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Located in Presque Isle Maine
Federally Recognized November 26, 1991
Introduction
The majority of the 1000 members of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs live within Aroostook County, located in Northern Maine. As far as we know, from time immemorial the Micmacs have occupied the lands south and east of the Gulf of Saint Laurence, the Maritime Provinces and other regions along the Atlantic Seaboard of Northeastern America. The Micmac Nation, today, is composed of seven districts of 29 bands with a population of approximately 30 thousand.
The Micmac language is an Algonquin one, related to that of the Micmacs’ southern neighbors, the Maliseets, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and Abenaki. All these northeastern tribes are culturally and linguistically related. Collectively, this group is called the “Wabanaki”, which means “People of the Daybreak” or “Dawn land People” (wabun meaning “light” or “white”, aki meaning “earth”).
Like other tribes of Maine, the Micmac, continue to produce a variety of traditional baskets made of splint ash wood, birch bark and split cedar. The Micmac are recognized as excellent producers of porcupine quill on birch bark boxes and wooden flowers of strips of maple, cedar and white birch.
On November 26, 1991 after complex legal maneuvering and political lobbying the Aroostook Band of Micmacs finally achieved Federal Recognition with the passage of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs Settlement Act. This act provided the Community with acknowledgment of its tribal status in the United States. The Aroostook Band of Micmacs have succeeded in rejuvenating a part of the Micmac Nation.
Last Updated May 15, 2007
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