Management

The Foundation Document Overview for Saint Croix Island International Historic Site is now available for download online (four pages, 3.5 MB, PDF, screen reader accessible). A free and complete digital copy of the 40-page Foundation Document is available by contacting park staff.

Every unit of the national park system will have a foundational document to provide basic guidance for planning and management decisions—a foundation for planning and management. The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park as well as the park’s purpose, significance, fundamental resources and values, other important resources and values, and interpretive themes. The foundation document also includes special mandates and administrative commitments, an assessment of planning and data needs that identifies planning issues, planning products to be developed, and the associated studies and data required for park planning.

 

Saint Croix Island International Historic Site was established as a national monument on June 8, 1949. The site received its current designation on September 25, 1984.

The management of Saint Croix Island International Historic Site is driven by its mission, which was spelled out in the 1998 General Management Plan:

The National Park Service preserves Saint Croix Island IHS as a monument to the beginning of the United States and Canada. It was here that Pierre Dugua Sieur de Mons with his company of 78 men established a French settlement in 1604-05. In cooperation with Parks Canada, the National Park Service educates the public about that heroic effort, its context, and its consequences.

This section of the website will refer you to many of the documents that help the National Park Service accomplish that mission for inspiration of this and future generations.

 

• Local rules and regulations for Saint Croix Island International Historic Site are included in the Superintendent's Compendium for Acadia National Park.

 

Chief Hugh Akagi presents a letter to the Honorable Xavier Darcos of France during the ceremony.

NPS Photo

400^th Anniversary of French Settlement on Saint Croix Island

On June 26, 2004, French, Canadian, Passamaquoddy, and American officials participated in a solemn ceremony commemorating the 400th anniversary of French settlement on Saint Croix Island. Officials were transported to the island for the hour-long ceremony on boats piloted by local volunteers.

The ceremony highlighted the cooperation between the French settlers and the Passamaquoddy during the 1604-1605 settlement, and officials expressed their hopes for continuation of good relations between the four nations present. The Passamaquoddy Nation was presented with the French Medal of the Legion of Honor, Commander Rank, and two ceremonial swords. Handmade Passamaquoddy baskets, a reproduction of a 17th-century petroglyph, and a letter to President Jacques Chirac to begin the process of renewing a centuries-old concord of peace and friendship were presented to the French delegation.

Participants included:
Mark Altvater - Lieutenant Governor, Pleasant Point (Siyaki) Passamaquoddy
Robert Newell - Governor, Indian Township (Me-doc-me-duc) Passamaquoddy
Hugh Akagi - Chief, St. Andrews (Qonasqamkuk) Passamaquoddy
Honorable Xavier Darcos - Minister Delegate of Cooperation, Development, and Francophony
Honorable Viola Léger - Senator, New Brunswick
Honorable Michael Michaud - U.S. Congressman, Maine
Gail Kelly - for U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe, Maine
Marie Rust - Director, Northeast Region, National Park Service

Also present were New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord, French Ambassador to Canada Philippe Guelluy, American Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci, Director of Atlantic Parks for Parks Canada Carol Sheedy, and Acadian and Huguenot leaders. Passamaquoddy elders Joan Dana and Blanche Sockabasin provided a welcome and closing for the ceremony. The Blue Hill Brass Band played the Marseillaise, O Canada, and Star-Spangled Banner.