Description
The Abenaki are Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. While Abenaki peoples have shared cultural traits, they did not historically have a centralized government. They came together as a post-contact community after their original tribes were decimated by colonization, disease, and warfare. The word Abenaki is a combination of two words. “Abena” means “Flickering Light” and “Ki” means “People.” Together the word translates as “People of the First Light” or “People of the Dawnland.” Their name connects with the fact that the Abenaki people live in the eastern part of the United States, where the sun rises.The Abenaki are one of several tribes in the Wabanaki Confederacy. Traditional Abenaki social organization consisted of relatively small kin-based bands led by a civil chief who advised the group and facilitated consensus-based decision making; there was usually a separate war chief.
Language
The Abenaki language is closely related to the Panawahpskek (Penobscot) language. It has come close to extinction as a spoken language. Tribal members are working to revive the Abenaki language at Odanak (means "in the village"), a First Nations Abenaki reserve near Pierreville, Quebec, and throughout New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York state.
Culture
The Abenaki were a farming society that supplemented agriculture with hunting and gathering. Generally the men were the hunters. The Abenaki were a patrilineal society, which was common among New England tribes. In this they differed from the six Iroquois tribes to the west in New York, and from many other North American Native tribes who had matrilineal societies. Groups used the consensus method to make important decisions. Storytelling is a major part of Abenaki culture. It is used not only as entertainment but also as a teaching method. The Abenaki view stories as having lives of their own and being aware of how they are used. Stories were used as a means of teaching children behavior. Children were not to be mistreated, and so instead of punishing the child, they would be told a story.