AUGUSTA, Maine — Erick Hutchins was an avid outdoorsman who spent hours in Maine fields hunting and foraging. He also had a keen interest in the Penobscot people, and in the decades he spent exploring the Penobscot River watershed, he amassed a collection of some 1,500 Native American artifacts, one of the largest collections in the state.
On Thursday, Feb. 28, those artifacts were on display in Augusta at the State House as they were returned to the Penobscot Nation.
The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine (SAM) says, when Hutchins died in December of 2017, he named SAM a beneficiary of his estate. After careful consideration, SAM decided the collection needed to be returned to the Penobscot Nation.
SAM members enlisted the help of the Maine State Museum to catalog the collection before it was returned to the Penobscot Nation Museum on Indian Island. They say Hutchins did cataloging of his own based on where the artifacts were found.
Officials from the Penobscot Nation traveled to Augusta to receive the collection.
“We are truly honored and grateful that Mr. Hutchins and SAM will be returning this incredible collection of Penobscot artifacts back to the Penobscot Nation. We are looking forward to displaying the collection within our museum on Indian Island for the public to visit,” said Chris Sockalexis, a Penobscot Nation official.
According to SAM, Hutchins was a gunsmith in the Old Town area and was a noted national expert on the maintenance, repair, and operation of the John Browning-designed Remington Model 8 rifles, which were a favorite of L.L. Bean and considered a classic among collectors.
SAM says Model 8 owners around the world would send their rifles to Hutchins for repair and restoration.
Hutchins wanted his estate to promote and preserve Maine's outdoor heritage and The Sportsman's Alliance of Maine believes returning the collection is what Hutchins would have wanted.