Abenaki Now...ish

Maine was the last state in the union to allow Native Americans to vote in 1954. Even in the 1930’s when the Great Depression saw Indians losing their jobs and suffering the poverty among the rest of the nation, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidential election was a sign of hope. Roosevelt sought to remove the idea that Indians needed to assimilate to American culture in all ways, and instead pushed cultural pluralism, encouraging the white society to preserve their culture and language. State legislation however made it difficult for this new program to affect the Abenaki. Around 25,000 American Indians fought in World War II. In the 40’s and 50’s the federal government changed its mind and decided to pull out of the “Indian business” resulting in many tribes being either terminated or moved onto reservations. The civil rights movement of the 1960’s brought forth much pride among Native Americans and the slogan “Red pride” began to spread through the nation.

In 1980 Jimmy Carter signed an $81.5 million settlement for the Abenaki of the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot, attempting to make up for thousands of acres of land having been taken from them illegally.


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