MAINE PUBLIC • October 30, 2020
The Penobscot Nation is celebrating the historic return of 735 acres by the Elliotsville Foundation. The parcel, which was once part of the Penobscots’ ancestral territory, is home to native brook trout, Atlantic salmon, deer and moose. It’s located to the west of the Pleasant River and the town of Brownsville. In a written statement, the tribe’s Natural Resources Director John Banks called it “sacred ground” because of its role in providing sustenance for many tribal families. “It’s surrounded by Penobscot land and so it made a lot of sense for continuity and also for larger reasons to give land back to the tribe,” says Lucas St. Clair of the Elliotsville Foundation.