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Native Languages of the Americas: Maliseet
(Malecite, Malecites, Malisit)

Language: Maliseet-Passamaquoddy is an Algonquian language with two major dialects: Maliseet (or Malécite), spoken mostle in New Brunswick, and Passamaquoddy (or Peskotomuhkati), spoken mostly in Maine. There are 1500 speakers of both dialects combined, but most Maliseet speakers are older people, so the language is in danger of dying out unless language revival efforts can successfully restore its use among Maliseet children.



People: The Maliseet tribe belonged to the loose confederation of eastern American Indians known as the Wabanaki Alliance, together with the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Micmac, and Abenaki Indians. The Maliseet live primarily in Canada, especially New Brunswick, with one band across the border in Maine (the US granted official recognition to the Maine tribe in 1980.) Older literature sometimes refers to them as "St. John's Indians," though they never used that term themselves. The Maliseet's own name for themselves is Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet is a Micmac word for someone who can't talk very well,) but today they are usually known as Maliseets or Malecites.

History: The Maliseet and Passamaquoddy people were closely related neighbors who shared a common language. The French called both the Passamaquoddy and Maliseet tribes by the same French name, Etchemin, but they have always considered themselves politically independent. Europeans were frequently confused by the Native American tribes of the east coast, who were numerous, small, and frequently lived together, yet claimed to be separate nations. This is primarily because all of these tribes had been much larger and lived independently of one another before smallpox and other European diseases decimated their populations. The Maliseet and Passamaquoddy, near relatives and long-time allies who spoke dialects of the same language, banded together against European and Iroquois aggression with their neighbors the Abenakis, Penobscots, and Micmacs. The resulting Wabanaki Confederacy was no more than a loose alliance, however, and neither the Passamaquoddy nor the Maliseet nation ever gave up their sovereignty.


˜Passamaquoddy-Maliseet Language Resources

Maliseet language samples, articles, and indexed links.

˜Maliseet Culture and History Directory

Related links about the Maliseet people past and present.

˜Maliseet Indians Fact Sheet

Our answers to frequently asked questions about the Maliseets, their language and culture.



˜Maliseet Culture and History Links –

As a complement to our Maliseet language information, we would like to share our collection of indexed links about the Maliseet people and various aspects of their society. This website emphasizes Native Americans as living people with a present and a future as well as a past. Maliseet history is interesting and important, but the Maliseet are still here today, too, and we try to feature modern writers as well as traditional folklore, contemporary art as well as museum pieces, and the issues and struggles of today as well as the tragedies of yesterday. Suggestions for new links are always welcome.

Maliseet Tribal Websites

Maliseet Tobique Reservation * The Maliseet Nation at Tobique:
    The Tobique First Nation of New Brunswick.
Woodstock First Nation:
    Another Maliseet First Nation of New Brunswick.
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians:
    The Maliseet tribe of Maine.

Maliseet Community Websites

Union of New Brunswick Indians:
    Organization serving Micmac and Maliseet First Nations.
St. John River Valley Tribal Council:
    Advising Micmac and Maliseet First Nations in New Brunswick.
Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs:
    Services, education and outreach for Micmac, Passamaquoddy and Maliseet First Nations in Canada.
Micmac-Maliseet Institute:
    Aboriginal Studies Centre at the University of New Brunswick, specializing in Micmac and Maliseet cultural scholarship.
First Peoples: Malecites:
    Information about the Malecite Indians of Quebec.
Miingignoti-Keteaoag:
    Maintaining the integrity and way of life of the Wabanaki Nations.
Aroostook County's Tribal Chiefs:
    Interview with Brenda Commander and Rick Getchell, leaders of the Micmac and Maliseet tribes of Maine.
Kenneth D. Paul * Native Herbalist:
    Personal pages of individual Maliseet people.

Maps of Maliseet Lands

Native Americans of New England:
    Map showing the location of early Malecite and New England Indian territory.
Location of Amerindian Communities * First Nations Map:
    Maps of the Maliseet First Nations of Quebec.
Maine Native American Culture:
    Historical maps and timeline for the Maliseets and other Native Americans of Maine.
Maine Indian Maps:
    Tribal map showing the original territory of the Maliseet Indians and their neighbors.

Maliseet Lifestyle and Tradition

Micmac and Maliseet: First Nations of the Maritimes:
    Essays about the native people of New Brunswick.
Malecites:
    The semi-no mad ic lifestyle of the Maliseet Indians.
Canoeing Cultures: Maliseet:
    General information about traditional Abenaki and Maliseet culture.
Micmac and Maliseet Powwows:
    Mi'kmaq and Maliseet dances, songs, drums, and mawiomi (powwow).
The Malecite:
    Fishing renaissance among the Malecites of Quebec.
Nicholas Smith Maliseet Collection:
    Collection of Maliseet photographs by a Maine historian.
Maliseet Artifacts * Snowshoes, A Gift From Gluskabe:
    Pictures of Maliseet baskets, jewelry, tools, snowshoes, pipes, and cradleboards.
Wampum * Wampum History:
    Wampum and its importance to traditional Maliseet life.
Maliseet Clothing * Native Clothing Styles * Native Hair:
    Pictures and descriptions of traditional Maliseet and other Native American dress.
Maliseet Games * Maliseet Doll * Doll * Maliseet Dice Game * Dice Game * Waltes:
    Maliseet Indian games and toys.
Maliseet Corn Soup Recipe * Mint Leaf Tea:
    Maliseet recipes.
John Bernard:
    Biography of a Maliseet entrepeneur.

Maliseet Mythology and Religion

Koluskap Stories and other Maliseet Legends:
    Collection of Maliseet Indian legends and folktales.
Kluskap Tales from the Malecite * Miscellaneous Malecite Tales * Micmac/Maliseet Storytelling:
    Mythology of the Maliseets.
Seeking Native American Spirituality: Read This First! * Micmac and Maliseet Spirituality:
    Traditional Micmac and Maliseet religion/spirituality.

Maliseet Literature and Arts

Craftwork of the Maritimes:
    Overview of Micmac and Maliseet traditional artwork.
Maine Native American Basketmaking * Maine Indian Baskets:
    Maliseet and other Maine Indian splint basketry.
Brilliantly Beaded:
    Beadwork of the Maliseets and other Northeast American Indians.
Micmac Quillboxes * Porcupine Quill Decoration on Birch Bark * Porcupine Quill Embroidery:
    Quill embroidery of the Maliseet and other Wabanaki Indians.
Edward Ned Bear * Masks of Ned Bear:
    Woodcarvings by a Maliseet artist.
Dozay's Native Art Gallery * Dozay:
    Paintings of contemporary Maliseet artist Dozay (Arlene Christmas).
Rocky Paul Wiseman:
    Music by a Fredericton Maliseet singer.
Native American Crafts:
    Information, photographs and links about Maliseet and other native art.

Maliseet Politics, Issues, and News

Wabanaki Legal News:
    Legal information, news and support for the American Indians of Maine.
Micmac Maliseet Nation News:
    Information about the newspaper here, but the articles are not available online.
Protecting Maine Rivers * River Summit at Indian Island * Tribal Stewardship:
    Maliseet and other Maine Indian efforts to protect their environment from dioxin and mercury pollution.
The Marshall Judgement * Native Rights * Mikmaq and Maliseet Indian Nations Attacked
    Burnt Church Fishery * Ma rshall v. Canada:
    The Marshall decision and the struggle for Micmac and Maliseet indigenous treaty rights in Canada.
Possible Ancient Native Burial Site Found:
    Opinions about the excavation of an ancient Maliseet archaeological site in New Brunswick.
Native American Human Remains * Important Change in Maine Law :
    Repatriation of Maliseet and other American Indian human remains in Maine.
Maine House Bans the Word 'Squaw' * The "Squaw" Word * Squaw
    Bill to Ban 'Squaw' from Place Names * Northeast Wigwam: Squaw Names * Hurtful Words:
    The fight by Maine Indians to rename landmarks with the word squaw in them.
Maliseets Get Their Day in Court * Child Welfare and Race:
    Articles about the Maliseet struggle in Maine to win control over their own child welfare system.
Eagle Feathers Denied at Border:
    Clashes between US customs officials, Micmac and Maliseet Indians.
The Wabanaki Challenge:
    Cross-border Passamaquoddy and Maliseet relations and legal issues.
Sandra Lovelace * Human Rights Committee Decision * Native Women Honoured for Human Rights Fight:
    The successful fight of Malecite and other Canadian Indian women to regain their official status.
A National Disgrace:
    Editorial addressing problems facing Micmac and Maliseet natives of New Brunswick.

Maliseet History

Abenaki History:
    Tribal history of the Maliseet and other Wabanaki peoples.
Woodstock First Nation History:
    History of the Woodstock Maliseet First Nation.
The Maliseet:
    Brief history of the Maliseet Indians.
Maine Timeline of Native American Culture * The Wabanaki Indian Collection * Ready to Tell Overdue Story
    People of the Dawn:
    Maliseet and other Maine Indian history.
Quebec History: Malecite Indians: * Origin of the Maliseet
    Early ethnographies of the Malecites.
The Wabanaki Confederacy:
    Links about Wabanaki history.
Tarrateen War:
    History of the 17th-century Wabanaki war.
Compensation for Residential School Survivors * Shube nh acadie Indian Residential School
    Indian Residential Schools * Out of the Depths * Aboriginal Healing Foundation * Residential Schools
    Institutional Child Abuse in Canada * Aboriginal Peoples and Residential Schools:
    History of Shubenacadie and other Indian boarding schools of Canada, and the abuses Indian children suffered there.
Wolastoqiyik - Portrait of A People:
    Collection of historic Malecite photographs.
Maritimes Treaties * Treaty of 1749:
    18th century treaties between the English and the Maliseet ("St. John Indians").

Maliseet Genealogy

Genealogy Documents On-Line:
    Malecite and other Wabanaki peoples' census rolls and genealogical resources.
Maliseet & Micmac Vital Statistics:
    Database of Micmac and Maliseet demographics from New Brunswick church records.
Maliseet Tribal History:
    Genealogy and history of the Maliseet of Woodstock First Nation.
Maine Native American Genealogy:
    Information, links, and messageboards for Maliseets and other Maine Indians.
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick:
    Publicly available NB documents including Micmac and Maliseet genealogical records.
Native American Nations: Maliseet:
    Message board for people of Maliseet descent.
American Indian Genealogy:
    Direction for those seeking Maliseet and other American Indian ancestors.

Books for sale on the Maliseet

English and Passamaquoddy-Maliseet Dictionary:
    Maliseet-English dictionary.
Beginning Passamaquoddy:
    Five-cassette Passamaquoddy-Maliseet audio course.
Twelve Thousand Years:
    Reference book on the Malecites and other American Indians of Maine.
Enough is Enough: Aboriginal Women Speak Out:
    Profiles of Maliseet women and their views on Canadian aboriginal issues.
Accent and Syllable Structure in Passamaquoddy * Maliseet-Passamaquoddy Verb Morphology
    Passamaquoddy Texts:
    Maliseet-Passamaquoddy linguistics books.
Indian Books:
    Evolving list of books about Native Americans in general.

Links, References, and Additional Information

Malécites * Malecites: * Les Malécites: * La Nation Malécite:
    Information about the Maliseet Indian Nation in French.
Maliseet * Malecite Indians * Malecites:
    Encyclopedia articles about the Maliseet Indians.
Maliseet Indians * Native Americans: Maliseet:
    Malecite Indian links pages.



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