Native American tribes
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Native American tribes
Learn about American Indian craft
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Penobscot Tribe
How do you pronounce "Penobscot?" What does it mean?Where do the Penobscot Indians live?How is the Penobscot tribe organized?What language do Penobscot Indians speak?What was Penobscot Indian culture like in the past? What is it like now? Penobscot flag | Here's a brief history of the Penobscot tribe by children at the tribal school. You could also visit the tribal homepage to learn about Penobscot life in Maine today. |
How do Penobscot Indian children live and what did they do in the past? Penobscot toy | They do the same things all children do--play with each other, go to school and help around the house. Many Penobscot children go hunting and fishing with their fathers, and some like to paddle canoes. In the past, Indian kids had more chores and less time to play, like early colonial children. But they did have toys and games like this one, corn husk dolls, and child-sized bows and arrows. Here's a Penobscot dice game which you can try playing yourself! Like many Native Americans, Penobscot mothers carried their babies in cradleboards on their backs--a custom which many American parents have adopted now. |
What were Penobscot men and women's roles?What were Penobscot homes like? Penobscot wigwam |
The Penobscots didn't live in tepees. They lived in small birchbark houses called wigwams.
Here are more pictures of American Indian homes like
the ones Penobscot Indians used.
In the winter, each Penobscot family would leave their
village to go to their own winter hunting grounds. In the springtime, all the Penobscot families returned to their villages again.
Today, American Indians only build a wigwam for fun or to connect with their heritage. Most Penobscot Indian people live in modern houses and apartment buildings, just like you. |
What was Penobscot clothing like? Did they wear feather headdresses and face paint? Penobscot girl  Moccasins |
Penobscot women wore long dresses with removable sleeves, and men wore breechcloths with leggings.
In colonial times, the Penobscots adapted European costume such as cloth blouses and jackets, decorating them
with fancy beadwork. Penobscot Indians also wore cloaks with pointed hoods,
moccasins on their feet, and nose rings.
Here are more pictures of Penobscot clothing styles,
and some photographs and links about traditional Indian clothes in general.
The Penobscots didn't wear long warbonnets like the Sioux. Some Penobscot chiefs wore a tall headdress, but most Penobscots wore a pointed cap or a headband with a feather in it. They did not paint their faces. Penobscot women wore their hair loose or braided on top of their heads, and men sometimes put their long hair in topknots. Some Penobscot people today have a traditional cloak or moccasins, but they wear modern clothes like jeans instead of breechcloths... and they only wear feathers in their hair on special occasions like a dance. |
What did Penobscot Indians use for transportation in the days before cars? Did they
paddle canoes? Penobscot canoe |
Yes--the Penobscot tribe was well-known for their birchbark canoes.
Penobscots still enjoy canoeing, though few people handcraft a canoe from
birch bark anymore. Over land, the Penobscots used dogs as pack animals.
(There were no horses in North America until colonists brought them over from Europe.)
The Penobscots used sleds and snowshoes to help them travel in the
winter--they learned to make those tools from northern neighbors like the
Cree Indians.
Today, of course, Penobscot people also use cars... and non-native people also use canoes. |
 Penobscot war club |
What did Penobscot Indians eat in the days before supermarkets? They fished in the Penobscot River and hunted deer and moose. Penobscots still cherish these activities today (though most hunters use guns now instead of arrows and spears.) Penobscot Indians also planted corn and beans, picked berries, and made maple syrup from tree sap just as Maine people do today. What kinds of weapons did the Penobscots use?Penobscot hunters and warriors used bows and arrows, spears, and heavy wooden clubs. Penobscot fishermen used special pronged fishing spears and nets, not fishhooks. |
What are Penobscot arts and crafts like?  Penobscot basket |
Penobscot Indian artists are best known for their quillwork,
beadwork,
and basket-weaving. Penobscot baskets were
originally made from birchbark, but over the past 200 years ash splint basketry has become more popular with Penobscot artists.
Here is a website of Penobscot basket photographs.
Like other eastern American Indians, Penobscots also crafted wampum out of white and purple shell beads. Wampum beads were traded as a kind of currency, but they were more culturally important as an art material. The designs and pictures on wampum belts often told a story or represented a person's family. |
What other Native Americans did the Penobscot tribe interact with?What kinds of stories do the Penobscot Indians tell?Who are some famous Penobscot Indians? Louis Sockalexis  Molly Molasses |
Louis Sockalexis, the first American Indian major league baseball player, was Penobscot. He was so strong he
could throw a baseball across the Penobscot River. He had a remarkable season for the Cleveland Spiders
in 1897. Unfortunately, his career was short. The fans and other ballplayers teased Sockalexis all the time
because of his race. They would spit at him, call him names, and make fun of him with war whoops and tomahawk
chops. This was 50 years before Jackie Robinson became the first black player in the major leagues. Sockalexis
got very depressed from all the teasing and began to drink too much, destroying a promising career. The
Cleveland Spiders changed their name to the Cleveland Indians after a while. Their red cartoon
mascot is
supposedly a tribute to Sockalexis, but it doesn't look like him. His family, and the Penobscot
Nation, don't like that mascot. They think it is racist and insulting.
Another famous Penobscot Indian was Molly Molasses, a 19th century medicine woman. Here's a story and a painting about her. |
What problems does the Penobscot tribe face today?What about Penobscot religion?Can you recommend a good book for me to read?How do I cite your website in my bibliography?
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