The Abenaki - Indians of North America Author:Colin G. Calloway, Frank W. Porter III (Editor) The Abenaki comprise several tribes, among them the Passamaquoddy, Sokoki, and Missisquoi, that have lived for thousands of years in northern New England. Their first contact with Europeans came in the 16th century, when they dealt peacefully with traders and settlers. Relations soured, however, as newcomers seized Abenaki homelands by force or ... more »took them by illegal treaty. By the early 20th century, it seemed that the Abenaki way of life would completely disappear. Then, in the 1960s, these prpud people began a political revival. It crested in 1980, when the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot sued the federal government and won a large settlement for their lost homelands. By investing their $81.5-million award wisely, they have managed to repurchase land, to set up thriving business ventures, and to emerge as an important force in today's New England economy. For the Abenaki, the ancient "people of the Dawnland," the 1980s have brought a new dawn.« less