Basis for Claims

The basis for the land claims was simple.  In 1790, the First Congress of the United States enacted the Nonintercourse Act, declaring that any transfer of land from Indians to non-Indians had to be approved by Congress.  If such a transfer was not approved, it was not valid.  This law was designed to protect Indians from unscrupulous and unfair transactions.  Between 1794 and 1833, title to most of the land of the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot People was transferred to the State of Maine.  The land transfers were never approved by the U.S. Congress until the Maine Indian Claims Settlement of 1980.  

The Houlton Band of Maliseets eventually became a party to the settlement, as well.   Although not a part of the original land claims suit, the Maliseet People also had aboriginal territory in Maine.  The basis of their claim was different from that of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Indian Nation, because they had never signed treaties giving up their land in Maine.