BANGOR, Maine (CBS-13) – Bangor City Council is set to discuss the removal of a small monument along the waterfront earlier next month, at the bequest of the Penobscot nation.
The monument in question is dedicated to Portuguese explorer Estevan Gomez. Who may have been one of the first Europeans to have sailed up the Penobscot. However, some of his lesser-known accolades include the abduction of roughly 50 Native people and bringing them home to Europe with the intent of selling them into slavery.
Maulian Dana, the tribal ambassador of the Penobscot Nation raised the question of the monument’s removal at a meeting on Monday night. Local tribal leaders have been opposed to the monument since its donation in 1999 by a group of Portuguese Americans from Massachusetts.
While willing to remove the marker, Bangor councilors such as Clare Davitt have mentioned that some level of pushback is expected. Chairperson at the time of donation, Joe Baldacci, suggests reaching out to the monument’s donors, citing the original cost of the concrete structure as his reasoning.
On July 6th, the council is planned to meet with representatives of Penobscot nation to further discuss its removal.
