TODAY...

Today, within New Brunswick, approximately 4,000 Maliseet live within the Madawaska, Tobique, Woodstock, Kingsclear, There are also 600 in the Saint Mary's and Oromacto First Nations, Houlton Band in Maine and 1,200 in the Viger First Nation in Quebec. An unknown number of 'off-reserve' Maliseet live throughout Canada and the US. We as a People were nearly eradicated with wars prior to colonization. Today our list of Status Band Members continues to grow because of the discrimination law suits brought on by Sharon McIvor. Legitimate bloodline descendants (of bill c-31) are now allowed to be added to INAC list of Indians. We are still waiting on the Government to make the change to the Indian Act nearly 2 years after Sharon won the discrimination suit.

In 1985 women who married outside their race were given their rights back, along with their children. McIvor then won another round with the Indian Act and one generation of these same women's grandchildren will be added to the list. We are still awaiting change to the act to implement this process. We as a Nation have already added these children to our membership; we're not waiting for their time to be known as status band members.

We are currently working on our Economic Business Complex at the mouth of TransCanada. Voted in by 78% of our status membership, TransCanada ends on our reserve on the east coast. We plan to be up and operating these businesses within the next 5 years. It is a way to sustain our people and assure the future for our children.  

Our Current Chief Joanna Bernard is an amazing Maliseet woman. She has been our chief for the past 8 years. She has tripled the housing built for her people and has brought us the EC plan that our Nation has voted in. She was voted in as the President of the Union of New Brunswick Indians in 2010, where she served as vice-president the previous year. Chief Bernard now oversees the well being of 15 First Nations in our providence.

I am a bloodline descendant of a rich and vibrant culture that has for the past 150 years survived the discrimination of the Indian Act, a Genocide/Ethnocide, and Native Residential Schools. Together we are the Voice of this Generation, we are the Guardians of our Children’s Future and we are still here Protecting Mother Earth. The time has come to teach the true history of this land and respect Indigenous People in their own homelands. Even in death we cannot be silenced.

Russ Letica

Madawaska Maliseet First Nation