BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 9, 2023
Before many were replaced by English or French names, most places in what is now Maine had already been named by the original inhabitants of the land: the Wabanaki, or the People of the Dawn, who include today’s Penobscot Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Houlton Band of Maliseets and the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, or Mi’kmaq. There are still many Wabanaki names that dot the landscape of Maine, which is known as the Dawnland, though their meanings can be lost on most people as they climb Katahdin, vacation in Kennebunk, or drive over a bridge across the Kennebec River.