Massachusett people
| Total population |
|---|
| 3000+ |
| Languages |
| Related ethnic groups |
|
other Algonquian peoples |
- This article is about the Native American tribe. For the U.S. state, see Massachusetts.
The Massachusett are a tribe of Native Americans who historically lived in areas surrounding Massachusetts Bay in what is now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in particular present-day Greater Boston; they spoke the Massachusett language, part of the Algonquian family. The present-day U.S state Massachusetts is named after the tribe.
Alternate forms are Moswetuset, as in the Moswetuset Hummock where Myles Standish and Squanto first met Chief Chickatawbut in 1621,[1] and Massachusit, as in the Massachusit Fields where Captain Richard Wollaston brought the first settlers of Quincy in 1624.[2] Massachusett translates from Algonquian as "The people who live near the great hill", while Moswetuset translates to "The hill shaped like an arrowhead". The former is thought to refer to the Blue Hills located south of Boston, while the latter refers to the Moswetuset Hummock.
As one of the first groups of indigenous American peoples to encounter English colonists, the Massachusett had a rapid decline in population in the 17th and 18th centuries due to new infectious diseases. Descendants continue to inhabit the Greater Boston area. The Massachusett belong to the Algonquian-language family of peoples.
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[edit] Roots in pre-history
The Massachusett people are most likely descendants of prehistoric Paleo-Indians who lived in eastern North America at the end of the last glaciation 30,000-15,000 years before present (BP). Archeological evidence (spear points, midden mounds) uncovered in Boston indicate habitation in that area between 6,500 and 8,000 years BP. Fishing structures, such as the Boylston Street Fishweir, dating to 5,200 years BP, have been discovered in what is now Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. A recreation of a fish weir is erected annually on Boston Common in May. These early people lived a seasonally migratory existence, alternating between inland hunting grounds and winter homes in the fall and winter, to coastal fishing and foraging sites in the late spring and summer.
[edit] Historical period, contact with European colonists
The Massachuset and other Algonquian tribal groups were almost destroyed by a European-introduced plague between 1616 and 1619,[3], and the remaining population was scattered following colonization of the area by English settlers. The death of two Massachusett military leaders during an altercation with Captain Miles Standish of Plymouth Colony in 1623 caused the Massachusett to avoid further contact.[4]
During the period known as the Great Migration between 1630 and 1640, more than 20,000 English settlers immigrated to the Massachusett territory.[5] Though much diminished in size and strength from their numbers before the arrival of English colonists, the Massachusett participated in King Philip's War of 1675-1676 with other tribes of the Wampanoag Confederacy.[6]
Colonial records show that during the early 17th century, the Massachuset fished the shores and farmed the lands, migrating from longhouses on the coast to wigwam settlements inland for farming. The tribes were introduced to John Eliot, who converted some of them to Christianity, created a written alphabet, and published the Bible in the native language. The tribe was confined By English law to settlement in what were called praying villages (after the converts). They suffered at the hands of colonists, who mistrusted the Indians after King Philip's War, although some Massachusett had served them as guides and scouts. Many perished on the islands in Boston Harbor, where they were confined.
Crispus Attucks, the first casualty during the Boston Massacre at the start of the American Revolutionary War, was of Massachusett descent through his mother and African through his father.[7]
[edit] After 1869
In 1869 Massachusetts passed the Indian Enfranchisment Act, making the Massachusett Indians citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and "terminating" their status as a sovereign nation.
The praying communities established at Canton and Natick, where they were also called Ponkapoag after a local lake; and at Brockton continued to have communities of people who identified as Massachusett.[8] The tombstone of a noted member of the Natick Ponkapoag community said she was the last of her tribe when she died in 1852 at age 101[9], but this may have referred to a woman known to be a full-blood. European Americans in New England confused appearance and race with cultural identity and sometimes assumed mixed-race people would no longer identify as Massachusett or Ponkapoag, but communities kept their culture. Descendants identifying as Native American have organized as the Massachuset-Ponkapoag Tribal Council.[8]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Discover Quincy: Attractions
- ^ Pepe, William J.; Elaine A. Pepe (2008). Quincy Postcard History Series. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 127. http://books.google.com/books?id=NBQrnXx79-UC&printsec=frontcover.
- ^ Philbrick, Nathaniel (2006). Mayflower. New York: Penguin Group. pp. 78–80. ISBN 0-670-03760-5.
- ^ Philbrick (2006) pp 154-155
- ^ Taylor, Norris (1998). "The Massachusetts Bay Colony". http://members.aol.com/ntgen/hrtg/mass.html. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
- ^ Philbrick (2006) pp 219
- ^ "Massachuset History". First Nations/First Peoples issues. Jordan S. Dill. http://www.dickshovel.com/massa.html. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
- ^ a b "The Massachuset People (at Ponkapoag)HOME PAGE". Ponkapoag Tribal Council. http://Neponsett.org. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
- ^ Canton Massachusetts Historical Society "Canton Historical Society". http://www.canton.org/native/ Canton Massachusetts Historical Society. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
[edit] External links
- Massachusett tribe
- Encyclopedia of North American Indians: Massachusett
- "Massachuset", The Menotomy Journal
