Entirely by hand ... From the ground up By Tom Hennessey Reprint courtesy of Bangor Daily News, and previously published Saturday/Sunday, September 22/23, 2007 In 2003, several members of the Penobscot Nation organized a program to perpetuate the ancestral art of making birch bark canoes. Read Tom Hennessay's article on the renewal of this traditional art form and effort to share the Penobscot heritage with current and future generations. Program participants offer a step-by-step account of the making of birch bark canoes using only hand tools, such as the crooked knife and drawshave, and materials gathered from nature.  READ MORE "You have to wonder about the ingenuity and artistry that produced this process, and how long it took to perfect it." - Butch Phillips, tribal elder POETRY by Paul Averill Liebow SALMON HOMING        SALMON HOMING II  Reflecting on the History of the Penobscot River Salmon Clubs The Atlantic Salmon Federation has played a leadership role in efforts to restore Atlantic salmon populations since 1948. Members of ASF serve as ardent supporters of restoration of the Penobscot River -- considered the last best hope for the return of self-sustaining populations of Atlantic salmon in the United States -- and the suite of sea-run fish species that are integral to restoring the watershed's natural ecosystem. ASF's Maine Coordinator John Burrows reflects on the history of the salmon clubs that have been an important part of the conservation history along the lower Penobscot River and continue to play a strong role as advocates for Atlantic salmon recovery. READ MORE A River Runs Through Us Penobscot tribal elder Butch Phillips shares the story of the Penobscot people and the history of the river in this compelling presentation. To download a PDF file, click on image; to request a printed copy, please contact us at info@penobscotriver.org. Photo by Bridget Besaw.  Penobscot Indian Nation and Bangor Daily News Team Up to Produce Historic Map In the September 23, 2006 issue of the Bangor Daily News, the newspaper and the Penobscot Indian Nation presented Naming Places the Penobscot Way, a two page insert of a map highlighting the meaning of place names throughout Maine, but with a particular focus along the Penobscot River, home of the Penobscot Indian Nation. Names of places in the Penobscot language appear alongside European names, and the Penobscot tribal culture is celebrated along with descriptive passages about cultural differences in how we've come to know places within our communities and in our travels across the state. You can now order a beautiful copy of the complete map through the Bangor Daily News, click here for a poster order form. Place Names Map 1     Place Names Map 2 Map image courtesy of Bangor Daily News. READ MORE  In Memory of Clem Fay On Sunday October 16, 2005, we lost a colleague, dear friend and champion of the Penobscot River, Clem Fay. Clem passed away while walking near the banks of the Penobscot with his beloved dog, Sydney.