Maliseet

Maliseet The MALISEET is also known as MALECITE, MALESCHITE and MALECITE. The Maliseet is a branch of the Algonquian native group.

Historical Background Their name comes from the Mi'kmaq word "malisit" meaning "broken talker". They called themselves the "Wulastegniak" meaning "good river people." .

The Maliseet are First Nations people who lived beside the St The Maliseet are First Nations people who lived beside the St. John River, St. Croix River, and Passamaquody Bay, in western New Brunswick and northeastern Maine. Their main settlement was Medoctec, on the St. John, about ten miles below the present Woodstock, N.B. Algonkian language family area. Maliseet areas shown by    

In the map below the Maliseet territory is in red, the Passamaquody is in gray.

Language The Wolastoqiyik and Mi'kmaq languages are fairly closely related, The name reflected what the Mi'kmaq perceived to be a sufficiently different dialect to be a "broken" version of their own language.

The Maliseet share the same language, customs and history of the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes, and at times their boundaries overlapped with that of the Passmaquoddy and Penobscot.

Culture The basic political unit for the Maliceet was called “bands”. They gathered in “bands,” of related families that traveled and lived together. These bands were a loosely organized group that self-governed themselves. There seems to have been very little organization beyond that; in politics, society, and religion the Maliceet can best be described as individualist.

Story Telling There are lots of traditional Maliseet legends and fairy tales that they passed on from generations from generations. Storytelling is very important to the Maliseet Indian culture. One famous legend is about Glooscap (Gluskabe), the culture hero of the Wabanaki tribes, and another is about Maliseet little people.

The Maliseet were nomadic hunters and in the summer fishermen The Maliseet traveled down river in their canoes in the spring, and back upstream in the autumn. In the spring, they stayed in larger groups near the ocean, and planted crops like of corn (maize), beans, and squash.

In the autumn, after the harvest, they traveled back upstream, taking their supplies with them and they spread out in smaller groups to hunt game during the winter.

Hunting Maliseet people also hunted deer and moose, particularly in the winter when Maliseet snowshoes gave hunters a chance to catch big game in the snow. Usually it was men who did the hunting and fishing, while Maliseet women harvested corn and gathered fruit.

Fishing The Maliseet were expert fishermen, using pronged spears to catch fish from their canoes as you can see in the picture. Fish was an important food source for them.

Clothing They sometimes wore a headband with a feather in it or a beaded cap. They also had a distinctive kind of hood. They didn't usually paint their faces. Most Maliseet men and women wore their hair long. The women wore long dresses with removable sleeves. The men wore breechcloths with leather pant legs tied on.

Clothing Baby mocassins c1842 The Maliseet’s wore moccasins on their feet.

Travel The Maliseet people were well-known for their birch bark canoes.

Travel Maliseet people also used dogs as pack animals and they used sleds and snowshoes to help them travel in the winter. Maliseet Snowshoes 1872

Housing The Maliseet people lived in small round buildings called wigwams made from birch bark and wooden poles.

Family Life Maliceet children had dolls and toys to play with, and the boys liked to play a ball-kicking game. Maliseet mothers carried their babies in cradleboards on their backs.

How they adapted to the land in which they lived? The Maliseet have a strong spiritual bond with the land. To survival the Maliseet people only took what they needed from the environment. They never wasted any material or food. The land they lived on provided everything they needed. They lived beside a river that provided fish for food and a method for transportation. They canoed the rivers in their birchbark canoes to travel from their summer and winter homes.

continued They used the trees for wood to build their fires for warmth and light. The birch bark was used for canoes, wigwams and bowls. Poles were used for frames of the wigwam. They hunted animals for food, and used the skins for clothing and the furs for blankets. The Maliseet picked berries for food and gathered plants for medicine and dyes

Conclusion The Maliseet people were very wise to use the resources of the land. They needed the land to survive so they were smart not to waste any of the materials so the resource wouldn’t disappear.

Bibliography LeBel, Susan and Orr, Jeff. (2003) Canada’s History Voices and Visions .Toronto: Gaga learning Corporation. Redish, Laura and Orrin, Lewis. 1998 Native Languages of the America. 9/22/2006 http://www.geocites.com/bigorrin/maliseet_kids.htm 6/6 2006 Maliseet 9/22/2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maliseet