The Mythology of the Passamaquoddy Indians

Copyright © 1997 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

In the beginning, used to say the Indians, Klooscup, the first man, formed all things. All the animals then wer of the same size. The lively flea jumped forty miles. This was too rapid locomotion for the best interests of all concerned. So Klooscup rubbed him down until he became very little. The moose, on the other hand, was so stupid that he would neither do harm nor be unduly exuberant so he was rubbed larger. The squirrel ran up a tree so fiercely that he tore it down. He was rubbed smaller. Thus Klooscup rubbed everything larger or smaller according to the nature which it displayed. The trees were next formed, and the ash tree made king of them all. Klooscup stuck a great many bows and arrows into it, and presently came out men and women.

There was an old witch called Poochinquis who used to go up and down the forests crying, "I want your babies! I kill babies!" Klooscup caught her, cut her up in pieces and threw the pieces into the water. Out of these pieces came the mosquitoes, the flies and all the bad insects, with the exception, of course, of the fleas.

Thus the world was made ready for the needs and story of human life.

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From "Hinckley Township: Grand Lake Stream Plantation, A Sketch by Minnie Atkinson" from about 1920.

Maine's natives: The Passamaquoddies

Oneida Indian Nation's links to Native American Sites, including news, chat, a language page, and more.

The NativeWeb home page seeks to "provide a cyber-place for Earth's indigenous peoples." With legal information, newsletters and journals, childrens sites, historical material and lots of good links.

Brown ash basketry from the University of Maine's Hudson Museum. Their exhibit is on display in Caribou, Maine, through December, 1997.

Coil basketry and Quill decoration, a craft mastered by the Passamaquoddies, is explained on NativeTech.

A map with the locations of many of the tribes of the east and south, including the Passamaquoddies.

The Penobscot Primer Project at the University of Maine is a computerized Native American language resource for teaching and research, with audio clips.

The American Indian Tribal Directory from the American Indian Heritage Foundation.