Micmac

/mik"mak/, n., pl. Micmacs, (esp. collectively) Micmac for 1.

1. a member of a North American Indian people now living mostly in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.

2. the Algonquian language of these people.

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or Mi'kmaq

North American Indian people living in Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, Can.

; and in Aroostook, Maine, and near Boston, Mass., U.S. The Micmac comprise the largest of the Indian tribes of Canada's eastern Maritime Provinces. Early chronicles describe them as fierce and warlike, but they were among the first Indians to accept Jesuit teachings and intermarry with the settlers of New France. The Micmac formed a confederacy of several clans. In winter they hunted caribou, moose, and small game; in summer they fished, gathered shellfish, and hunted seals. They were expert canoeists. In the 17th–18th centuries they were allies of the French against the English. Estimates of the current population vary. The total population of Micmac in the U.S. and Canada is probably about 20,000.

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▪ people

      the largest of the North American Indian tribes traditionally occupying what are now Canada's eastern Maritime Provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island) and parts of the present states of Maine and Massachusetts, U.S. Because their Algonquian (Algonquian languages) dialect differed greatly from that of their neighbours, it is thought that the Micmac settled the area later than other tribes in the region.

      Historically, the Micmac were probably the tribe that Italian explorer John Cabot (Cabot, John) first encountered in 1497. Although early European chroniclers described them as fierce and warlike, they were among the first native peoples to accept Jesuit teachings and to intermarry with the settlers of New France. In the 17th and 18th centuries the Micmac were allies of the French against the English, frequently traveling south to raid the New England frontiers.

 Traditionally, the Micmac were seasonally nomadic. In winter they hunted caribou, moose, and small game; in summer they fished and gathered shellfish and hunted seals on the coasts. Winter dwellings were conical wickiups (wickiup) (wigwams) covered with birch bark or skins; summer dwellings were varied, usually oblong wigwams, relatively open-air. Micmac clothing was similar to that of other Northeast Indians (Northeast Indian). Both men and women wore robes made of fur (later of blankets), while men typically wore loincloths and women dresses; clothing was generally ornamented with ample amounts of fringe.

      Micmac social and political life was flexible and loosely organized, with an emphasis on kin relations. They were part of the Abenaki Confederacy (Abenaki), a group of Algonquian-speaking tribes allied in mutual hostility against the Iroquois Confederacy.

      Population estimates indicated some 14,000 Micmac descendants in the early 21st century.

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