Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Native Americans have lived in Maine for thousands of years. Their story begins today and extends back, some say, to time immemorial. Much of their history is based on oral tradition.

Wabanaki oral tradition includes origin stories that tell how the People and the world came to be; it also includes stories, tales, and songs that define society and tell people how they should live. In the past, Native people used oral tradition, rather than the written word, to pass on traditional knowledge. Many of the stories were retold and written down in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, these transcripts provide a rich resource for Wabanaki storytellers to recreate and teach about traditional culture. Programs to perpetuate and rekindle Wabanaki languages rely on the power of traditional stories for teaching material. The stories build bridges between the past and present and provide a mechanism for cultural continuity.

Click on the corresponding links below to visit that specific section of the Timeline.

A New Dawn (Present - 1950)

Hard Times – The Survival of the People (1950 - 1800)

Resistance – Making War & Negotiating Peace (1796 - 1675)

Strangers in the Land – European Contact (1675 - 1500)

Time of Dawn (500 - 12,000 years ago)