Passamaquoddy (tribe)

• CATEGORY: Tribe
• CULTURE AREA: Northeast
• LANGUAGE GROUP: Algonquian
• PRIMARY LOCATION: Maine
• POPULATION SIZE: 3,369 (2024 Passamaquoddy Sovereign Tribe) 350 in Canada (2020 Canadian Broadcasting Channel)

The Passamaquoddy nation has many similarities to the Abenaki nations of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and southern Quebec. All these Indigenous peoples make up the Wabanaki (dawnland) group. They have inhabited the region for more than ten thousand years.

The first contact with Europeans occurred in the late 1400s when English, Scandinavian, Spanish, and French anglers discovered the great quantities of cod along the Maine coast. Giovanni de Verrazano left the first written descriptions of the Maine Indigenous peoples in 1524. Both the English and the French tried to colonize the area, and the contact with new people brought devastating epidemics of smallpox and other diseases.

The fur trade changed traditional life by introducing guns, alcohol, and new religions. Many Indigenous Americans converted to Catholicism, were sympathetic toward the French, and supported the colonists during the American Revolution. The Passamaquoddy Nation was one of three Maine groups that remained on their original land, although, for economic reasons, they ceded more than a million acres of it to Massachusetts by treaty in 1794.

The Passamaquoddy followed the traditional lifestyle of the Abenaki. They had summer fishing villages and moved to northern hunting territory in the fall and late winter months. Winter clothing included skin leggings and a long cloak of beaver fur with sleeves tied on separately, with fur-lined moccasins or boots and tapered snowshoes. Traditional utensils and lightweight canoes were made from waterproof, durable white birch bark. Ash provided the material for splint baskets, which later became an important trade item. Beads made of quahog shells were woven into decorative clothing and used for exchange and in treaty negotiations.

In 1820, when Maine became a separate state from Massachusetts, it inherited the treaties and land deals made between the Passamaquoddy and other Indigenous peoples and Massachusetts. Beginning in the late 1960s, the Passamaquoddy pursued land claims against the state of Maine. It was not until 1980, however, that the Passamaquoddy and their Maine neighbors, the Penobscot, Mi'kmaq, and Maliseet, were recognized as Indigenous nations by the US federal government and became eligible to receive health and welfare services. The Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 established an $81.5 million fund for the nations. These funds were used to repurchase 300,000 acres of land, work toward economic independence through businesses such as a blueberry farm, and preserve culture through school education and a radio station. Between the 1980s and 2010s, language fluency declined, and efforts were launched in schools to teach younger generations of Passamaquoddy students to read and speak their language; teachers obtained certification in the language from the Passamaquoddy nation.

The 2010s were a time of struggle with the state over fishing rights and jurisdiction. In May 2015, the non-voting Passamaquoddy and Penobscot representatives to the Maine state legislature stepped down, citing the state's ongoing paternalism and refusal to respect Indigenous sovereignty. The nations announced their intention to send future envoys to the state as ambassadors.

In the 2020s, the majority of the Passamaquoddy nation in the United States lives in two self-governing reservation communities in Washington County, Maine: Indian Township (also known as Motahkomikuk) and Pleasant Point (also known as Sipayik). A third community lives in New Brunswick, Maine. Although they face challenges, such as the ongoing battle over fishing rights, they have also undertaken many positive environmental and cultural initiatives. The Passamaquoddy community in Canada, who self-identify as the Peskotomuhkati, continues to pursue recognition as a sovereign Indigenous nation from the Canadian government. 

Bibliography

"Culture & History." Passamaquoddy Tribe @ Indian Township, www.passamaquoddy.com/?page_id=24. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

French, Edward. "Canada's Sanction of 4 Passamaquoddy Fishermen Heats Dispute over Tribal Fishing Rights." Bangor Daily News, 7 Oct. 2024, www.bangordailynews.com/2024/10/07/down-east/downeast-police-courts/passamaquoddy-fishing-rights-dispute-canada. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

"Headline News: Wabanaki Sovereignty in the 21st Century." Abbe Museum, static1.squarespace.com/static/56a8c7b05a5668f743c485b2/t/5a67a84271c10ba8d0b4e0dd/1516742728951/Headline+News+Intro+and+Sovereignty.pdf. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

Mayer, Erika. "Passamaquoddy and Penobscot Withdrawal from the Maine Legislature." Cultural Survival, 1 June 2015, www.culturalsurvival.org/news/passamaquoddy-and-penobscot-withdrawal-maine-legislature. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

"Our People." Passamaquoddy Tribe @ Indian Township, www.passamaquoddy.com/?page_id=14. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

Pawling, Micah A. Wabanaki Homeland and the New State of Maine: The 1820 Journal and Plans of Survey of Joseph Treat. U of Massachusetts P, 2017.

Smith, Connell. "The Passamaquoddy People Could Be Close to Gaining Recognition in Canada." CBC, 28 Feb. 2020, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/treaty-indiginous-first-nation-recognition-hunting-fishing-rights-border-st-croix-maine-1.5478601. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

"Wabanaki Nations." National Park Service, 7 Sept. 2025, www.nps.gov/acad/learn/historyculture/wabanaki.htm. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

Woodard, Colin. "The Passamaquoddy’s Land Claim Case Takes Shape: 1967." Portland Press Herald, 22 July 2020, www.pressherald.com/2014/07/05/the-passamaquoddys-land-claim-case-takes-shape. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.