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Which tribes were part of the Algonquian language family in the Northeast?
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In the Northeast culture area, Algonquian-speaking groups were the most widely distributed, occupying nearly the entire region with the exception of areas surrounding Lakes Erie and Ontario, parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota, and portions of the interior of Virginia and North Carolina.1
The major tribes and groups that spoke Algonquian languages in the Northeast include:1
- Coastal and New England groups: Passamaquoddy, Malecite, Mi’kmaq, Abenaki, Penobscot, Pennacook, Massachuset, Nauset, Wampanoag, Narragansett, Niantic, Pequot, Mohegan, Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, Mohican, Wappinger, and Montauk.
- Mid-Atlantic and Interior groups: Delaware, Powhatan, Ojibwa, Menominee, Sauk, Kickapoo, Miami, Shawnee, and Illinois.