The Penobscot Indians

by Adam This stamp shows members of the Penobscot Indians playing lacrosse. They liked to play this game in their free time. The sticks they used were made out of thin wood from a tree.

They used small pieces of string as the net of the stick. They did not have enough string for the goal, so they supposedly used two trees to throw the turtle shell or rock through the trees.

The Penobscot Indians were a Native American tribe who lived in an area of Massachusetts which is now known as Maine. They lived along the Penobscot River and called themselves "Panawampskik" which means "People of the Rocky River." They were mostly hunters, but they also liked to grow crops such as squash, berries, cherries, and corn. They hunted bear, moosed, wolf, deer, fish, lobsters, clams, and rabbits. The Penobscot lived in wigwams which were like houses, except they were made from sticks instead of bricks. This tribe worshipped animals, not gods. They believed that the animals were spirits that had turned themselves into animals and then let the tribe eat them. They also thought if they did not worship the spirits would get angry and never turn into animals again. They brought clam shells to the river and hoped the spirits would accept them.

The Penobscot had weapons like a deer slayer, which looked like a tomahawk. They also had knives they used for battles against other tribes or the French. Even though the Penobscot were always ready for battle, they were caught up in finding their food since they were trained hunters. They were among the first people to live in what is now the United States. They helped colonists as they settled here, and they fought with the colonists in the French and Indian War.