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Weetamoo

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Weetamoo
Wampanoag leader
In office
1675 (1675)–1676 (1676)
Preceded byCorbitant
Personal details
Born
Namumpum Weetamoo

1635 (1635)
present day North Tiverton, Rhode Island
DiedAugust 6, 1676(1676-08-06) (aged 40–41)
Taunton, Massachusetts
Cause of deathDrowning
SpouseWamsutta
ParentCorbitant (father)
Nicknames
  • Weetamoe
  • Wenunchus
  • Tatapanunum
Military service
Battles/warsKing Philip's War

Weetamoo (c. 1635–1676), also referred to as Weethao, Weetamoe, Wattimore, Namumpum, and Tatapanunum, was a Pocasset Wampanoag Native American Chief. She was the sunksqua, or female sachem, of Pocasset.[1] She was born in the Mattapoiset village of the Pokanoket or at Rhode Island's Taunton River area,[2] and died at Taunton River. Her father was Corbitant, sachem of the Pocasset tribe in present-day North Tiverton, Rhode Island, c. 1618–1630. She had five husbands, the most famous of whom was Wamsutta, the eldest son of Massasoit, grand sachem of the Wampanoag and participant in the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims.

According to the Tiverton Four Corners website, "the squaw sachem, Weetamoo" governed the Pocasset tribe, which occupied today's Tiverton, Rhode Island in 1620. Weetamoo joined "with King Philip in fighting the colonists" in 1675, in King Philip's War, also known as "Metacomet's Rebellion." King Philip's War is named for the uprising of Metacomet, Weetamoo's brother in law and the younger brother of Wamsutta, who was also known by the English name Philip.[2] Early on in the war, Weetamoo gave support to Metacomet by aiding his forces with the strength of her soldiers.[2]

Weetamoe whose name in the Algonquian language of the Indigenous Peoples of the north eastern US and Canada means "Speak to them". She lived in Quequechan, now called Fall River, Massachusetts.[citation needed]

Weetamoo's life

  • Chief Winnepurket was her first husband. He was the Sachem of Saugus, Massachusetts. He died shortly after he and Weetamoo were married.
  • Chief Wamsutta was second. After his death, his brother Metacom (Philip) became Chief of the Wampanoag. The tribe allied with the English against the Narragansett, but the English broke this treaty. Wamsutta became sick and died during talks with the English. Weetamoo is speculated to have had one child with Wamsutta, although the date of birth and name are unknown. Wamsutta was also alternatively known by the English as Alexander.[1]
  • Quequequanachet was third. Little is known of him.
  • Petonowit was fourth. At the beginning of King Philip's War he sided with the English, prompting Weetamoo to leave their marriage.
  • Quinnapin was last, son of Niantic Narraganset sachem Ninigrat and grandson of powerful Narragansett sachem Canonchet. He was described as "a handsome warrior". This seemed to be a strong marriage. The pair had at least one child together, who died in 1676.[3]

She became sunksqua because her father had no sons, and was defended by an army of more than 300 men that she commanded.[2] She being a woman did not diminish her authority, despite many colonists' lack of understanding of her position. It has been theorized that some of the lesser known sachems assumed to have been male may have been female sunksquas, especially since female leaders were not unheard of among the Algonquian tribes.[4]

Eventually, the English defeated the Wampanoag in August 1676. Weetamoo drowned in the Taunton River trying to escape. Her dead body was mutilated, and her head was displayed on a pole in Taunton, MA.[5][6] Little else is known about her final days or death, or of the deaths of her soldiers who traveled with her. The story of her corpse being beheaded comes from the writings of minister Increase Mather.[7]

Weetamoo's legacy

Weetamoo's adolescent life was made into a children's historical novel in The Royal Diaries series entitled Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocasetts[8][9]

Weetamoo/Wattimore also appears in print in Mary Rowlandson's The Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. In 1676, Weetamoo and her relative Quinnapin, the sachem of Narragansett, attacked a colonial settlement in Lancaster, Massachusetts.[7] Rowlandson, who was captured and held by Quinnapin for three months, left a vivid description of Weetamoo's appearance as well as personality:

A severe and proud dame she was, bestowing every day in dressing herself neat as much time as any of the gentry of the land: powdering her hair, and painting her face, going with necklaces, with jewels in her ears, and bracelets upon her hands. When she had dressed herself, her work was to make girdles of wampum and beads.[10]

Many places in the White Mountains of New Hampshire are also named after her, such as Weetamoo Falls, Mount Weetamoo, the Weetamoo Trail (which includes Weetamoo Glen and Weetamoo Rock), and the Six Husbands Trail, a reference to her marriages. However, there is no evidence that Weetamoo ever went to the White Mountains, and the area's focus on her may come from John Greenleaf Whittier's poem "The Bridal of Penacook," which names her as being from the area.[11]

Weetamoo Woods Open Space in Tiverton, Rhode Island is named after Weetamoo.[12] A 50-foot vessel, Weetamoo, built in 1902, "was named after the daughter of an Indian Chief in John Greenleaf Whittier's poem Bride of Penacook." The vessel served on Lake Sunapee for 25 years before being scuttled.[13] Lowell YWCA Camp Weetamoo is located on Long-Sought-for Pond in Westford, MA.[14][15]

Weetamoo was known as a bead worker/quiller and dancer.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Martinez and Williams Bordeaux, eds., Donna and Jennifer L. (2016). 50 Events That Shaped American Indian History: An Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 139. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ a b c d Sonneborn, Liz (2007). A to Z of American Indian Women. New York: Infobase Publishing. p. 268.
  3. ^ a b Ellen,, Snodgrass, Mary. American colonial women and their art : a chronological encyclopedia. Lanham, Maryland. ISBN 9781442270961. OCLC 985447825.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Mays, Dorothy A. (2004). Women in Early America: Struggle, Survival, and Freedom in a New World. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 207.
  5. ^ Small, Dan. "What Exactly is a Weetamoo?". Friends of Lynn Woods, Lynn MA. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  6. ^ Sultzman, Lee. "Wampanoag History". First Nations Histories. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  7. ^ a b Appleby, Cheng, and Goodwin, eds., Joyce, Eileen K., and Joanne L. (2015). Encyclopedia of Women in American History. New York: Routledge. p. 199. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "An Interview with Patricia Clark Smith about Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocassets". Scholastic.com. (Rhode Island-Massachusetts, 1653). Retrieved 2013-04-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  9. ^ "Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocassets Discussion Guide". Scholastic.com. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  10. ^ ""A Severe and Proud Dame She Was": Mary Rowlandson Lives Among the Indians, 1675". History Matters. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  11. ^ Boardman, Julie (2001). When Women and Mountains Meet. Etna, New Hampshire: The Durand Press. p. 141.
  12. ^ "Recreation Department and Open Space Areas". Official Web Site of Tiverton, RI. Archived from the original on 2013-05-30. Retrieved 2013-04-24. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "Lake Sunapee History". Lake-Sunapee-Living.com. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  14. ^ "The Greater Lowell YWCA, One Hundred Years of Service and Advocacy 1891-1991". University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Lowell History. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  15. ^ "Walter Cleven Obituary: Walter Cleven's Obituary by the Lowell Sun". Retrieved 2013-04-24.
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