Passamaquoddy Tribe
Indian Township, Maine
“The eels have been part of our traditions forever. We have them in our legends. We have all kinds of stories, thousands of years old.”
–Donald Soctomah, Passamaquoddy Elder & Historian
The American eel’s survival depends on migration. They’re born in saltwater, then migrate to freshwater rivers to mature, before returning to saltwater where they spawn and die. As eels made their way from inland streams in the spring, so too did the Passamaquoddy Tribe, who established seasonal harvesting grounds along the rocky coastlines of Northeast America to capture the eels. More than just a primary food source, the eel once shaped a way of life for generations.
But in the late 1700s, the Passamaquoddy were violently dispossessed of their ability to freely benefit from their lands. Backed by the newly formed United States, European settlers confined the Tribe to the Indian Township Reservation through force. The Tribe’s relationship to the eel was changed and a way of life for both human and animal, forever altered.
“The settlers have changed everything. So we have to adapt to survive.”
–Donald Soctomah, Passamaquoddy Elder & Historian
Much of the Passamaquoddy’s adaptation has taken the shape of continual struggle against the state of Maine and U.S. federal government. The Tribe remains unrecognized as a sovereign entity and their ability to fish their Native lands is restricted. Currently, the Tribe is only allowed to harvest and sell a strict seasonal quota of elvers. But to build a sustained economy around the eel, the Tribe needs expanded fishing rights and access to large sums of capital that would allow them to invest in the infrastructures necessary to participate in the entire eel production process. Traditional financial institutions almost exclusively lend to individuals who possess sole ownership over land and hold a variety of other assets, making it difficult for Tribes with collective ownership structures and limited assets to obtain loans.
Published 2024
