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Northeast Wigwam: The Maliseet
Before contact with Europeans, the Maliseet occupied much of what is now considered the eastern border line of the U.S. and Canada in northern New England. After the Jay Treaty in 1794, the Maliseet obtained free border crossing rights between the two countries because their villages spanned both countries. They 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.
In the early 1970's, some Maliseet and members of other tribes not living on recognized reservations banded together to form the Association of Aroostook Indians, which eventually allowed them access to federal and state programs. They also gained free hunting and fishing licenses.
In the 1970's, the Houlton Band of Maliseets incorporated and were included in the Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement Act of 1980. They received federal recognition and funds from the settlement to purchase trust lands. The Houlton Band has a current enrollment of more than 600 people in Maine with many more Maliseet found throughout the state of Maine. The Maliseet Nation of Canada has 7 bands with more than 3,000 people.
Although federally recognized in the state of Maine, the Maliseet, along with many other tribes in the U.S. are fully subject to state or local jurisdiction.
--written by Harold and Deborah Champlain, Narragansett
Indian languages
