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Person | Wəlastəkwew |
---|---|
People | Wəlastəkwewiyik |
Language | Wəlastəkwey |
Country | Wəlastəkok Wabanaki |
The Wolastoqiyik,[1] also Wəlastəkwewiyik, Malecite or Maliseet (English: /ˈmæləsiːt/)[2] are an Algonquian-speaking First Nation of the Wabanaki Confederacy. They are the Indigenous people of the Wolastoq (Saint John River) valley and its tributaries. Their territory extends across the current borders of New Brunswick and Quebec in Canada, and parts of Maine in the United States.
The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, based on the Meduxnekeag River in the Maine portion of their historical homeland, are—since 19 July 1776—the first foreign treaty allies with the United States of America. They are a federally recognized tribe of Wolastoqey people. Today Wolastoqey people have also migrated to other parts of the world. The Wolastoqiyik have occupied areas of forest, river and coastal areas within their 20,000,000-acre, 200-mile-wide, and 600-mile-long homeland in the Saint John River watershed.