Connecticut, Early Inhabitants

At the beginning of the 17th century, Connecticut was the home of a number of different Native American groups, all of whom spoke related Algonquian languages. Archaeological sites indicate these people lived largely by hunting deer, catching fish and shellfish, and growing corn, beans, and squash. They migrated from forest to coastal areas to take advantage of seasonal resources. The total native population is estimated at about 7,000 people in the early 1600s, after an epidemic that decimated Native Americans throughout New England.

Most powerful among the Connecticut people were the Pequot, who lived in the east and along the shore of Long Island Sound, an area they had conquered from other native groups at the end of the 1500s. Early in the 1600s, a number of Pequots split off from the main group. Led by a chief named Uncas, they called themselves Mohegan, and controlled an area near the Thames River.

Other native groups were the Nipmuc in the northeastern sections of Connecticut; the Niantic along the eastern coast; and the Hammonasset, Quinnipiac, Paugussett, Siwanoy, Podunk, Poquonock, Massacoe, and Tunxi in the central and western sections.

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Most of the Native Americans were generally friendly to the colonists. Some native groups invited the English to settle nearby, hoping for trade and for allies against the aggressive Pequots, who dominated the area. Settlers purchased land from the native people, and though whites often encroached on native territory, disputes were usually settled without violence.

The exception to these friendly relations was friction between the Pequots and settlers, which soon escalated into New England's first major war, the Pequot War of 1637. The causes of the war are unclear, but it involved a series of killings, raids and reprisals on both sides. In May 1637 Connecticut declared war on the Pequots. With the help of both the Mohegan and the Narragansett to the east, the colonists launched a surprise attack on a Pequot village at Mystic River. They set the village on fire and killed Pequot inhabitants as they fled the flames. Hundreds of native villagers died, including many women and children, and most of the remaining Pequots were killed or captured. The few who survived were scattered throughout New England or sold into slavery, and the Pequot all but disappeared.

from: "Connecticut," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Rhode Island, History, Native Americans

Five Algonquian-speaking groups of Native Americans inhabited what is now Rhode Island when the first white explorers arrived in the 16th century and early 17th century. The Narragansett occupied most of the region and were the largest and most powerful group, numbering about 5,000. The Wampanoag lived in the area east of Narragansett Bay. The Nipmuc lived in northern Rhode Island and adjacent areas of Massachusetts and Connecticut. The Niantic inhabited southwestern Rhode Island and coastal areas of Connecticut. The Pequot held land along Rhode Island's western border but lived mostly in what is now Connecticut.

Archaeological sites indicate the native inhabitants lived largely by hunting deer, catching fish and shellfish, and growing corn, beans, and squash. They migrated between inland and coastal areas during the year to take advantage of seasonal resources. The principal social unit was the village, led by a village chief called a sachem. Some sachems apparently held power over larger confederacies made up of several villages, and over some of the smaller, weaker native groups.

from: "Rhode Island," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Nipmuc Indians

Are the original people of central New England, and are among the "Eastern Woodlands" or Algonquian Indians of the Eastern United States. Before the arrival of European settlers in the 1600s, the Nipmuc (or "Fresh Water People") lived in numerous band encampments, or ‘villages’, near bodies of fresh water in a territory (called ‘Nipnet’) which extended from the present day Vermont and New Hampshire borders, through Worcester County in Massachusetts, into northern Rhode Island, and into northeastern Connecticut as far south as Plainfield.

from 'The Nipmuc Indian Association of Connecticut' site, for complete history and more information, please visit the site

The Nipmuc Indian Association of Connecticut is dedicated to our Nipmuc ancestors, to our future seven generations, and to all who have helped our People.

The Nipmuc

They generally lived along rivers or on the shores of small lakes and seem to have occupied the area for as far back as can be told. Like other New England Algonquin, the Nipmuc were agricultural. They changed locations according to the seasons, but always remained within the bounds of their own territory. Part of their diet came from hunting, fishing, and gathering of wild food, but as a rule they did not live as well as the coastal tribes who had the luxury of seafood.

Population

Estimates of the pre-contact population of the Nipmuc are at best confusing, because there is no agreement as to which groups belonged to the Nipmuc. The numbers vary between 3,000 and 10,000 with as many as 40 villages. Some Nipmuc tribes were subject to the Pequot and sometimes have been included as part of the Pequot Confederacy. Freed in 1637 after the destruction of the Pequot by the English, they were classified in later years as Nipmuc. Similar problems exist with members of the Narragansett, Massachuset, Pocumtuc, Western Abenaki, and Pennacook. None of which is important until totals are taken, and several thousand people have not been counted ...or else several times.

The first really accurate count of the Nipmuc occurred in 1680 following the King Philip's War. A little less than 1,000 Nipmuc survived, and these were confined to praying villages along with the remnants from other tribes. How many Nipmuc escaped to the Abenaki and Mahican and how many were killed during the war is anyone's guess. Within a few years it became impossible to assign tribal membership within the mixed populations at the praying villages.

Only two identifiable groups of Nipmuc have survived to the present day. Both are recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and have nearly 1,400 members, 250 of whom live in Connecticut (which has not recognized the Nipmuc). The Hassanamisco have the small (two acre) Hassanamesit Reservation at Grafton, Massachusetts. The Chaubunagungamaug (Webster, Massachusetts) have a privately owned ten acre reservation in northeast Connecticut. Although goth groups have applied, neither is federally recognized.

Sub-Tribes

There never was a Nipmuc tribe as such. Nipmuc is a geographical classification given to the native peoples who lived in central Massachusetts and the adjoining parts of southern New England. They lived in independent bands and villages, some of which at different times were allied with, or subject to, the powerful native confederacies which surrounded them. Massomuck, Monashackotoog, and Quinnebaug were Nipmuck, but they were subject to the Pequot before 1637. In like manner, the Nashaway at one time belonged to the Sokoni and Pennacook, while Squawkeag was originally part of the Pocumtuc.

Culture

Each group was ruled by its own sachem, but there was very little political organization beyond the village or band level. This lack of a sophisticated system of government may seem to imply the Nipmuc were not as sophisticated as neighboring tribes, but this was not really the case. Few villages were fortified, so what little warfare there was had to have been low-level. The Nipmuc obviously lived in peace with each other and just didn't have problems that required a lot of complicated government.

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