katahdin monument penobscot native thoreau.

A new welcome center at the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine tells the story of the land from the perspective of its original inhabitants — the Native Americans who comprise the Wabanaki Confederacy. The $35 million center was funded by private philanthropy led by Burt’s Bees founder Roxanne Quimby, who bought more than 87,000 acres of logging company land and donated it to the National Park Service. In Penobscot, the name of the center atop Lookout Mountain means “as far as the eye can see.” The Penobscot Nation’s historian says the collaboration should be a template for projects involving Native Americans.