North American tribe of Algonquian linguistic stock, formerly occupying the territory around Massachusetts Bay and along the seacoast from Plymouth to Salem, including the basins of the Neponset and Charles rivers. Massachusetts Bay and the state of Massachusetts were named after the tribe. Their principal village, also called Massachuset, was on the site of Quincy, in Norfolk County.

The Massachuset, numbering about 3000, was the leading tribe in southern New England until 1617, when an epidemic reduced their number. By 1633 only about 500 remained; that year many more, including their chief, died of smallpox. The survivors were converted to Christianity by the English colonists; in 1646 they were gathered, with other converts, into the mission villages of Natick, Nonantum (now part of Newton), and Ponkapoag (now Canton), thus losing their tribal identity.

"Massachuset," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Massachuset

1. PEOPLES member of Native N American people: a member of a Native North American people who used to live in the Massachusetts Bay area

2. LANGUAGE extinct N American language: an extinct Native North American language formerly spoken in an area around Massachusetts Bay and belonging to the Algonquian branch of Algonquian-Wakashan languages. It died out in the 17th century when disease wiped out the entire population of its speakers.

Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P) 2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

The Massachusett Language Revival Program

A major project of the Council. This program provides reconstruction of the ancient Indian language of the Wampanoag Indians— called Massachusett. We work with New England and Canadian Native Americans, and renowned language scholars.

Fromthe Aquidneck Indian Council Inc. Site, for more info please visit this site

Massachusetts, Early Inhabitants

The earliest human inhabitants of the Massachusetts area lived about 10,000 BC, after the glaciers had retreated. Archaeological sites indicate several other cultures developed in the millennia that followed. For centuries before Europeans arrived in the area it was inhabited by Algonquian-speaking groups of Native Americans.

When European colonization began in the early 1600s, seven major groups lived in the area. The Wampanoag and the Nauset were on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket Island; the Massachuset had settlements along Massachusetts Bay; the Nipmuc were in central Massachusetts; the Pocomtuck lived in the northwest; the Pennacook were near the New Hampshire border; and the Mahican were in the Berkshire area.

The native peoples lived largely by hunting deer, catching fish and shellfish, and growing corn, beans, and squash, migrating from forest to coastal areas to take advantage of seasonal resources. Approximately 30,000 native people inhabited Massachusetts in 1614, but epidemics of disease brought by whites soon greatly reduced the population.

"Massachusetts," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Massachuset

Contact with Europeans probably occurred at an early date, perhaps as soon as John Cabot in 1497, but they were first mentioned specifically by Captain John Smith when he explored the coast of New England in 1614. Disaster struck immediately afterwards in the form of three separate epidemics that swept across New England between 1614 and 1617 destroying 3/4 of the original native population.

Massachuset Location

Valleys of the Charles and Neponset rivers in eastern Massachusetts, including the present site of Boston and its suburbs.

Population

In 1614 there may have been as many as 3,000 Massachuset living in 20 villages around Boston Bay, but by the time the Pilgrims arrived in 1620 there were less than 800. In 1631 the Puritans counted less than 500. No organized groups of the Massachuset are known to have survived after 1800.

Names

Their name is from an Algonquin word meaning "at the range of hills."

Culture

The Massachuset disappeared as an organized tribe before much could be recorded about them. However, it can be safely presumed from the limited evidence available that they lived in a manner very similar to the other coastal tribes of southern New England. They farmed extensively (corn, beans, squash, and tobacco) but relied heavily on fish and shellfish during the summer. This was supplemented by hunting during the colder months.

They moved with the seasons between fixed locations to exploit the available resources. Summer villages were located near the coast. These were fairly large with mid-sized longhouses, but the winter hunting camps using family-sized wigwams were further inland and separated from each other.

Politically, they were divided into independent bands, each ruled by sub-chief, or sachem. Although some villages were ruled by women, leadership was usually hereditary and passed through the father to his son.

Despite their small numbers, several Massachusett played important roles in New England history. Job Nasutan worked with missionary John Eliot to translate the bible into Algonquin, and Crispus Attucks, killed in the Boston Massacre was the son a free black and a Massachuset mother.

From First Nations, for complete history and much more information, please visit the First Nations site