Читать книгу Hike the Parks: Acadia National Park - Jeff Romano - Страница 24

Native Americans were the first people to call this land their home, arriving in Maine roughly twelve thousand years ago. Through the centuries these initial inhabitants of the region divided into four nations: the Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot. Together they are called the Wabanaki, which means “People of the Dawnland.” For centuries prior to the arrival of European explorers, the Wabanaki gathered food, raised families, and flourished on and around Mount Desert Island as well as throughout the area now known as Maine. Using birchbark canoes, they were able to travel the surrounding coastal waters to conduct trade and gather staples for life. At the same time, the Wabanaki formed a special, spiritual connection to this land—its mountains, the rising sun, the rivers and waters, and the rocky shoreline.