BANGOR, Maine — The Bangor waterfront is no longer home to the Estevan Gomez monument.
On Thursday, Bangor's Public Works Department dropped of the cross portion of the monument at the Bangor Historical Society.
“We’re going to have some site work in the spring to really give it a more permanent home,” Bangor Historical Society Curator Matt Bishop said.
Bishop added the monument will eventually be in display with historical and cultural context so history is preserved.
“Hopefully, we’re going to be working with the Penobscot Nation to get that signage exactly the way it should be written," Bishop said.
In July, members of the Penobscot Nation raised concerns about the monument.
Estevan Gomez was a Portuguese explorer who traveled through North America 500 years ago. He is known to have kidnapped Native Americans with plans of selling them as slaves in Europe.
Penobscot Nation Tribal Ambassador Maulian Dana said she hopes a new monument will be erected in Bangor honoring the contributions of the indigenous peoples and their deep ties to the area.