Native American birch bark canoes have often been described as the one of the greatest inventions in human history and were copied by Euroamerican fur traders and sportsmen. The Legacy of Penobscot Canoes: A View from the River explores the enduring importance of rivers and canoes in Penobscot tribal life and on relationships between the tribe and non-Indians.

This new installation features a rarely seen full-size bark canoe purchased from Penobscot Indian Francis Sebattis in 1912, as well as stone tools collected by Henry David Thoreau, who described the Penobscot and their canoes in The Maine Woods.