<p>Four tribes made up Maines’ original inhabitants, including the Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, and Abenaki tribes. However, in the 1700s, these four tribes and the migrating Micmac tribe formed an alliance in what’s known as the Wabanaki Confederacy. As a result, all the original tribes of Maine have relatively similar dietary and cultural practices. Traditionally, Native women grew corn, beans, tobacco, and squash and gathered berries, nuts, medicinal plants, and other natural produce. On the other hand, men contributed to the tribe by fishing and hunting off the coast or near rivers. Native Americans in Maine crafted canoes out of hollowed-out logs to make catching and gathering fish more manageable. For shelter, most tribes, like the Abenaki, constructed wickiups. Wickiups were dome-shaped structures made from bark, saplings, and, occasionally, woven rushes. Today, Maine recognizes five Native American tribes federally. </p>
