Peskotomuhkati | |
|---|---|
 Passamaquoddy men in a canoe (2016) Locations of the Passamaquoddy Reservations and Peskotomuhkati Nation | |
| Total population | |
3,575 enrolled tribal members
| |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| United States (Maine) | 3,369 (0.3%) |
| Canada (New Brunswick) | 206 (0.03%) |
| Languages | |
| Maliseet-Passamaquoddy,English | |
| Religion | |
| Wabanaki mythology,Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Abenaki,Maliseet,Mi'kmaq,Penobscot | |
| Person | Peskotomuhkat |
|---|---|
| People | Peskotomuhkatiyik |
| Language | Peskotomuhkatuwey |
| Country | Peskotomuhkatihkuk Wabanaki |
ThePassamaquoddy (Passamaquoddy:Peskotomuhkati, Plural:Peskotomuhkatiyik) are aNative American/First Nations people who live in northeastern North America. Their traditional homeland,Peskotomuhkatikuk, straddles the Canadian province ofNew Brunswick and the U.S. state ofMaine in a region called Dawnland. They are one of the constituent nations of theWabanaki Confederacy.
ThePassamaquoddy Tribe in Maine is afederally recognized tribe. The Passamaquoddy people in Canada have an organization known as thePeskotomuhkati Nation, but it does not have official First Nations status.
The name "Passamaquoddy" is an anglicization of the Passamaquoddy wordpeskotomuhkati, theprenoun form (prenouns being a linguistic feature ofAlgonquian languages) ofPeskotomuhkat (pestəmohkat), theirendonym, or the name that they use for themselves.Peskotomuhkat literally means "pollock-spearer" or "those of the place wherepollock are plentiful",[1] reflecting the importance of this fish in their culture.[2] Their method offishing was spear-fishing, rather than angling or using nets.Passamaquoddy Bay is shared by both New Brunswick and Maine; its name was derived by the English settlers from the Passamaquoddy people.
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The Passamaquoddy have anoral history supported with visual imagery, such as birchbark etching and petrographs prior to European contact. Among theAlgonquian-speaking tribes of the looseWabanaki Confederacy, they occupy coastal regions along theBay of Fundy,Passamaquoddy Bay, andGulf of Maine, and along theSt. Croix River and its tributaries. Traditionally, 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.[3]
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 currentIndian Township Reservation, at45°15′57″N67°36′43″W / 45.26583°N 67.61194°W /45.26583; -67.61194, in easternWashington County, Maine. It has a land area of 37.45 square miles (97.0 km2) and a2000 census resident population of 676 persons. They also control the smallPassamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation in eastern Washington County, which has a land area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2) and a population of 749, per the 2010 census.[4]
The total Passamaquoddy population is around 3,576 people. About 500 people, most if not all over the age of 50, speak theMaliseet-Passamaquoddy language, shared (other than minor differences in dialect) with the neighboring and relatedWolastoqiyik people. It belongs to theAlgonquian branch of theAlgic language family. TheUniversity of Maine published a comprehensivePassamaquoddy 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, there is an organization called thePeskotomuhkati Nation, with 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 aFirst Nation. In 2004, Chief Akagi was authorized to represent the Passamaquoddy at events marking the 400th anniversary of French settlement ofSt 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.[5]
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The Passamaquoddy, along with the neighboringPenobscot, are given special political status inMaine. Both groups are allowed to send a nonvoting representative to theMaine House of Representatives. Although these representatives cannot vote, they may sponsor any legislation regarding American Indian affairs, and may co-sponsor any other legislation.
Maps showing the approximate locations of areas occupied by members of theWabanaki Confederacy (from north to south):
