New England Indians are part of the Algonquin language family. This group includes all Indians of New England and the Canadian Maritimes, including Maliseet and Micmac. It also includes the Pequots in Connecticut, Narrangansetts in Rhode Island, Wampanoags in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, the Nipmucks along the Connecticut River Valley, and the Abenaki of Maine, New Hampshire and northern Vermont.

The first agriculture in Maine is in a region from the southwestern part of state up to the Kennebec River. Samuel de Champlain sees Indians growing corn, beans and squash at Saco and up to the Kennebec. East of this area, it appears natives remained mostly hunters and gatherers at the time of contact with Europeans.

Maine Indians, once predicted to become "extinct," are now thriving in various professions. Despite the loss of land, hunting and fur trading, many Indians are still in the woods working as lumbermen, river drivers and guides. Some become legendary, such as Penobscots Joseph Aitteon and Joe Polis who show Henry David Thoreau around Moosehead and Chesuncook lakes, the Allagash, and up Mount Katahdin. Other respected Indian guides were Louis Annance and Louis Bernard of the Moosehead Lake area. Other Indians turn to selling crafts to make a living. They set up summer camps in Bar Harbor or travel in circuits and stop at several grand hotels, such as Poland Spring House to peddle their baskets, beadwork, and war clubs to tourists.

State of Maine recognizes tribes' aboriginal rights to hunt and fish and offers free hunting and fishing licenses to members of Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes.

Micmac and Maliseet Indians are recognized as tribes by the state, bringing the number of tribes to four. The state of Maine also recognizes aboriginal rights to hunting and fishing and gives tribal members free hunting and fishing licenses and special educational scholarships. The state also opens a regional office of the state's Department of Indian Affairs in northern Maine.