The
Abenaki (
Abnaki,
Alnôbak) are a
Native American tribe and a
First Nations band government. They are one of the
Algonquian-speaking peoples of northeastern
North America. The Abenaki live in
Quebec and the
Maritimes of Canada and in the
New England region of the United States, a region called
Wabanahkik ("Dawn Land") in the
Eastern Algonquian languages. The Abenaki are one of the five members of the
Wabanaki Confederacy. "Abenaki" is a linguistic and geographic grouping; historically there was not a strong central authority, but as listed below a large number of smaller bands and tribes who shared many cultural traits, and who came together as a post-contact community after their original tribes were decimated by colonization, warfare and disease.