Maliseet
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The Maliseet or Wolastoqiyik are a Wabanaki Native American/First Nations/ Aboriginal people who are the Indigenous peoples of the Saint John River valley and its tributaries, between New Brunswick, Quebec, and Maine. Today Maliseet people are also found in other parts of the world due to human migration.
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Name
Although generally known in English as the Maliseet or Malecite, their autonym is Wolastoqiyik. They are known in French as Malécites or Etchemins (the latter collectively referring to the Maliseet and Passamaquoddy, both Eastern Algonquian-speaking groups.)
Wolastoqiyik is derived from the Wolastoq River, now commonly known as the St. John River, on which their territory and existence were centered. Wolastoq means "Beautiful River". Wolastoqiyik means "People of the Beautiful River," in their own language.[1]
The term Maliseet is the exonym by which the Mi'kmaq people referred to this group when speaking about them to early Europeans. Maliseet was a Mi'kmaq word meaning "broken talkers" or "lazy speakers".[2] The Wolastoqiyik and Mi'kmaq languages are closely related, but the name reflected what the Mi'kmaq perceived to be a sufficiently different dialect as to be called a "broken" version of their own language.
Some Wolastoqiyik of various multi-ethnic heritage refer to themselves as Métis, in addition to Wolastoqiyik.
History
This section requires expansion. |
During the American Revolution, the Malecites were caught between Nova Scotia, loyal to the British, and rebellious Massachusetts to the south. They were believed to hold the balance of power north of the Bay of Fundy, and both sides vied for their support. The Malecites were suffering economically because of the decline of the fur trade and thus sought to accommodate both sides rather than fight. Peter Tomah, a Malecite chief and a staunch Roman Catholic, negotiated with the Americans in council at Machias (Maine) on 27 December 1779, but eventually the tribe split, with Tomah's people settling on the British side.[3]
In the Jay Treaty of 1794, the Maliseet were granted free travel between the United States and Canada because their territory spanned both sides of the border. During the 1800s, intermarriage between the Maliseet and Passamaquoddy and European settlers was not unusual. The growing community of Scottish-Canadian frontiersmen were likely to take First Nation wives, as there were few European women in the area.
When the Treaty of Ghent was signed, ending the War of 1812, Great Britain ceded a significant portion of the Maliseet/Passamaquoddy territory to the United States, forming what is now northern Maine.
Culture
The customs and language of the Maliseet are very similar to those of the neighboring Passamaquoddy (or Peskotomuhkati), and also close to those of the Mi'kmaq and Penobscot tribes. The Wolastoqiyik/Maliseet differed by pursuing a primarily agrarian economy. They also shared some land with those peoples. The Wolastoqiyik/ Maliseet and Passamaquoddy languages are similar enough that they are properly considered slightly different dialects of the same language. Typically they are not differentiated for study.
Several French and English words made their way into Wolastoqiyik/Maliseet from the earliest European contact. One Maliseet word also made its way into English: "mus", or moose, for the unfamiliar creature which the English speakers found in the woods where the Maliseet lived. They adopted the name of the new creature from the Maliseet.
Before contact with the Europeans, the traditional culture of both the Wolastoqiyik/Maliseet and Passamaquoddy generally involved seasonal hunting, agriculture and gathering. They travelled downstream on their rivers in the spring, and back upstream in the autumn. In the spring, they congregated in larger groups near the ocean, and planted crops, largely corn (maize), beans, squash. They also fished and dried fish for later use. In the autumn, after the harvest, they travelled back upstream, taking provisions. They spread out in smaller temporary communities into the larger countryside to hunt game during the winter. Fishing was a major source of resources throughout the year.
Current Situation
Today, within New Brunswick, approximately 3,000 Maliseet live within the Madawaska, Tobique, Woodstock, Kingsclear, Saint Mary's and Oromocto First Nations. There are also 600 in the Houlton Band in Maine and 1200 in the Viger First Nation in Quebec. An unknown number (estimated in the thousands) of 'off-reserve' Wolastoqiyik live in other parts of the world.
About 650 native speakers of Maliseet remain, and about 1,000 of Passamaquoddy, living on both sides of the border between New Brunswick and Maine. Most are older, although some young people have begun studying and preserving the language. The number of speakers is seen to have potentially stabilized. An active program of scholarship on the Maliseet-Passamaquoddy language takes place at the Mi'kmaq - Maliseet Institute at the University of New Brunswick, in collaboration with the native speakers, particularly David Francis Sr., a Passamaquoddy elder living in Sipayik, Maine. The Institute has the goal of helping Native American students master their native languages. Linguist Philip LeSourd has done extensive research on the language.
Maliseet surnames : Gabriel, Saulis, Atwin, Launière, Athanase, Nicholas, Brière, Bear, Ginnish, Solis, Vaillancourt, Wallace, Paul, Polchies, Tomah, Sappier, Perley, Aubin, Francis, Sacobie, Nash.
Notable Maliseet
- Sandra Lovelace Nicholas, a Maliseet activist, is known for challenging discriminatory provisions of the Indian Act in Canada, which deprived Aboriginal or Indigenous women of their status when they married non-Aboriginals. She was instrumental in bringing the case before the United Nations Human Rights Commission and lobbying for the 1985 legislation which reinstated some rights of First Nation women and their children in Canada via Bill C31. Retaining status for future generations is still an issue for Maliseet and all Aboriginal groups. She was appointed to the Canadian Senate September 21 2005 [4]
- Graydon Nicholas, was named the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, Canada in September 2009. This is a historical Viceroy position.
References
- ^ LeSourd, Philip, ed. 2007. Tales from Maliseet Country: the Maliseet texts of Karl V. Teeter. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska. p. 17, fnote 4
- ^ Erickson, Vincent O. 1978. "Maliseet-Passamaquoddy". In Northeast, ed. Bruce G. Trigger. Vol. 15 of Handbook of North American Indians, ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, pg. 135. Cited in Campbell, Lyle (1997). American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pg. 401.
- ^ Penny Petrone, First People, First Voices, University of Toronto Press: (1984), p. 34
- ^ http://www.liberal.ca/senators_e.aspx?id=15916
Maps
Maps showing the approximate locations of areas occupied by members of the Wabanaki Confederacy (from north to south):
The Mi'kmaq.png | Wohngebiet Maliseet.png Maliseet, Passamaquoddy | Wohngebiet Oestlicheabenaki.png Eastern Abenaki (Penobscot, Kennebec, Arosaguntacook, Pigwacket/Pequawket) | Wohngebiet Westlicheabenaki.png Western Abenaki (Arsigantegok, Missisquoi, Cowasuck, Sokoki, Pennacook |
External links
- Maliseet language and culture links
- Audio files of samples of Maliseet speech by a native speaker
- Maliseet Test Wikipedia
- Mi'kmaq-Maliseet Institute - University of New Brunswick
- "Maliseet Indians". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. http://sources.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Maliseet_Indians.