The Peskotomuhkati Nation at Skutik, also known as the Passamaquoddy at St. Croix[2] and Passamaquoddy Recognition Group, Inc. (PRGI) is a non-profit organization and unrecognized Passamaquoddy First Nation in New Brunswick. It does not have official First Nations status in Canada.
The Passamaquoddy people are federally recognized in the United States as the Passamaquoddy Tribe in Maine.[3] The Peskotomuhkati Nation at Skutik is based in Saint Andrews, NB,[1] roughly 19 to 20 kilometres (12 miles) measured in a straight line from Sipayik and 40 to 42 kilometres (25 to 26 miles) measured in a straight line from Motahkomikuk, the two Passamaquoddy reservations in the United States.
The tribe was not included in the 1951 Indian Act.[6]
In 2004, the Legion of Honour, (French: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur) France’s highest national order of merit, was presented to the Passamaquoddy tribe by French politician Xavier Darcos on Saint Croix Island, Maine during a 400th anniversary ceremony commemorating the benevolence of the Passamaquoddy people to the St. Croix Colony. The settlement, which lasted only one year from 1604-1605, was founded by a 79-man French expedition team led by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons. The Passamaquoddy people had assisted the settlers in their short-lived colony with food and aid during the harsh winter.[7]
In July 2017, Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada began negotiations with the Peskotomuhkati to define their treaty relationship.[1] In 2018, the Canadian federal government assisted the Peskotomuhtaki in acquiring 2,500 acres of land along the St. Croix River (Skutik River). By 2020, the Peskotomuhkati Nation had been negotiating for two years with the provincial and federal governments.[8]
In 2021, a plaque was installed documenting the history of the Peskotomuhkati Nation in the St. Stephen portion of the Coastal Link Trail.[9]
In the same year, the tribe's naming committee collaborated with Saint Andrews scientist Dr. Claire Goodwin on the naming of a newly discovered sea sponge species that was found off the coast of Deer Island. The latter word of the sea sponge, cremollina mehqisinpekonuta, literally translates to "something reddish orange and animate that gets water squeezed out of it" in the Maliseet-Passamaquoddy language.[10]
As of 2025, the Peskotomuhkati Nation remains without First Nations status in Canada.[11]
Government
Hugh Akagi is the chief (sakom)[1] of the Peskotomuhkati Nation at Skutik, having held the position since he was first elected in 1998.[2] He is a former scientist of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.[6] His sister, Kate Akagi, is the deputy mayor of Saint Andrews, New Brunswick.[2]
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