Native Peoples in Madawaska. Before the arrival of the first Acadian settlers in about 1784, the Upper St.John River valley was home to Native Peoples, in particular to the Wulustukieg or Maliseet (Malécite) Nation, a branch of the Algonquin peoples. The very name Madawaska is from the Maliseet's Algonquin language: "madawes"—porcupine, "kak"—place. The "Walloostook River" The detail above is from a map by Samuel Mitchell, made in 1846. As you can see, the upper St. The latest reference I have found to the name Wulustuk in non-native sources is a map of Maine from 1859, in which the upper St.John is labeled "Wool as took or St.John's River. " Detail from map, "Canada East Formerly Lower Canada," by Samuel Augustus Mitchell, 1846. The Maliseet's name for themselves, Wolastoqiyik, or Wulustukieg, is derived from the word wolastoq, which means "beautiful river.
" The Wulustukieg or Maliseet people thus call themselves the people of the St.John River, which shows the extent to which they identify with this region. Quebec. Acadian Indians of Madawaska. 1830 US Census of the Madawaska Settlement: Name Index. Native Peoples in Madawaska. Madawaska Historical Society. Upper St. John River Valley. Upper St. John River Valley Discussion Board.