Misleading_Maps

GIS Course Assignment - Misleading Maps

I will attempt to show some misleading maps relating to how the Passamaquoddy Tribe has been left off the maps in Canada.  It is my argument that the Tribe has been and continues to be ignored intentionally and systematically written out and written off from the Canadian side of the border in New Brunswick Canada.  Atlas maps produced by the Government of Canada show a trend of ignoring the truth about the existence of the Passamaquoddy Tribe.  Volumes of evidence exists relating to the Passamaquoddy presence on the eastern side of the St Croix River.  In fact my grandfather was born in Oak Bay, NB and he lived at Pleasant Point later on.

This is not the place to tell the Passamaquoddy story.  However, the general public does not know much about the tribe, I feel it only proper to give you a little background information about the tribe and its homeland.  Please excuse the extra words but it is necessary.

The Passamaquoddy tribe has struggled keep their homeland since 1604 when Champlain sailed up the St Croix River.  The Tribe has had to deal with epidemics, broken promises, organized and land theft committed by the Canadian, Provincial and Local Government, broken treaties and wars between empires claiming Passamaquoddy land and wanting to exterminate the Indians.  The establishment of the USA and Canadian border also brought with it untold misery because this border cuts through the heart of Passamaquoddy Land.

The Passamaquoddy People have lived in this region (St Croix River basin) since time immemorial (at least since the last Ice Age).  Hundreds of generations of Passamaquoddies have been buried all around this region.  This area is sacred to the tribe and will always be considered Passamaquoddy Homeland Territory (both sides of the International Border) and vital to the continued survival of the people. (to learn more feel free to browse through the tribal web site "stolen land" pages.

Map taken from the Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy web site http://www.wabanaki.com/stolen_land.htm which shows the tribe’s Homeland.  The St. Croix River, also the International Boundary,  lies at the center of the Passamaquoddy Territory.  Several regional watersheds between the St John River in Canada and the Penobscot River in the USA fall within the Passamaquoddy territory.  These watersheds were recognized by neighboring tribes and early settlers as belonging to the Passamaquoddy.  Watersheds were also used as boundaries between tribal groups. 

 W. F. Ganong Map drawn in 1901 [1] showing the Passamaquoddy Tribal territory as he found it in 1901.  Even though Ganong grouped the Passamaquoddy Tribe in with the Maliseet Tribe he recognized that the Passamaquoddy had a very distinct and separate territory. 

 For visual ease I hilited the Passamaquoddy territory in red  on the Ganong map….

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I layered the Ganong map over the tribal map.  The tribe’s homeland is similar to the Ganong version.  Also notice the bold black line running right through the middle of the tribal homeland, this is the USA and Canada border.

Canadian Atlas Maps (here are the misleading maps)

Pick out any one of the following links.  The links will take you to other maps on “The Atlas of Canada” web site.  The Atlas maps show the whole country of Canada and you will have to click on the map to zoom close enough to view the Passamaquoddy Territory area, (Border of Maine and New Brunswick along the coast)

 http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/archives/5thedition/historical/mcr4094 
This map of  Native Peoples, 1740 shows Passamaquoddy listed as Ma 2 and is placed right on the border of the two countries (but there was no USA or Canada at the time).  It is a common mistake and is misleading to group the Passamaquoddy in with the Maliseet Tribe.  Both tribes are neighbors and linguistically related and there are some family ties but the Passamaquoddy are separate and distinct and have been since long before the Europeans arrived.  This lack of understanding lends to confusion by non-tribal and is reflected in the misleading maps as well.

 http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/archives/5thedition/historical/mcr4139
This misleading map of Native Peoples, 1823 Map shows Passamaquoddy located only in the USA (Ma 2 label gone), Maliseet (Ma 1) has been placed inside the Passamaquoddy territory.

http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/archives/1stedition/peopleandsociety/aboriginalpeoples/page29
Aboriginal Groups, 1906, Atlas of Canada, Dept of Interior map showing the absence of Passamaquoddy in Passamaquoddy Territory.

http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/archives/2ndedition/peopleandsociety/aboriginalpeoples/page55_56
Aboriginal Groups, 1915.  Again no Passamaquoddy.

http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/archives/3rdedition/peopleandsociety/aboriginalpeoples/052
Aboriginal  Population 1951 to 1955, again no Passamaquoddy in Canada. However the text Maliecite is written in our territory.

http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/archives/4thedition/peopleandsociety/aboriginalpeoples/119_120
Indian Lands and Languages, 1961 shows no Passamaquoddy

http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/archives/5thedition/peopleandsociety/aboriginalpeoples/mcr4001
Indian and Inuit Communities and Languages,1980 map does not show the Passamaquoddy.  Only the Maliseets in our area.  Shows no reserves anywhere near the Passamaquoddy Bay.  The Passamaquoddy reserves that did exist were taken away by the Canadian Government.  Passamaquoddy people continued to live on the land but were not considered. 

http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/archives/reference/indian_inuit/mcr_4025
Indian and Inuit Communities – Atlantic Provinces (1984) Map shows no Passamaquoddy Communities within our territory

Submitted by:
Ed Bassett
Pleasant Point
9-24-10

GIS Course Assignment - Misleading Maps

Copyright © 2003 Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point
Last modified:  04/20/2012 01:23:59 PM