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Contributing Institution
Maine State Archives
Document Type
Text
Exact Creation Date
1-26-1821
Language
English
Recommended Citation
"Petition of the Chiefs of the Penobscot tribe of Indians praying a law may be passed to prevent the destruction of fish in the Penobscot River" (1821). Choosing Survival: Wabanaki Documents at the Maine State Archives. 4.
https://digitalmaine.com/acr_choosing_survival/4
Rights Statement
No Copyright - United States. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information.
Description
After decades of American settlers building fish weirs and dams in the Penobscot River, anadromous fish such as Atlantic salmon, shad, and alewives could no longer ascend the river to spawn. In this 1821 petition, Penobscot leaders recalled that the formerly rich fishery no longer sustained their livelihood. The petitioners proposed a law that would prohibit additional weirs and limit Indian and non-Indian fishing to two days each week for five years to allow fish stocks to recover. Other Mainers also expressed concerns about the low fish numbers, but the Maine Legislature did not adopt the Penobscots’ specific proposal to restore this valuable ecosystem. [Description Text by Micah A. Pawling, Ph.D]