March 19, 2024

The Penobscot: Ancestral River, Contested Territory

THE PENOBSCOT: Ancestral River, Contested Territory traverses the landscape of deal-making and deal-breaking that has largely defined tribal-state relations in Maine. From the 1700’s to the present-day, the film emphasizes the Penobscot people’s centuries-long tradition of environmental stewardship, and outlines the current legal battle, PENOBSCOT NATION v. MILLS, which is a move to preserve Penobscot territory and maintain the inherent, treaty-reserved sustenance fishing rights of the Penobscot people in the Penobscot River. It tells the urgent story of an enduring struggle for justice and cultural survival in the face of an astonishingly open abuse of state power.

A Sunlight Media Collective Production
Original Music: Hawk Henries and Wabanaki Confederacy Drummers