penobscot high stakes bingo indian island me

Their fatality rates from the introduction of measles, smallpox and other infectious diseases was high. The Europeans carried endemic infectious diseases of Eurasia to the Americas, and the Penobscot had no acquired immunity. Europeans may have slowly developed enzymes, metabolic processes, and social mechanisms for dealing with a normalized high intake of alcohol, but Penobscot people, though familiar with alcohol, had never had access to the gross quantity of alcohol that Europeans offered. When Europeans arrived, they brought alcohol in quantity. Penobscot people and other nations made pine beer, which had vitamin C in addition to being an alcoholic beverage, it had the benefit of allaying the onset of scurvy. It has been argued that the people are genetically vulnerable to alcoholism, a racist sentiment with no evidence which Europeans frequently tried to exploit in dealings and trade. Hunting for fur pelts reduced the game, however, and the European trade introduced alcohol to Penobscot communities for the first time. It was lucrative and the Penobscot were willing to trade pelts for European goods such as metal axes, guns, and copper or iron cookware. Portrait of Sarah Molasses, c.1886, daughter of John Neptune and Molly Molasses, collection of Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnologyĭuring the 16th century the Penobscot had contact with Europeans through the fur trade. The bands moved seasonally, following the patterns of game and fish. For the rest of the year, the Penobscot and other Wabanaki likely had little difficulty surviving because the land and ocean waters offered much bounty, and the number of people was sustainable. Food was potentially scarce only toward the end of the winter, in February and March.

The people practiced some agriculture but not to the same extent as that of Indigenous peoples in southern New England, where the climate was more temperate.

The women gathered and processed bird eggs, berries, nuts, and roots, all of which were found locally. They had a hunting-gathering society, with the men hunting beaver, otters, moose, bears, caribou, fish, seafood (clams, mussels, fish), birds, and possibly marine mammals such as seals. Indigenous peoples are thought to have inhabited Maine and surrounding areas for at least 11,000 years. Little is known about the Penobscot before their contact with European colonizers.

Penobscot high stakes bingo indian island me