Abenaki Literature

The main body of Abenaki are in western Maine, mostly in the valleys of the Kennebec, Androscoggin, and Sacos rivers, and the neighbouring coast.

They originally emigrated from the Southwest, having encountered John Cabot in 1498; but the Indians had no other dealings with white people at that time. In 1604, Champlain passed along the coast and visited Abenaki bands. In 1607 and 1608 the Plymouth Company made an unsuccessful effort to form a permanent settlement at the mouth of the Kennebec. Later, the Abenaki withdrew to Canada, settling around St. Francis.