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Native Languages of the Americas:Abenaki (Abanaki, Abenakis, Alnôbak)
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People: The Abenaki tribe, together with the
Maliseet,
Passamaquoddy,
Mi'kmaq, and
Penobscot
Indians, were members of the old
Wabanaki Confederacy,
adversaries of the
Iroquois. These allies from the eastern seaboard spoke related
languages, and Abenaki and Wabanaki have the same Algonquian
root, meaning "people from the east." Today 2000 Abenakis live on two
reserves in Quebec, and another 10,000 Abenaki descendants are scattered
throughout New England. Only the Canadian Abenaki tribe is officially
recognized, but there are at least three Abenaki bands in the United States:
the Sokoki and Mazipskwik Abenakis of Vermont and the Cowasucks of
Massachusetts. History: Modern Abenaki history has been a fugue of attrition and regrouping. Up to 75% of Native Americans in New England died of European diseases in the 1500's and 1600's. Dozens of distinct tribes originally lived in this area, but after each disaster the survivors of neighboring villages merged together, and their identities became blurry even in Indian oral history. Since the Abenaki people retreated into Canada to avoid attacks, the British considered them Canadian Indians, but in fact the Abenakis were original natives of New England--and though their strategy of merging after heavy losses and hiding their existence from more powerful neighbors has hampered the Abenaki tribe's quest for federal recognition, it has also ensured their survival as a people. Native Languages of the Americas Website:Abenaki (Abanaki, Abenakis, Alnôbak) |
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Our People
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Our People Jesuit Father Pierre Biard came in contact with Abenaki Indians at Kennebec in 1611. He attributed to them the qualities of "noble savages". In an excerpt from the Jesuit Relations, he wrote this: "... The most prominent sagamore was called Betsabes, a man of great discretion and prudence; and I confess we often see in these savages natural and graceful qualities which will make anyone but a shameless person blush, when they compare them to the greater part of the French who come over here." COWASS North America Inc. the Jesuit Relations |
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 "Indian
Encampment, Lake Memphramagog"By Cornelius Krieghoff;1854 oil on canvas The Koasekiak (People of the
White Pines), variously spelled throughout history as Coos, Cowasuck, Cohass
etc., have centered around Koas (Place of the White Pines) now known as
Newbury VT and Haverhill NH for thousands of years.
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