Penobscot Tribe Denied Jurisdiction Of The River Bearing Its Name

A federal judge in Portland has delivered a bitter defeat to the Penobscot Nation in its lawsuit with Maine over the right to the tribe's namesake river.

The tribe asked the judge to rule in its favor about whether the Penobscot River is part of its reservation. Tribal Chief Kirk Francis says the tribe's river jurisdiction is "bank to bank."

But this week U.S. District Judge George Z. Singal issued a ruling that the reservation includes the islands of the river's Maine Stem but not the waters. Singal ruled that the tribe retains the right to fish for sustenance in the Main Stem.

State officials say the ruling shows the river is "held in trust for the use and benefit" of all. But Tribal representative Wayne Mitchell says the state has been slowly eroding the tribe's rights.