St. Mary's First Nation

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St. Mary's Band
Sitansisk Wolastoqiyik
Canada New Brunswick location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
St. Mary's Band
Location of the St. Mary's Band in New Brunswick
Coordinates: 45°58′00″N66°38′00″W / 45.96667°N 66.63333°W / 45.96667; -66.63333
CountryCanada
Province New Brunswick
County York County
Established1867
Government
  Sakom (Chief)Allan Polchies Jr. (Chicky)
  Council
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
  MP Jenica Atwin (L)
  Provincial Representatives Jill Green (C)
Area
  Total3.08 km2 (1.19 sq mi)
Lowest elevation
4 m (13 ft)
Population
 (2014) [1]
  Total1,822
Time zone UTC-4 (Atlantic (AST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-3 (ADT)
NTS Map021G15
Website https://www.stmarysfirstnation.com/
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 (Malecite-Passamaquoddy : 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]

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References

  1. 1 2 , Indian and Northern Affairs, retrieved January 30, 2015.
  2. St. Mary’s Wolastoqiyik
  3. https://stmarysfirstnation.com/st-marys-grocery-restructuring-and-rebranding/
  4. "Expanded Land Base for Saint Mary's First Nation". Archived from the original on May 20, 2006.,
  5. Archived 2011-03-05 at the Wayback Machine , St. Mary's First Nation, retrieved September 7, 2008.
  6. "Querying Geographical Names of Canada". Archived from the original on 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2008-09-08., 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/