Malecite

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Malecite or Maliseet (both: măl´əsīt), Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the early 17th cent. they occupied the valley of the St. John River in New Brunswick, Canada. The French settlers in this area intermarried with the Malecite, thereby forming a close alliance with the indigenous people. Hence, during the colonial wars the Malecite supported the French against the English. They now live in New Brunswick, Quebec, and Maine. In 1990 there were about 1,700 Malecite in Canada and about 900 in the United States.

See J. F. Pratson, Land of the Four Directions (1970).

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