[2] They are part of the Wabanaki Confederacy, along with the Abenaki, Passamaquoddy, Wolastoqiyik, and Miꞌkmaq nations, all of whom historically spoke Algonquian languages.

For the rest of the year, the Penobscot and other Wabanaki likely had little difficulty surviving because the land and ocean waters offered much bounty, and the number of people was sustainable.

It was lucrative and the Penobscot were willing to trade pelts for European goods such as metal axes, guns, and copper or iron cookware.

Hunting for fur pelts reduced the game, however, and the European trade introduced alcohol to Penobscot communities for the first time.

It has been argued that the people are genetically vulnerable to alcoholism, a racist sentiment with no evidence which Europeans frequently tried to exploit in dealings and trade.

Penobscot people and other nations made pine beer, which had vitamin C; in addition to being an alcoholic beverage, it had the benefit of allaying the onset of scurvy.

The population also declined due to further encroachment by settlers who cut off access to the Penobscot's main food source of running fish through the process of damming the Penobscot River, the loss of big game through the process of clear cutting of forests for the logging industry and through massacres carried out by settlers.

This catastrophic population depletion may have contributed to Christian conversion (among other factors); the people could see that the European priests did not suffer from the pandemics.

[8] With a smaller population and greater acceptance of intermarriage, the French posed a lesser threat to the Penobscots' land and way of life.

[5] After the French defeat in the Battle of Quebec in 1759, the Penobscot were left in a weakened position as they had lost their main European ally.

During the American Revolution, the Penobscot sided with the Patriots and played an important role in the conflicts which occurred around the border between British Canada and the United States.

The government believed that they were helping the Penobscot, as stated in 1824 by the highest court in Maine that "...imbecility on their parts, and the dictates of humanity on ours, have necessarily prescribed to them their subjection to our paternal control.

"[5] This sentiment of "imbecility" set up a power dynamic in which the government treated the Penobscot as wards of the state and decided how their affairs would be managed.

The government treated as charitable payments those Penobscot funds derived from land treaties and trusts, which the state had control over and used as it saw fit.

In addition, in an unprecedented step, five members of the Congressional Native American Caucus representing other jurisdictions filed an amici curiae brief in support of the Penobscot in this case.

[12] The elementary school and the Boys and Girls Club on Indian Island are making an effort to reintroduce the language by teaching it to the children.

The landscapes of Maine are extremely valuable to the survival and beliefs of the Penobscot; their namesake river is personified, and most dear to them.

Annette Kolodny describes "how deeply rooted the Penobscot cosmology is within the Maine landscape; their ethic of mutual obligation to a land full of spirits, animal-people, and daunting power is fundamentally geographic, every place name helping to orient a traveler in relation to both physical space and spiritual power.

[20] Klose-kur-beh provides humans and animals with practical skills needed to thrive in the unforgiving climate of the North East and punishes those who operated outside of his code.

[20] This warning from such a prominent figurehead in Penobscot beliefs highlights that they upheld the values of preservation and protection of Maine's land and ecological resources.

The Penobscot tribe has pushed for state legislation allowing them to add slot machines to their bingo hall, which has been granted.

[21] The climax of the 1825 novel Brother Jonathan by Maine native John Neal is set on Indian Island during the American Revolutionary War.

The novel features a protagonist of mixed Penobscot-English descent and describes the island as "the last encampment of the Penobscot Red men".

[22] Many Penobscots moved to urban areas around the World War II era to Boston, Connecticut, New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh; and the Cleveland, Ohio area to settled in the West Side (of the Cuyahoga River) or "Cuyahoga" neighborhood; and in Baltimore and Washington DC.