Malecite

Malecite, also called Maliseet, North American Indians of the Algonquian language family who occupied the Saint John valley in what is now New Brunswick, Can., and the northeastern corner of what is now the U.S. state of Maine. Their language was closely related to that of the Passamaquoddy, and they were members of the Abenaki Confederacy, a group of Algonquian-speaking tribes organized for protection against the Iroquois Confederacy.

Traditionally, the Malecite practiced corn (maize) cultivation, as well as hunting and fishing. Birch bark, wood, stone, and ceramics were used for the manufacture of utensils, tools, and weapons. A tribal council consisting of a war chief, a civil chief, and representatives of each family decided most tribal questions; a general council of the entire tribe decided war matters on a consensus basis.

Although the Malecite were probably interacting with English and French explorers as early as the middle of the 16th century, the first record of such contact dates from Samuel de Champlain’s voyage of 1604. Fort La Tour, built on the Saint John River early in the 17th century, became a centre for trade and cultural exchange. The few French settlers in that area intermarried with the tribe, strengthening the Malecite alliance with the French as well as the tribe’s hostility to the English. The English gained control of eastern Canada following the French and Indian War, and the tribe disputed the new colonizer’s land claims until 1776, after which certain lands were assigned to the tribe. By 1856 their territory had been reduced to the Tobique River valley and another small tract.

Population estimates indicated more than 2,000 individuals of Malecite descent in the early 21st century.