The Penobscot Tribe, residing in Old Town, Maine, has lived off of subsistence fishing in the Penobscot River for thousands of years. This river is extremely important to the community's well being. Subsistence fishing makes up a majority of the Penobscot tribe's diet. But the river also offers them much more than just necessities, a sense of cultural self and place. However, due to environmental degradation in their community, the Penobscot are watching their livelihood and lifestyle be stripped away.
Over many years, high levels of pollution have accumulated in the Penobscot river. Mainly responsible for this pollution are industries dumping their production by-products into the river, specifically pulp and paper companies and waste water treatment plants. The most prevalent chemicals that are a danger to those using the river are polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, and mercury. All of these contaminants are capable of bio-accumulating inside river species, mainly fish. This potential ecosystem effect makes eating fish from the river unsafe, and since as early as 1987, the Penobscot tribe was warned to limit their fish consumption. Currently, it is recommended that the tribe members eat no more than one serving of fish from the river per week or per month, depending the amount of toxins that accumulate in each particular fish species. The tribe wants the pollution addressed so that they can safely use the river for subsistence fishing again.
The Penobscot natives also feel they should have the sovereignty to decided how much pollution is acceptable in the river, and be able to manage the waters they rely on themselves. Little has been done to address this environmental racism issue so far. The courts have not sided with the tribe, and media has protrayed the tribe negatively, as being greedy for money. Since the tribe has lost in court, they are hoping that the EPA will give them a grant so that research can be done on the bio-accumulation of pollutants in the river fish species. In the mean time, the Penobscot have had their lifestyle taken away from them, and this case of environmental racism is swept under the rug.
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