Noel Bear (died 1907) was a

Maliseet The Wəlastəkwewiyik, or Maliseet (, also spelled Malecite), are an Algonquian-speaking First Nation of the Wabanaki Confederacy. They are the indigenous people of the Wolastoq ( Saint John River) valley and its tributaries. Their territory ...

hunter, trapper, guide, and basket-maker who was identified by a variety of first (Noil, Newell, Newal) and last (Bair, Muin, Aubin?) names. It is known that he married in 1851 and died in 1907 on the

Tobique River The Tobique River (pro. Toe-Bick) is a river in northwestern New Brunswick, Canada. The river rises from Nictau Lake in Mount Carleton Provincial Park and flows for 148 kilometres to its confluence with the Saint John River near Perth-Andover. Th ...

, New Brunswick, Canada. Noel Bear is known to history from a petition signed by the

Penobscot The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic pr ...

Old Town, Maine Old Town is a city in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,431 at the 2020 census. The city's developed area is chiefly located on the relatively large Marsh Island, though its boundaries extend beyond that. The island i ...

in 1831. He was active during the “

Aroostook War The Aroostook War (sometimes called the Pork and Beans WarLe Duc, Thomas (1947). The Maine Frontier and the Northeastern Boundary Controversy. ''The American Historical Review'' Vol. 53, No. 1 (Oct., 1947), pp. 30–41), or the Madawaska War, wa ...

” of (1838–39) when he was a hunter for the soldiers at

Fort Fairfield Fort Fairfield is a town in Aroostook County, eastern Maine, United States, located along the Canada–US border. The population was 3,322 at the 2020 census. History Fort Fairfield is named for John Fairfield, 13th and 16th governor of Main ...

in Maine. He appears on census lists at the Tobique Indian Reserve beginning in 1853.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
Maliseet people Artists from New Brunswick 19th-century births 1907 deaths {{NorthAm-native-bio-stub