Location

Extending across most of northern New England into the southern part of the Canadian Maritimes, the Abenaki called their homeland Ndakinna meaning "our land." The eastern Abenaki were concentrated in Maine east of New Hampshire's White Mountains, while the western Abenaki lived west of the mountains across Vermont and New Hampshire to the eastern shores of Lake Champlain. The southern boundaries of the Abenaki homeland were near the present northern border of Massachusetts excluding the Pennacook country along the Merrimack River of southern New Hampshire. New England settlement and war forced many of the Abenaki to retreat north into Quebec where two large communities formed at St. Francois and Becancour near Trois-Rivieves. These have continued to the present-day. There are also three reservations in northern Maine (Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and Maliseet) and seven Maliseet reserves located in New Brunswick and Quebec. Other groups of Abenaki, without reservations, are scattered across northern New Hampshire and Vermont.

Population

Before contact, the Abenaki (excluding the Pennacook and Micmac) may have numbered as many as 40,000 divided roughly between 20,000 eastern; 10,000 western; and 10,000 maritime. Due to early contacts with European fishermen, at least two major epidemics hit the Abenaki during the 1500s: an unknown sickness sometime between 1564 and 1570; and typhus in 1586. The major blow came in the decade just prior to English settlement of Massachusetts in 1620, when three separate epidemics swept across New England and the Canadian Maritimes. Maine was hit very hard during 1617 (75% mortality), and the population of the eastern Abenaki fell to about 5,000. The western Abenaki were more isolated and suffered relatively less, losing perhaps half of their original population. The new diseases continued to take their toll:

smallpox 1631, 1633, and 1639;
unknown epidemic 1646;
influenza 1647;
smallpox 1649;
diphtheria 1659;
smallpox 1670;
influenza 1675;
smallpox 1677 and 1679;
smallpox and measles 1687;
and smallpox 1691, 1729, 1733, 1755, and 1758.

The Abenaki population continued to decline, but after 1676 they absorbed thousands of refugees from southern New England displaced by settlement and King Philip's War. As a result, descendents of almost every southern New England Algonquin (Pennacook, Narragansett, Pocumtuc, Nipmuc) can still be found among the Abenaki, especially the Sokoki (western Abenaki). After another century of war and disease, there were less than 1,000 Abenaki remaining after the American Revolution. The population has currently recovered to almost 12,000 on both sides of the border. Within the United States, the Abenaki are not, and never have been, federally recognized as a tribe. However, three component tribes in Maine: Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and the Houlton Band of Maliseet, have this status.

History

For the most part, the Abenaki had remained neutral in the struggles between Britain and France, but the alliance between the English and Iroquois pushed them to the French. On the eve of King Philip's War (1675-76), the Abenaki not only resented English support of the Iroquois but were increasingly concerned about the appetite of the New England colonists for land. Massive Puritan immigration during the 1660s launched a rapid expansion of white settlement into native territory, and the first areas taken were the valuable farmlands in the river valleys. Trapped between the Mohawk in the west and growing English settlement from the east, the Algonquin of southern New England joined together under the leadership of Metacomet (King Philip) in a general attack against the New England colonies in 1675. Although many sympathized with Philip, the Androscoggin (also some Sokoni and Pennacook) were the only Abenaki at first to participate directly in the uprising. The majority of the Abenaki were neutral, but it appears some provided French firearms and ammunition to Philip's warriors, while others gave food and refuge to the hostiles.

The colonists lost heavily in the struggle, and in their desperation, they retaliated with an indiscriminate fury against all Indians. Only two Pennacook villages joined Philip - the Pennacook sachem Wannalancet was able to keep most of his people out of the fighting. However, the English became convinced the Pennacook were giving aid and comfort, and a expedition commanded by Captain Samuel Mosely attacked them in 1676. After 200 Nashua were massacred and the survivors sold into slavery, most Pennacook either fought or left for Canada. By 1676 even the Penobscot and Kennebec had been drawn into the war. In the end the colonists won, but even by their own accounts, they were brutal. Thousands had been massacred or starved. After 1676 only 4,000 Native Americans remained in southern New England. In what has been called the "Great Dispersal," the survivors had been forced to leave their homeland, but they did not go far. Some accepted a sanctuary offered by the governor of New York (Edmund Andros) and settled among the Mahican at Schaghticook on the Hudson. Others found refuge with the Delaware in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but large numbers of refugees - angry from their mistreatment by the New England colonists - joined the Abenaki.

The English had also suffered (at least 600 killed and 13 towns burned), but it is pretty obvious they had given much better than they had received, and their hatred is reflected in the harsh peace terms they imposed on the survivors. By most accounts, the King Philip's War ended with Philip's death in 1676. In reality it was just beginning and would continue for 50 years. During the war, several English expeditions sent against the Abenaki and Pennacook only succeeded in capturing empty villages. It was the first experience of the English with an enemy that would vanish only to attack later. Abenaki retreated to Canada and settled near Sillery (Quebec). They did not return to Maine for several years until after the fighting had subsided. The Sokoki continued to raid Massachusetts, but the governor of New York set the Mohawk on them forcing them to relocate to Trois-Rivieres, and St. Francois River for French protection.

For much more on the history of the Abenaki People visit dickshovel.com.