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Passamaquoddy |
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| Original Source: - Northeast Wigwam - Passamaquoddy | ||
| The Maliseet and Passamaquoddy people were closely related neighbors who shared a common language. The Passamaquoddy were great whalers and fishermen. Today's Passamaquoddy have two reservations in eastern Maine: the Pleasant Point Reservation with approximately 225 acres and more than 600 people on the Passamaquoddy Bay, and the Indian Township Reservation, about 50 miles inland with a 23,000 acre forested landscape and more than 600 people. The total Passamaquoddy population in Maine is about 2,500 people, with more than 1/2 the adults still speaking the Passamaquoddy language. | ||
| What does Passamaquoddy mean? | This name refers to a traditional way of catching
pollock (a kind of fish) by using a spear.
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What are Passamaquoddy arts and crafts like?
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Passamaquoddy artists are known for their
basketweaving and beadwork. Passamaquoddy and other eastern American
Indians also crafted wampum out of white and purple shell beads to use
as regalia, currency, and commemoration of important events. The designs
and pictures on wampum often told a story or represented family affiliations.
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| Where do the Passamaquoddy live? | The Passamaquoddys are original natives of
the area between Maine and New Brunswick. They lived on both sides of
the border, because they were there before Canada and the United States
became countries. Today, most Passamaquoddy people live on the US side
of the border, in Maine. There is still one band that lives in Canada,
though. They lived in extended families in summer villages of up to 100 people.
On fertile river floodplains along the coastal inlets, they planted and
cultivated "The Three Sisters" (beans, corn, squash). Their
canoes of different sizes varied in design from the coast to the interior
and are very similar to Maliseet canoes.
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| What were Passamaquoddy homes like? | Their homes were dome or oval-shaped wigwams
covered in birch bark or woven matting. In fall and winter, they
lived in conical, bark-covered teepees when they scattered in small groups
and went inland. Each man had his own hunting territory, inherited
through his father.
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| What was Passamaquoddy clothing like? | The Passamaquoddies also had pointed caps
like their allies the Mi'kmaq, and moccasins for their feet. Most Passamaquoddy
men and women wore their hair long; the women wore long skirts or dresses
with removable sleeves, and men wore breechcloths with leather pant legs
tied on. In colonial times, the Passamaquoddys adapted some European fashions
such as blouses and jackets, decorating them with fancy beadwork.
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What was their barter system like?
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The Wabanaki were hunters spending much of their
time in isolated hunting camps. The additional pressure of several hundred
people on the Machias area's hunting territories had drastically depleted
the game, resulting in a shortage of food. They were far from large population
centers that could provide sources of income. The basket industries developed
during this period and by the middle of the 19th century Indian craftwork
became their largest single source of income. Seal oil, seal skins, and porpoise oil (for use in watches and lighthouses)
were in demand so they provided these. They sold fish. They became fishing
and hunting guides for Canadians, Americans, and others.
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What kinds of food did they eat and how did they get it?
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The Passamaquoddy people moved around a lot
as they collected food for their families. Usually the Passamaquoddy tribe
would travel to the coast in summertime to fish, hunt porpoise, and plant
corn, and then back inland during the winter to hunt game. Fish is still
important to their diet today. Passamaquoddys also gathered berries and
wild plants to eat, and made maple syrup from tree sap. |
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What kinds of weapons or tools did they use to get their food?
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Passamaquoddy hunters and warriors used bows
and arrows, spears, and wooden clubs. Passamaquoddy fishermen used harpoons
and pronged spears to catch fish and porpoises.
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What kinds of games did they play?
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Bundle and Pin - This traditional Woodland
Indian game is called "T'wis", by the Passamaquoddy Natives
of Maine. The T'wis is an indoor game that is composed of an oblong piece
of moose
hide, about four inches in length, punctured with small holes, the center
one being slightly larger than the others. This piece of hide is joined
to a bundle of cedar twigs, tightly wound round with the
cord. To this, by several inches of string, is attatched a sharp pointed
stick, tied near the center and held between the thumb and forefinger
like a pen.The game consists of giving the moosehide an upward toss
and at the same time piercing one of the holes with the pointed end of
the stick. The number
of points necessary for the winning is usually set at 100. Each player
can hold the t'wis until he misses a point.
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What kinds of stories do the Passamaquoddy tell?
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There are lots of traditional Passamaquoddy
legends and fairy tales. Storytelling is very important to the Passamaquoddy
Indian culture. One of their most important legends is about Glooscap
(Gluskabe), the culture hero of the Wabanaki tribes, and another is about
a brave Passamaquoddy
girl.
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| What was their transportation like? |
The Passamaquoddy tribe was well-known for
their birchbark canoes. Canoeing is still popular among Passamaquoddys,
though not many people handcraft their own canoe from birch bark anymore.
When they
were on dry land, Passamaquoddy people usually just walked, though they
did have sleds and snowshoes to help them in the winter (they learned
to make those tools from northern neighbors like the Crees.)
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