Origins of the Wabanaki
"We are the Wabanakis; 'Children of the Dawn Country,' 'People of the East.' Five tribes made up our nation: Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Micmac, Maliseet, and a tribe now gone that lived…
From: Unknown To: 1907 C.E.
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
"The Wabanakis," from The Indians' Book, told by Bedagi and compiled by Natalie Curtis Burlin, 1907.
We are the Wabanakis; "Children of the Dawn Country," "People of the East." Five tribes made up our nation: Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Micmac, Maliseet, and a tribe now gone that lived on the Kennebec River. Some of the tribes had almost the same speech, others a different one. Long have the white men been among us, yet though we have forgotten many of the old songs and stories, we have never lost our language. It is only nowadays that the children use less and less the speech of their fathers.
Long have the white men been among us. Yet some of us still remember the time when our lives were spent in hunting and fishing, and our villages were of wigwams instead of houses.
In the olden time our garments were of moose-skin and fur, our pouches were the skins of animals, our dishes were of wood and bark. Before the coming of white men, our knives and tomahawks and all our tools were of stone. With a stone knife we cut open the moose and with a tool of stone we skinned him. We fished with a bait of stone, well greased with moose-tallow, on a line of moose-sinew. Our lives were simple and glad, and our marriages were happy. Man and woman made their vow to the Great Spirit. In our old religion we believed that the Great Spirit who made all things is in everything, and that with every breath of air we drew in the life of the Great Spirit.
Burlin, Natalie Curtis. The Indians' Book. Harper and Brothers, 1907.
About TOTA
TOTA.world provides cultural information and sharing across the world to help you explore your Family’s Cultural History and create deep connections with the lives and cultures of your ancestors.
