The Passamaquoddy ( Maliseet-Passamaquoddy: ''Peskotomuhkati'') are a Native American/

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

people who live in northeastern North America. Their traditional homeland, Peskotomuhkatik'','' straddles the Canadian province of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

and the U.S. state of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

in a region called Dawnland. They are one of the constituent nations of the

Wabanaki Confederacy The Wabanaki Confederacy (''Wabenaki, Wobanaki'', translated to "People of the Dawn" or "Easterner") is a North American First Nations and Native American confederation of four principal Eastern Algonquian nations: the Miꞌkmaq, Maliseet ( ...

. The Passamaquoddy Tribe in Maine is a

federally-recognized tribe This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the Unite ...

. The Passamaquoddy people in Canada have an organized government, but do not have official

status.

Etymology

The name "Passamaquoddy" is an anglicization of the Passamaquoddy word ''peskotomuhkati'', the

prenoun ''Prenoun'' is the term for adjective-like prefixes that attach to nouns in Algonquian languages, Japanese, and Korean.Mühlbauer, JeffReduplication in Nêhiyawêwin (Plains Cree)'' section 2.2 Algonquian languages For example, in Nêhiyawêwin ( ...

form (prenouns being a linguistic feature of

Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages ( or ; also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous American languages that include most languages in the Algic languages, Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language f ...

) of ''Peskotomuhkat'' (''pestəmohkat''), their autonym or name they used for themselves. ''Peskotomuhkat'' literally means "pollock-spearer" or "those of the place where

pollock Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic marine fish in the genus ''Pollachius''. ''Pollachius pollachius'' is referred to as pollock in North America, Ireland and the United Kingd ...

are plentiful", reflecting the importance of this fish in their culture. Their method of

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

was spear-fishing rather than angling or using nets.

Passamaquoddy Bay Passamaquoddy Bay (french: Baie de Passamaquoddy) is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy, between the U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick, at the mouth of the St. Croix River. Most of the bay lies within Canada, with its w ...

is shared by both New Brunswick and Maine; its name was derived by English settlers from the Passamaquoddy people.

History

The Passamaquoddy had an

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

supported with visual imagery, such as birchbark etching and petrographs prior to European contact. Among the Algonquian-speaking tribes of the loose

, they occupied coastal regions along the

Bay of Fundy The Bay of Fundy (french: Baie de Fundy) is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its extremely high tidal range is the hi ...

, and

Gulf of Maine The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America. It is bounded by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and by Cape Sable Island at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast ...

, and along the St. Croix River and its tributaries. They had seasonal patterns of settlement. In the winter, they dispersed and hunted inland. In the summer, they gathered more closely together on the coast and islands, and primarily harvested seafood, including marine mammals, mollusks, crustaceans, and fish. This mannequin Illustrates Passamaquoddy life in the 1500s

This mannequin Illustrates Passamaquoddy life in the 1500s

Settlers of European descent repeatedly forced the Passamaquoddy off their original lands from the 1800s. After the United States achieved independence from Great Britain, the tribe was eventually officially limited to the current Indian Township Reservation, at , in eastern

Washington County, Maine Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2010 census, its population was 31,095, making it the third-least populous county in Maine. Its county seat is Machias. The county was established on June 25, 1789. ...

. It has a land area of and a 2000 census resident population of 676 persons. They also control the small

Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation ( Maliseet-Passamaquoddy: ''Sipayik'') is one of two reservations of the federally recognized Passamaquoddy tribe in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 692 as of the 2020 census. ...

in eastern Washington County, which has a land area of and a population of 749, per the 2010 census. Passamaquoddy have also lived on off-reservation trust lands in five Maine counties. These lands total almost four times the size of the reservations proper. They are located in northern and western Somerset County, northern Franklin County, northeastern Hancock County, western Washington County, and several locations in eastern and western

Penobscot County Penobscot County is a county in the U.S. state of Maine, named for the Penobscot Nation on Wabanakik. As of the 2020 census, the population was 152,199. Its county seat is Bangor. The county was established on February 15, 1816, from part of ...

. The total land area of these areas is 373.888 km² (144.359 sq mi). As of the 2000 census, no residents were on these trust lands. 2695T Passamaquoddy Trust Land Locator Map

2695T Passamaquoddy Trust Land Locator Map

The Passamaquoddy also live in

Charlotte County, New Brunswick Charlotte County (2016 population 25,428) is the southwest-most List of counties of New Brunswick, county of New Brunswick, Canada. It was formed in 1784 when New Brunswick was partitioned from Nova Scotia. Once a layer of local government, th ...

, Canada, where they have a chief and organized government. They maintain active land claims in Canada but do not have legal status there as a

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

. Some Passamaquoddy continue to seek the return of territory now within present-day

St. Andrews, New Brunswick Saint Andrews (2016 population: 1,786) is a town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada. The historic town is a national historic site of Canada, bearing many characteristics of a typical 18th century British colonial settlement, includin ...

, which they claim as '' Qonasqamkuk,'' a Passamaquoddy ancestral capital and burial ground.

Populations and languages

The total Passamaquoddy population is around 3,576 people. About 500 people, most if not all over the age of 50, speak the

Malecite-Passamaquoddy language Maliseet-Passamaquoddy (''skicinuwatu'') is an endangered Algonquian language spoken by the Maliseet and Passamaquoddy peoples along both sides of the border between Maine in the United States and New Brunswick, Canada. The language consists of ...

, shared (other than minor differences in dialect) with the neighboring and related

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 ...

people. It belongs to the Algonquian branch of the

Algic The Algic languages (also Algonquian–Wiyot–Yurok or Algonquian–Ritwan) are an indigenous language family of North America. Most Algic languages belong to the Algonquian subfamily, dispersed over a broad area from the Rocky Mountains to ...

language family. The

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

published a comprehensive ''Passamaquoddy Dictionary'' in 2008. Another resource for the language is the online Passamaquoddy-Maliseet Language Portal, which includes many videos, subtitled in English and Passamaquoddy, of native speakers conversing in the language. Most of the people speak English as their first language. While the Passamaquoddy population in Canada is much smaller than that in Maine, it has a formal structure and a chief, Hugh Akagi. Most of its people speak French and English. It is not recognized by the Canadian government as constituting a

. In 2004, Chief Akagi was authorized to represent the Passamaquoddy at events marking the 400th anniversary of French settlement of St Croix Island (the first French effort at permanent settlement in the New World). This indicates that the government had acknowledged the tribe to some extent, and progress is being made in formal recognition.

Special political status in Maine

The Passamaquoddy, along with the neighboring

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 ...

, are given special political status in

. Both groups are allowed to send a nonvoting representative to the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...

. Although these representatives cannot vote, they may sponsor any legislation regarding American Indian affairs, and may co-sponsor any other legislation.

Notable Passamaquoddy

David Moses Bridges David Moses Bridges (May 17, 1962 – January 20, 2017) was a Native American environmentalist and artist known for his traditional birchbark canoes and baskets. He was a member of the Passamaquoddy tribal community on the Passamaquoddy Pleasant Poi ...

(Passamaquoddy, 1962–2017), Sipayik, birchbark artist and canoe maker *

Simon Dumont Simon Francis Dumont (born July 9, 1986) is an American freestyle skier. Skiing Dumont is known for his exceptional amplitude in half-pipe competitions, regularly reaching heights up to 20 feet out of the pipe, and for his signature big-air tri ...

, freestyle skier *

Tomah Joseph Tomah Joseph (1837–1914), Joseph Tomah and Tomah Josephs, was a Passamaquoddy artist and governor of communities in Maine in the United States. He taught the future US president Franklin Delano Roosevelt how to canoe. Early life Tomah Josep ...

(1837–1914), governor, guide, and artist * Francis Joseph Neptune, former Sakom *

Molly Neptune Parker Molly Neptune Parker (February 6, 1939June 12, 2020) was an American basket weaver. She became well known for her artistry, with her works selling for thousands of dollars. As a co-founder and president of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, ...

, master basketmaker *

Geo Soctomah Neptune Geo Soctomah Neptune is a Passamaquoddy Two-Spirit, master basket maker, activist, storyteller, model, and educator from Indian Township, Maine. Neptune uses they/them pronouns. Basketry After graduating from Gould Academy and earning a theat ...

, master basketmaker * Rena Newell, tribal member of the

* Wayne Newell, educator, singer, language preservationist, author, former tribal state representative, tribal council member, appointed to the National Advisory Council on Indian Education twice, recognized by the US Bureau of Indian Affairs as a National Treasure in Education * Donald Soctomah, former tribal state representative, tribal historic preservation officer * Madonna Soctomah, tribal council member, former state representative

Maps

Maps showing the approximate locations of areas occupied by members of the

(from north to south): Image:The_Mi'kmaq.png,

Miꞌkmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...

Image:Wohngebiet_Maliseet.png,

, Passamaquoddy Image:Wohngebiet_Oestlicheabenaki.png, Eastern Abenaki (

, Kennebec, Arosaguntacook, Pigwacket/Pequawket) Image:Wohngebiet_Westlicheabenaki.png, Western Abenaki (Arsigantegok, Missisquoi, Cowasuck, Sokoki,

Pennacook The Pennacook, also known by the names Penacook and Pennacock, were an Algonquian-speaking Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who lived in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and southern Maine. They were not a united tribe but a netwo ...

References

Notes

Sources

Indian Township Reservation and Passamaquoddy Trust Land, Maine
United States Census Bureau

External links

Passamaquoddy Tribal Government Web Site (Pleasant Point)

Passamaquoddy Tribal Government Web Site (Indian Township)

Passamaquoddy-Maliseet Language Portal (includes dictionary and videos)
* ''The Boston Globe Magazine'', October 27, 1985 issue, article by Peter Anderson
Contribution to Passamaquoddy Folk-Lore
by

J. Walter Fewkes Jesse Walter Fewkes (November 14, 1850 – May 31, 1930) was an American anthropologist, archaeologist, writer, and naturalist. Biography Fewkes was born in Newton, Massachusetts on November 14, 1850, and initially trained as a zoologist at ...

, reprinted from the Journal of American Folk-Lore, October–December, 1890, from

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...

Passamaquoddy Origins

Acadian Commemorative Website

"An Unlikely Handshake Alters the Course of Maine's History,"
''Portland Press Herald'', July 5, 2014. {{authority control Algonquian peoples Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands Native American history of Maine Wabanaki Confederacy Native American tribes in Maine Federally recognized tribes in the United States First Nations in Atlantic Canada Algonquian ethnonyms