St. Mary's First Nation Explained

Official Name:St. Mary's Band
Native Name:Sitansisk Wolastoqiyik
Pushpin Map:New Brunswick
Pushpin Mapsize:200
Pushpin Label Position:left
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of the St. Mary's Band in New Brunswick
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Canada
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:New Brunswick
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:York County
Leader Title:Sakom (Chief)
Leader Title1:Council
Leader Title2:MP
Leader Title3:Provincial Representatives
Leader Name:Allan Polchies Jr. (Chicky)
Leader Name1:
Shelley Polchies
Montgomery Paul
Shannon Polches
Barbara Paul
Micheal Bear
Stephen Meuse
Storm Perley-Brooks
Mandy Meuse
Melanie Berube
Judy Fullarton
Robert Paul
Erica Paul
Leader Name2:Jenica Atwin (L)
Leader Name3:Jill Green (C)
Established Title:Established
Established Date:1867
Area Total Km2:3.08
Population As Of:2014
Population Total:1822
Population Footnotes:[1]
Timezone:Atlantic (AST)
Utc Offset:-4
Timezone Dst:ADT
Utc Offset Dst:-3
Coordinates:45.9667°N -66.6333°W
Elevation Min M:4
Blank Name:NTS Map
Blank Info:021G15
Website:https://www.stmarysfirstnation.com/
Footnotes:Postal code span: E3A 2V1,E3A 2T9,E3A 5V9,E3A 5R7,E3A 2V2, E3A 0A1

St. Mary's Band or St. Mary's First Nation ('''Sitansisk Wolastoqiyik''')[2] is one of six Wolastoqiyik or Maliseet Nations on the Saint John River in Canada.

The St. Mary's Band lands comprise two reserves (Saint Mary's # 24, 1 ha; Devon # 30, 131.5 ha). The Saint Mary's reserve, established in 1867, lies on the northeast bank of the Saint John River, opposite downtown Fredericton. A second, larger reserve, purchased in 1929, lies 3 km NNE of the St. Mary's reservation. Land acquisitions in 2002 expanded the reserve lands to 308 ha before the acquisition of the Howe Street connector, and the former MacLeans Motorsports property on Union Street in 2017 and 2024 respectively.[3] Roughly half the members of the St. Mary's First Nation reside on the reserve lands.[1] [4] [5] [6]

The founding of the 1867 Reserve is attributed to Gabriel Acquin, a Maliseet hunter, guide and interpreter.

The community operates several economic development ventures, including St. Mary's Retail Sales [7] and St. Mary's Entertainment Centre[8] and is the largest local employer in Fredericton North. In May 2024, St. Mary's Retail Sales announced the closure of St. Mary's Supermarket, effective June 31, 2024, citing the loss of the Wolastoqey tax-revenue sharing agreements and anti-competitive business practices from larger retailers as the reason for expected losses exceeding $1 million. [9]

References

  1. http://fnp-ppn.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/fnp/Main/Search/FNRegPopulation.aspx?BAND_NUMBER=15&lang=eng
  2. https://stmarysfirstnation.com/ St. Mary’s Wolastoqiyik
  3. https://stmarysfirstnation.com/st-marys-grocery-restructuring-and-rebranding/
  4. Web site: Expanded Land Base for Saint Mary's First Nation . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060520172719/http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/nr/prs/s-d2002/2-02205_e.html . May 20, 2006.,
  5. http://www.stmarysfirstnation.ca
  6. Web site: Querying Geographical Names of Canada . 2008-09-08 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080624060415/http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/search/index_e.php . 2008-06-24 ., Geographical Names of Canada, retrieved September 7, 2008.
  7. http://www.stmarysretail.com/
  8. http://www.stmec.com/
  9. https://stmarysfirstnation.com/st-marys-grocery-restructuring-and-rebranding/

External links