Town of Orono Seal & Signage
Visibility: Staying Present in Relationship
The Town of Orono is the only municipality in Maine named for a Wabanaki leader. It includes the University of Maine campus, where generations of Wabanaki students have studied and become leading figures in the 21st century. The Town of Orono adopted the image of Chief Joseph Orono as its town seal, probably in the first half of the 20th century. Later, that same image appeared on the signs welcoming people into town.
In 2022, based on advice from marketing firms, the Town chose to make Chief Orono less noticeable on its signs and its official stationery. Chief Orono became a faint hologram in the background on the signs marking entry into Orono, and completely vanished from letterhead and Town vehicles. Not being well-informed about Penobscot heritage and leadership in this place, the marketers worried the image of Chief Joseph Orono might seem like a trivializing mascot. His face and traditional headdress, once visible on town signs and letterhead, were now nearly impossible to see.
As soon as they saw it, citizens of Penobscot Nation told the Town that this change was harmful and disrespectful—that it reminded them of other times settlers tried to erase Penobscot history and Penobscot people. Even though Penobscot culture-carriers had been asked several years earlier to confirm that Chief Orono’s image was historically accurate and respectful, this recent change had been done without consulting with Penobscot Nation at all.
The Orono Town Council responded with accountability and a formal apology letter, explaining how it would change the way it made decisions affecting Penobscot people, to make sure such harm did not happen again in the future. The Penobscot Nation Chief and Council wrote back in early 2025, accepting the Town’s apology, stating again the importance of checking in, staying in touch and working together, and expressing their desire to move forward and build a better relationship between the Nation and the Town. They specifically asked the Town to work with James Eric Francis, Sr., Director of Cultural and Historic Preservation for the Penobscot Nation, to improve “the way the town engages with us in sharing [Chief Orono’s] story and the broader narrative of the Penobscot people and culture throughout our territory.”
Since then, Penobscot Nation’s Department of Cultural and Historic Preservation and the Town of Orono have begun three shared projects; this WHERE Walk is one of them. The Town has agreed to make no more decisions about signs welcoming people to Orono until receiving the plan they have asked Maquoit Museum Solutions to develop. This plan will help to make Penobscot history and continuing presence in Orono more visible.
On the logo for today’s WHERE Walk, designed by James Eric Francis, Sr., you see the
image of a Penobscot man from
the Penobscot Nation seal as
well as an image of Chief
Joseph Orono from the
Town of Orono seal
looking toward
one another,
as if walking
together.
What do you think about this image? Is it a current reality? An aspirational goal?
What would walking together in this way look like?
This research was compiled as part of the Walk to Honor Wabanaki Veterans, which took place in Orono on June 21, 2025. For more information about this walk, click here.
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 event was part of the Walk for Historical and Ecological Recovery (WHERE), a series convened by Atlantic Black Box devoted to grassroots truth-seeking and transformation. It was organized under the leadership of James Eric Francis, Sr. in collaboration with the Penobscot Nation Cultural & Historic Preservation Department, the Town of Orono, the City of Old Town, the UMaine Wabanaki Center, Bangor Public Library, Orono Public Library, RSU 26, The Wabanaki Alliance, The Abbe Museum, Wabanaki Public Health & Wellness, The Wilson Center, The Church of Universal Fellowship, Ça C’est Bon, and Orono Arts Fest.