nd Trigger, B .. G. 1978. Handbook 

 Indians: . ottheast. S1nithsonian 

dition. Vol.l5 pp. 126-127 

VOLUME 15 

Northeast 

DRU C E G . TR I GGER 

Vulrmtl' Ediwr 

SMIT H SON I AN I NSTITUTION 

WASil I NGTON 

1978 
. . . . . . 

. 

 

 

 

 



h 

, 

~ 

f'a.'>S:IUt:llfiUfMfd)' 

~an . I, 1970) Band 

Peler Dana Point 213 

(Jan. I, 1971) l'lea.anl !'oint 793 JJO 463 

1.006 

There are no Jiving full-blooded Maliseel-l'assanoa<luoddies, as intermarriage with Caucasians has occurreJ 

since the seventeenth century. Most Mali~cet s and Passamaquoddics growing up on the rese rv~t ions s~e ak 

some of their native language but ICw are halmgual. ll.tc 

oiJc:~t 

are Malisect-l'assamaquoddy domin01nt, hut clllldren lend lo speak lillie of I he language. The l'leasanl 

Point. Woodstock. and Tobique reservations have undergone lhe mosl accuiiUralion: Oromoclo, Kingsclear. 

and Peler Dana Poinl lhe least. 

Cullure 

Subsistence 

The early hislo rical period was characlerized by link or 

no competition for resources on the winter huntmg 

grounds. at cultivated areas, along the rivers ncar wan~

weather villages, or at successful fishing spots. Subsistence activities and the annual cycle were scheduled according to whatever food resources were available :and 

could be oblained mosl <asily during a parlicular season. 

Gyles's ( 1851 :83) accounl of his Maliseel family is lypocal of lhe lradilional period. On relurning from lheor 

ICKSO~ 

I 

i 

winter hunting territories to the eerural illa~e in spring. 

corn was planled. In June lhe MaliseeiS wenl 10 one of 

the islands in the Saint John to camp. lir~t to spear bass 

and later sturgeon. Several trips were rn:tde hack and 

forth from garden plots to fishing site!i. in the summer. 

Afler corn was hilled the 

Ma lisccts went out to !'pear fish 

including salmon by lorchlighl al ni~hl (Jig. 3). Fish. 

wild grapes, and rools provided lhe summer diel. In fall 

corn was harvesled, and lhe porlion !hal was dried was 

either stored in subterranean pits lined with bark or 

taken along on the migratory winter hunt. This hunt for 

moose or bear was done by groups of 8 10 10 people, 1wo 

of whom were adull men. Unlil prin~. lhe group conlinually !raveled over a large area of Maine. New Brunswick. and the Gaspe Peninsula in starch of g;,me. A 

similar yearly round likely characleriud olher Mnlisccl 

bands unlil lhe expansion uf lloe LuyaliSis al lhe end of 

lhe eighlecnlh cenlury. 

The Loyalist expansion began a period of increased 

acculturation and competition for lands formerly used 

for hunling and !rapping. 801h Indian groups depended 

Cal. of V iMUI f .. rid.-. ~i! . J. 1M Pielpott, Pass.1m:~quoddy. sptarin! "'·hittfhh by Iorch 

lr~hl. The wooden spc.u is thrce·pronged. The torch is burninE 

birchbark held in the split end of a stick. Phototraphtd at Peter 

Dana Poin1 Restrntion about 1910. 

114 All S E ET . rA SS .\ M AQ C ODOY 

more: on the fur trade: otter. beaver. and muskrat wen~ 

the main pelts, but moose hides were also rn:uketed. In 

late spring the I nt.lians came to the tr:1Jing posts or in 

later pcriotls assemhlcd at given points on the river, 

which were visitctl by the fur tratlcr who purchased their 

cah.:h. 

Some planting of gardens. potatoes. :wd grain was 

also done. although the commissioners to the Indians 

were frustrated by their lack of success in encouraging 

farming. Other income was available for the men as agric ultural laborers. log-boom drivers. guides for hunters 

and fishermen . and as stcvcJorcs on the river boats. 

Summer was a time for baskctmaking and othc:r wood 

industries. Migralory habits contim&ctl; oflcn families. 

somelimes two together. c:unpctl nc;tr White ~c ttl mcnl.._ ami. f.Oing from hou~c to hou ~c. tratlcd their w;trcs. Ferry ami ~Ieamer lamlint;~ proved popular tr.uling pot . Guiding. ofcour~c. 

m:u.lc unimpeded tradition:tl ta ll and 

winter hunting :'"d trapping impossible : the good guide 

guaranleed his employer lhal he would make his kill or 

ca lch: White ownership restricted the Indians' p3ssing 

over his former hunting and trapping grounds. Some 

Maliseets remained on the reservations or ncar the 

White seltlcmcnts the entire winter. making b:1skcts for 

sale or relying 'upon the kindness of White neighbors. 

Since approxima tely 1920 the Malisccts have made 

only nmrgin:tl usc of nonrcscrvation land (Mt.: Fc:et 

19<>2a:238- 239). i\clivilics arc Slill prcdicaled 11n lhc 

changing of the seasons. Spring find s lh.ldlchcac.l gathering: the young fCrn frouJs. exposed hy the lowering 

freshets. find a ready ma rke t. On the northern rcscrv01-

tions. cutting seec..l pHiatocs proviJcs income for many. 

Blueberry raking occurs in late summe r. nnd September 

anti Oc tober bring the busy period of put<lhl harvesting. 

Indians from all of New Drunswick am.! t\lainc go to 

northern Maine :.i1d adjacent New Brunswkk to work 

on the harvest. During the o llic i:tl hunting season most 

men go out In get their deer or nHKJSC, hut winter is 

generally a quiet time, :1lthuugh sotnc nwkc haskcts the 

entire c::~r . Jlassarn:uluoc..Jdy suhsistenc.:c :u:tiviti c:-; anJ illlfllHII 

cycle resembled the M:aliscct in most de tails for the three 

periods ou tlined. pring founc..l the same fishing am.l 

. plantin~c;. 

but June precipitatcJ a movement 

~a

hore . Men, two to a canoe. p:uJcllcU into the 

eas 

of lhe Bay of u~ lo-SiiOO! porpoise anu 

~Verril! 1954:96). Wlii1C il is nol unoversally agreed 

that porpoise nnd sea l hunting was aboriginal among the Pa ssaona~uoddy . EckSiurm (1932 : 15) suggcsiS 1ha1 seal 

and porpoise uil were useJ hy Maine Ind ians during the 

ceramic period. \Vhalcs \\'ere enticcJ bv 

men in canoes 

to swim into shallow :treas where they i)ct.·amc stranc..lcJ 

and were more easily killeJ. 7 xcursions were mac..le 

· borin ' islands to fish. In gather t.: ams and lobsters. 

o r to collect lhc eggs o sea 1r s. \Virllcr 1Unting anJ 

~ng lollow most details of the Maliscct. I ll