Passamaquoddy set to acquire petroglyph site in Machiasport

The Passamaquoddy Tribe is partnering with Maine Coast Heritage Trust to protect hundreds of petroglyphs -- designs pecked into the shale outcrops along Machias Bay made by ancestors of the Wabanaki people. At a meeting on August 29, the Passamaquoddy Joint Tribal Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution for the purchase of the Picture Rock property and a conservation easement for the Moose Snare property, both located in Machiasport.

The Picture Rock property, a nearly six-acre parcel, has been proposed for a subdivision development, and the tribe was concerned about possible loss of access to the property, says Donald Soctomah, the tribe's historic preservation officer. "Our goal is to protect the site from development because it is a special spot," he says. The Machiasport planning board has been considering a subdivision plan calling for four lots for the property.

The Tribal Historic Preservation Office has been working on protecting the site for the past three years. The purchase will be the second significant success for the office, as it previously negotiated the return to the tribe of a burial island in Big Lake from Domtar Industries. Soctomah notes that there was a grassroots effort to preserve the petroglyphs, with community members circulating petitions to have the location protected and have the tribe purchase it. He says that three-quarters of the eligible voters from both Passamaquoddy reservations signed the petitions and that the joint tribal council was also very supportive. Mark Altvater, the Passamaquoddy governor at Pleasant Point, comments, "It's our history and our culture." He adds that Soctomah "did a great job of spearheading this effort." Sipayik tribal councillor Hilda Lewis comments, "There's something spiritual about having been able to get this land. Land is so precious, especially where our ancestors worked and lived."

Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) has an option to purchase the site from Ann Gommers until October 1, according to Pat Watson, MCHT project manager. Once the site is purchased, the trust will turn the land over to the tribe. In exchange, the trust will receive a conservation easement on an approximately 300-acre parcel of land in Machiasport owned by the tribe that is used for growing blueberries and is known as the Moose Snare property. The easement will allow for forestry and continued agricultural use, such as blueberry production, but will not allow subdivisions or residential development.

"This is a win-win for us and the tribe," says Watson. "They can protect the site. It's considered a sacred site to the tribe, and we've been working on it for some time to help them."

Watson says the blueberry land, located on Little Kennebec Bay, has high ecological significance, and the trust has been working on protecting it for 20 years. It is located between two other easements that are held by MCHT and abuts Larrabee Heath, which is owned by The Nature Conservancy. With frontage on the water, it provides habitat for waterfowl, eagles and other birds. The property was used for the filming of the "Colonial House" series on PBS during the summer of 2003.

"We're really excited to be partnering with the tribe on a project that's good for conservation and their historic uses," Watson states.

Threats to survival of petroglyphs
Soctomah believes that the Machias Bay site is "the richest and oldest site" in the state. "We wanted to keep the land open for tribal people to go there. Petroglyphs are our recorded history. They cover the period from the first contact with Europeans, showing a ship and the church, to earlier ones that are 3,000 to 6,000 years old."

Michael Kimball, an assistant professor of anthropology, at the University of Maine at Machias (UMM), notes that the petroglyphs appear to be evidence of the Natives' experience with Europeans, since there is a drawing of what appears to be a 17th century ship and a Christian cross. Others show animals or human-like figures, while some are very abstract. The rock art tradition appeared to stop around 1700 and may have been driven underground by pressures ranging from disease and trade to other social issues.

Kimball and Bernie Vinzani, an associate professor of art at UMM, have been integrating the Machias Bay site into a class about petroglyphs and middens. They also have offered a week-long summer field course on exploring the petroglyphs. Among the topics discussed are the ethical practices for studying them. Kimball notes that threats to the petroglyphs include development, lack of education and environmental factors. Some have been damaged by people chiseling into the rock or by other acts of vandalism. Walking on the rocks with heavy soled boots can damage them, as they are very fragile. Environmental impacts include the slow erosive effect from water and the tides, the freezing and thawing cycle and possibly acid rain. "We're looking for ways to further educate people about how they are endangered and their meaning," says Kimball.

Rising sea levels caused by climate changes are also an issue, since the petroglyphs are slowly being covered under water. Because the sea level change is greater in this area than farther down the coast, petroglyphs that are 5,000 years old can still be seen in southern Maine, while Downeast they are now under the sea. Kimball notes that as one walks up from the low-tide mark one is going up through time, from the oldest to the most recent petroglyphs.

Soctomah says one way to help protect the site from further damage will be to have guided tours, with tribal members acting as guides to explain their history. The Passamaquoddy now can oversee the land, which Kimball says is a powerful model for how petroglyphs can be preserved. Having tribal members act as guides will be "an authentic way to see the sites." And petroglyph and midden sites are threatened when "people aren't there who are stewards" and there is "not a watchful eye" on them, he adds.

Kimball says the decision by the Passamaquoddy Joint Tribal Council to acquire the site will help reaffirm the connection between the Passamaquoddy and the people who made the petroglyphs.

Mark Hedden, an archaeologist with the Maine State Museum, from the 1970s through the 1990s inventoried all of the petroglyph sites that he could find and did surface prints of them. The prints of the Machias Bay petroglyphs are in the resource room of the University of Maine at Machias.

The Tribal Historic Preservation Office and St. Joseph's College have produced a film documenting the petroglyphs entitled Song of the Drum. Soctomah hopes that showings of the film will be offered around the county. Copies of the film can be purchased by contacting the Waponahki Museum at Pleasant Point.