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Abenaki Literature

The main body of Abenaki are in western Maine, mostly in the valleys of the Kennebec, Androscoggin, and Sacos rivers, and the neighbouring coast. They originally emigrated from the Southwest, having encountered John Cabot in 1498; but the Indians had no other dealings with white people at that time. In 1604, Champlain passed along the coast and visited Abenaki bands. In 1607 and 1608 the Plymouth Company made an unsuccessful effort to form a permanent settlement at the mouth of the Kennebec. Later, the Abenaki withdrew to Canada, settling around St. Francis.

There are two primary dialects of Abenaki: Western Abenaki, the language of the Abenaki community at Odanak, and Eastern Abenaki, represented by the modern language of the Penobscot tribe and the Abenaki linguistic materials of the colonial French missionaries.

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The Abenaki language is closely related to those of their neighboring Wabanaki tribes such as the Mi'kmaq, Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet), and Pestomuhkati (Passamaquoddy), as well as with other Eastern Algonquian languages. There were numerous cultural differences between the Algonquian tribes and those of the Five Nations, with linguistic and spiritual differences being the most noticeable.

The homeland of the Abenaki, known to them as Ndakinna, which means "our land", extended across most of northern New England, southern Quebec, and the southern Canadian Maritimes. The Eastern Abenaki's population was concentrated in portions of Maine east of New Hampshire's White Mountains. The other major tribe, the Western Abenaki, lived in the Connecticut River valley in Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The Missiquoi lived along the eastern shore of Lake Champlain. There were also the Pennacook along the Merrimack River in southern New Hampshire. The maritime Abenaki lived around the St. Croix and Wolastoq (St. John River) valleys near the boundary line between Maine and New Brunswick.

The settlement of New England and frequent wars caused many Abenakis to retreat to Quebec. Two large tribal communities formed near St-Franois-du-Lac (Odanak) and BŽcancour (W™linak). These settlements continue to exist to this day. Three reservations also exist in northern Maine, and seven Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) reserves are located in New Brunswick and Quebec. Other groups of Abenaki, without reservations, are scattered across northern New Hampshire and Vermont.

The Penawapskewi (Penobscot) have a reservation with 2,000 people on Indian Island at Old Town, Maine. The Pestomuhkati (Passamaquoddy) currently number about 2,500 across three different Maine reservations: Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Reservation, Peter Dana Point, and Indian Township. The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians have close to 600 tribesmembers, whereas there are seven Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) bands in Canada, 470 in Quebec and 2,000 in New Brunswick. Four hundred Wolinak Abenakis live on a reserve near Becancour, Quebec (across the river from Trois-Rivires), and almost 1,500 live at Odanak, only 30 miles (48 km) to the southwest of Trois-Rivires. The remaining Abenaki people are scattered within Quebec, New Brunswick, and northern New England, living in multi-racial towns and cities. About 2,500 Vermont Abenaki live in Vermont and New Hampshire, chiefly around Lake Champlain.

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The Indigenous Peoples' Literature was researched and cataloged by Glen Welker for the American Indian Heritage Foundation, Indians.org

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