds nothing like the ancient Penobscot word, but is a description of the original meaning.

Millinocket also is named for its meaning – lake of various-shaped islands.

“Millinocket has nothing to do with the fact it’s got a mill there,” Francis said. “It’s actually named for the lake. If you look at Millinocket Lake, there’s actually dozens of islands of various shapes.”

The Penobscots did most of their traveling on the river during months when the water wasn’t covered with ice. But, as Francis explained, sometimes travel was easier in the winter because bogs and marshes were easier to cross if they were frozen.

Instead of using canoes, the Penobscots would snowshoe across the frozen landscape towing toboggans with supplies.

“The place names are there because they seem to be travel markers,” Francis said. “If you’re traveling on the [Penobscot] River, they seem to make a lot more sense.”