“The natural world, like the world of Wabanaki families and communities, was/is based on relationships of trust. One could not, in any sense, own or possess these animals’ one could enter into a relationship with them which, like others of its kind, could be maintained or broken by the ways in which one behaved.”
If you are coming here to learn more about Wabanaki people, we will provide some information for you and connect you with other ways to learn, educate, and support us. The Wabanaki Confederacy is an expression of relationships, kinship, and shared governance that exists between Abenaki, Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot people. Our collective identity reflects the many commonalities we have with one another from our language dialects, woliwon, wela'lin, wəliwəni, all ways of saying thank you, to our common relationships to the land and water, such as waterways being our highways and the various relationships with plants, fish, and mammals along streams, marshes, estuaries, and coastlines.
Most importantly, we are connected through common values about how we engage with both the land, species, and people, that come from our creation stories, which is stated well in a Wabanakis and the Maritimes, a resource for teachers created by our elders and ancestors, “The natural world, like the world of Wabanaki families and communities, was/is based on relationships of trust. One could not, in any sense, own or possess these animals’ one could enter into a relationship with them which, like others of its kind, could be maintained or broken by the ways in which one behaved.” Though modern colonial settler governments force Wabanaki governments into modes of ownership, it’s important to note that the values of trust and reciprocity with both land and people is central to this work and reestablishing people’s relationship to the land now and for future generations. If you want to learn more about Wabanaki people, please explore the links below.