Right now, the Penobscot Indian Nation is fighting to retain control of the river that is the heart of its reservation. Penobscots have been forced to go to federal court because the state of Maine contests their right to regulate fishing and other activities along the river.

Since 1818, the heart of the Nation’s reservation has been the islands in the river north from Indian Island, their town 15 miles upriver from Bangor. Although the state supports the tribe’s right to regulate fishing activities of people on Penobscot lands, Attorney General Janet Mills is contending that the state has exclusive authority to regulate activities in the river itself.

The problem with this claim is that a number of laws and treaties dating back to 1796 support the Penobscots’ claims to the river that bears their name.

The stakes in this case are big.

Whoever regulates fishing in the river also has a say in the quality of the water those fish inhabit. Consequently, whoever wins this case will likely influence the crafting of pollution permits for towns and paper mills as well as building permits for any new east-west highways or other projects that cross this stretch of river.