The "disappearance" of the Abenaki in western Maine: political organization and ethnocentric assumptions.

Most historians have maintained that the Abenakis of western Maine permanently migrated away from the area after the 1720s despite abundant evidence to the contrary from official documents, local histories and oral traditions. Evidence suggests that the Abenakis had simply split into family bands residing in camps. However, colonial leaders and historians only recognized political organization at the tribal level and residence in villages. Therefore, they assumed that the family bands must have resided elsewhere, coming to western Maine only temporarily to hunt.

Prior to the 1980s, most ...

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