Kuwesuwi Monihq / Pine Island
The return of Kuwesuwi Monihq / Pine Island is part of a bigger story of return.
Kuwesuwi Monihq or Pine Island
Kuwesuwi Monihq, or Pine Island, is an island in Big Lake that has long been an important site for Passamaquoddy people. It is a place for growing and storing food and sharing culture. The island was reserved for the Passamaquoddy in the 1794 treaty with Massachusetts. Yet sometime around the 1850s, the island was renamed. Maps and newspaper articles began referring to it as “White’s Island”. In changing the name of the island, Kuwesuwi Moniqh was removed from the treaties and stolen from the Passamaquoddy people. This theft is described as taking a relative from the Tribe. The island passed into non-native, private ownership for more than a century. Passamaquoddy people were barred from accessing their island relative.
In 2021, Kuwesuwi Moniqh returned to the Passamaquoddy people. The island was listed for sale, and Chief Nicholas alerted First Light, a group of non-native conservation organizations. First Light organizations worked together to raise money to buy the island and transfer it to the Passamaquoddy Tribe, in an act of recognition and repair for the legacy of land theft across Wabanaki homelands. On the summer solstice in 2022, the Tribe celebrated the return in a ceremony that brought community to gather with Kuwesuwi Moniqh once more.
The return of Kuwesuwi Moniqh is part of a larger effort of land return. The work of Passamaquoddy leaders has led to the recovery of alienated lands including the island Muwinuwi Moniqh in 2002 and Maqeyhik/Picture Rocks in 2006. Today, the Passamaquoddy Tribe is also part of the Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship, an intertribal body that directs the work of First Light and helps land return across all Wabanaki homelands.
Reflection Questions
In the case of Kuwesuwi Monihq, renaming was a kind of taking. Is theft by renaming still happening?
How can restoring names help restore Passamaquoddy presence and relationship on the land?
In the wake of so much taking, what is possible when land begins to return?
Additional Resources
Watch “Kihtahkomikumon (Our Land) – #IsLandBack in Passamaquoddy Territory” a Documentary Short Film by Sunlight Media Collective
Read about the Wabanaki Commission’s work to support land return
This research was compiled as part of the Mihqitahatom: The “I Remember” Walk at Motahkomikuk/Indian Township, which took place on August 17, 2025. For more research related to this area, click on the tags below. To download a hi-res version of the posters below for educational use, please contact where@atlanticblackbox.com.
This walk was a collaboration between the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Motahkomikuk (Indian Township), First Light, and the Walks for Historical & Ecological Recovery (WHERE), a series convened by Atlantic Black Box, following the actions and determination of the community and leadership from elders.
Postern design by Meadow Dibble