The Waponahkiyik, known in English as the Wabanaki Confederacy, is a historical confederacy located in the Wabanaki (Dawnland) area, now called New England (particularly Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire) and the Canadian Maritimes (particularly Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.) Members of the Wabanaki Confederacy—the Wabanaki peoples, or simply the Wabanakis—consisted of five Algonquian tribes:
- Abenaki
- Míkmaq (Mi'kmaq or Micmac)
- Penawapskewi (Penobscot)
- Pestomuhkati (Passamaquoddy)
- Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet or Malicite)
and were closely allied with the Innu and Algonquin, and with the Iroquoian-speaking Wyandot. With the 1749 treaty, Great Britain joined the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Wabanaki Confederacy disbanded in 1862, but the five Wabanaki nations still exist, and they remain friends and allies today.
"Wabanaki Confederacy" in various indigenous languages
The term "Wabanaki Confederacy" in many Algonquian languages literally means "Dawn Land People":
- Mi'kmaq: Wabanahkiyik
- Maliseet-Passamaquoddy: Waponahkiyik/Waponahkewiyik
- Abenaki-Penobscot: Wôbanakiak
- Algonquin: Wàbanakìk
- Ojibwe: Waabanakiig/Waabanakiiyag
- Odawa: Waabnakiig/Waabnakiiyag
- Potawatomi: Wabnekiyeg
External links
- Native Languages of the Americas: Wabanaki Confederacy
- “Wabanaki People—A Story of Cultural Continuity”, timeline curriculum unit developed by the Abbe Museum.
- Storm Clouds Over Wabanakiak Confederacy Diplomacy Until Dummer's Treaty (1727) by Dr. Harald E. L. Prins
- Miingignoti-Keteaoag—a partnership committed to maintaining the integrity and way of life of the Wabanaki Nations
Further reading
- McBride, Bunny. (2001) Women of the Dawn
- Mead, Alice. (1996) Giants of the Dawnland: Eight ancient Wabanaki legends
- Walker, Willard. “The Wabanaki Confederacy.” Maine History 37 (3) (1998): 100-139
