The
Nipmuc are a group of
AlgonquianThe Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
IndiansNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
native to
Worcester County, Massachusetts-Demographics:In 1990 Worcester County had a population of 709,705.As of the census of 2000, there were 750,963 people, 283,927 households, and 192,502 families residing in the county. The population density was 496 people per square mile . There were 298,159 housing units at an average density...
, some parts of Northeastern CT, and NW RI, and the Northwestern and Western parts of
Middlesex County, Massachusetts-National protected areas:* Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge* Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Longfellow National Historic Site* Lowell National Historical Park* Minute Man National Historical Park* Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge...
.
Name
The name
Nipmuk can be attested to in the earliest of colonial sources, that of John Eliot. Currently, most tribal members prefer the spelling
Nipmuc. Alternative spellings, based either on dialectal variation or lack of conformity in spelling, include
Nipmuck,
Nipnet,
Neetmock,
Neipnett,
Nipmaug, etc. These can variously be translated as the "[people from the] small pond" or from the "freshwater fishing place." The name may be related to the fact that the interior tribes did not have access to the ocean or as a reference to
Lake ChaubunagungamaugLake Chaubunagungamaug, also known as Webster Lake, is a lake in the town of Webster, Massachusetts, United States. It is located near the Connecticut border and has a surface area of .-Name:...
, where the Nipmuc have long been associated. The early French settlers in
New FranceNew France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
also referred to numerous tribes in the south and interior of New England as
les Loups, or
the Wolf People.
Language
The various Nipmuc peoples spoke closely related dialects of the
AlgonquianThe Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
language familyA language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...
, and mutually intelligible with other tribal languages and dialects of the area. Families from Nipmuc peoples who had settled amongst the
MassachusettThe Massachusett are a tribe of Native Americans who 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...
in Natick assisted the missionary
John EliotJohn Eliot was a Puritan missionary to the American Indians. His efforts earned him the designation “the Indian apostle.”-English education and Massachusetts ministry:...
in translating and editing the Massachusett-language Bible.
Primary documentary evidence is provided by Father Mathevet's 17th-century notes on the language of the
Loup as well as the
Loup of the
Connecticut RiverThe Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...
valley, which linguists believe are Nipmuc, or closely related tribal language, and possibly
PocomtucThe Pocumtuck, also Pocomtuc or Deerfield Indians, were a Native American tribe formerly inhabiting western Massachusetts, especially around the confluence of the Deerfield and Connecticut Rivers in Franklin County. Their territory also included parts of Hampden and Hampshire County, as well as...
. Further evidence can be gleamed by the large number of Nipmuc toponyms and hydronyms and comparison with similar ones of related tribes.
Although most scholars agree that the Nipmuc tongue probably went extinct in the late 18th or early 19th century, recent attempts at resurrecting the language have produced at least ten proficient speakers who are helping to teach others, and the language features in tribal ceremonies and prayers. David Tall Pine White, one of the proficient speakers of the tribe, worked as an actor, script translator, and language consultant on PBS' documentary
We Shall Remain, which includes dialogue in Nipmuc.
Most Nipmuc dialects were "L-dialects" as opposed to the "N-dialects" of their eastern and northern neighbours, e.g.,
Nashaway (the source of the name for the
Nashua RiverThe Nashua River, long, is a tributary of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the United States. It is formed in eastern Worcester County, Massachusetts, by junction of its north and south branches near Lancaster, and flows generally north-northeast past Groton to join the...
) on the fringes of Nipmuc territory appears as
Lashaway in certain locales more to the heart of their lands. Other variations between Nipmuc and Massachuset, also spoken by the Wampanoag are slight. Because of these similarities, attempts to revive the Nipmuc language could be greatly aided by the Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project.
The most famous Nipmuc phrases is preserved in the formal name for
Lake WebsterLake Chaubunagungamaug, also known as Webster Lake, is a lake in the town of Webster, Massachusetts, United States. It is located near the Connecticut border and has a surface area of .-Name:...
,
Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, which roughly translates as "neutral boundary fishing place near the village of the isle of rushes".
Loup (Nipmuc?) and Massachusett
| English |
Loup (Nipmuc?) |
Massachusett |
English |
Loup (Nipmuc?) |
Massachusett |
|
| fall (season) |
tagȣangȣ |
taquònck |
winter |
pipon |
papòne |
| fish |
namensack |
naumaùssuck |
wolf |
makȣsem |
mukquoshim |
| spring |
sigȣan |
séquan |
moon |
kizȣs |
keeswush |
Territory
The Nipmuc were once more numerous and wide-ranging than they are today. An informal history states that in early times:
Today the 500 plus Nipmuc are recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; they live in and around the
Chaubunagungamaug ReservationChaubunagungamaug Reservation in Webster, Massachusetts, was established in the 1680s for the group of Nipmuc Indians now known as the Webster/Dudley Band of Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck....
in
Webster-Media:* Worcester Telegram & Gazette * Webster Times, published every Friday* The Patriot, published every Wednesday* WGFP-AM 940, a country music station* Boston Globe* Boston Herald-Library:...
and the Hassanamisco Reservation in
GraftonGrafton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,765 at the 2010 census. Grafton is the home of a Nipmuc village known as Hassanamisco Reservation, the Willard House and Clock Museum, and the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine...
. Their territory may once have extended into northern
Rhode IslandThe state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
and northeast
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
Legal Status
This Indian group has long been officially recognized by the state of Massachusetts. In 2004 the
Bureau of Indian AffairsThe Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
decided that the group does not meet four of the seven requirements for Federal acknowledgment as a Native American "
nationA nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
".
This prevents the Nipmuc from dealing with the U.S. Government on a "government-to-government" basis and prevents them from access to certain programs for Native Americans.
The BIA noted the following:
- Nipmuc families have long owned their land individually rather than communally; and
- They lost their tribal status by the "Massachusetts Enfranchisement Act of 1869", which gave them the right to vote.
The Nipmuc, like the Wampanoag, continue to have a special status within the Commonwealth.
Pre-colonial history
Coming from the
southwestThe Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
,
Paleo IndiansPaleo-Indians or Paleoamericans is a classification term given to the first peoples who entered, and subsequently inhabited, the American continent during the final glacial episodes of the late Pleistocene period...
settled
New EnglandNew England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
over 10,000 years ago, hunting the animals that inhabited the
subarcticThe Subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Alaska, Canada, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and northern Mongolia...
environment. Archeological records prove their presence dating back some 15,000-20,000 years ago. During the Archaic Period (8000 BCE–1000 BCE) the climate slowly warmed, bringing new plants and animals as well as changes in human culture and lifestyle.
During this period, the Nipmuc's ancestors were producing stone bowls, making bark, woven and wooden containers; and developed a written language, which remained in use until the historical period.
Pesuponcks (ceremonial stone
sweat lodgeThe sweat lodge is a ceremonial sauna and is an important event in some North American First Nations or Native American cultures...
s) were used for purification rituals. Many of the ancient chambers can still be found near the sites of Nipmuc villages.
During the Woodland Period (1000 BCE–1000 CE) and later, trade with other peoples brought the crops which became known as the "
Three SistersThe Three Sisters are the three main agricultural crops of various Native American groups in North America: squash, maize, and climbing beans ....
":
maizeMaize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
,
beanBean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
s, and
squashSquashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita, also called marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker...
. With the development of agriculture, the people began to prosper, aided by surplus food. In time, Nipmuc territory was at the hub of the "Great Path" to all parts of the
northeastThe Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
.
Nipmuc homes were framed of
deciduousDeciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
saplings and covered with skins, bark and woven mats. The bow and arrow supplemented the use of
spearA spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
s in
huntingHunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
and
warWar is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
.
Colonial-era history
Colonial records noted in 1630 that a Nipmuc known as Acquittamaug walked to the new struggling settlement of Boston with his father; each carried a
bushelA bushel is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent in each of these systems to 4 pecks or 8 gallons. It is used for volumes of dry commodities , most often in agriculture...
and a half of corn from
Woodstock, ConnecticutWoodstock is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,221 at the 2000 census.-Annual events:*The Woodstock Fair, run by the Woodstock Agricultural Society has been held since 1860. The current President of the Woodstock Fair is Susan Z. Hibbard...
for sale to the starving colonists. A generation later, with increasing competition and conflict between the peoples, the colonists offered bounties on the scalps of Nipmuc: men, women, and children.
Ojibway oral history tells that prior to the arrival of the English settlers, a sign was given to the people, who understood a terrible thing was on its way to destroy them. They traveled west to new lands, taking the
sacred fireSacred fire or holy fire may refer to:religion*any instance of fire worship*fire personified in Indo-European religion**Atar in Zoroastrianism**Agni in Vedic religion and Hinduism*Sacred fire of Vesta in Roman polytheism...
s with them, until it was safe to return to the homelands. The Ojibway refer to the Indians in New England as the ones who stayed behind.
Lee Sultzman summarizes:
In 1644,
John Winthrop the YoungerJohn Winthrop , generally known as John Winthrop the Younger, was governor of Connecticut.He was born in Groton, England, the son of John Winthrop, founding governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony...
, son of the first leader of the
Massachusetts Bay ColonyThe Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
, purchased the
TantiusquesTantiusques is a open space reservation and historic site registered with the National Register of Historic Places. The reservation is located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts and is owned and managed by The Trustees of Reservations; it is notable for its historic, defunct graphite mines...
graphiteThe mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
mineMining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
and the surrounding land from the Nipmuc. He began the first commercial mining operation in the region on the site. By the 1650s, many of the Nipmuc peoples had been brought into the fold as what the colonists called "
Praying IndianPraying Indian is a 17th century term referring to Native Americans of New England who converted to Christianity. While many groups are referred to by this term, it is more commonly used for tribes that were organized into villages, known as praying towns by Puritan leader John Eliot.In 1646, the...
s", those who had adopted Christianity. The Nipmuc settled in the towns of
LittletonLittleton is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,924 at the 2010 census....
(Nashoba),
GraftonGrafton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,765 at the 2010 census. Grafton is the home of a Nipmuc village known as Hassanamisco Reservation, the Willard House and Clock Museum, and the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine...
(Hassanamessit),
MarlboroughMarlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 38,499 at the 2010 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the late 20th century after the construction of the...
(Okommakamesit),
HopkintonHopkinton is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, just under 30 miles west and south of Boston. The town is best known as the starting point of the Boston Marathon, held annually on Patriots' Day in April, and as the home of computer storage firm EMC Corporation.For geographic and demographic...
(Makunkokoag),
MendonMendon is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,839 at the 2010 census.Mendon is very historic and is now part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, the oldest industrialized region in the United States.- Early history :The Nipmuc people...
-
UxbridgeUxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was first settled in 1662, incorporated in 1727 at Suffolk County, and named for the Earl of Uxbridge. Uxbridge is south-southeast of Worcester, north-northwest of Providence, and southwest of Boston. It is part of...
(Wacentug), and
NatickNatick is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Natick is located near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 33,006 at the 2010 census. Only west from Boston, Natick is considered part of the Greater Boston area...
.
During King Philip’s War in 1675-1676, English colonists force-marched some 500-1000 Nipmuc from these locations to
Deer IslandDeer Island is a peninsula in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. Since 1996 it is part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. Although still an island by name, Deer Island has been connected to the mainland since the former Shirley Gut channel, which once separated the island from the...
in
Boston HarborBoston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...
, where they were kept without adequate food, clothing or shelter during a bitter winter. Hundreds died, and few returned to their native lands. Members of the Nipmuc Nation, and other groups who were imprisoned on Deer Island, return annually to mourn their ancestors. Also during the war, large numbers of Nipmuc, including many
sachemA sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...
, were either killed in battle or captured and
hangedHanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
. Some of the Praying towns such as
NashobaLittleton is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,924 at the 2010 census....
and
HassanamessitMarlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 38,499 at the 2010 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high technology industry in the late 20th century after the construction of the...
never recovered.
.
See also
- Nipmuc Nation
Nipmuc Nation is a self-identifier used by Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuc of Worcester County, Massachusetts. Most of group's over 500 members live in and around Chaubunagungamaug Reservation, Hassanamisco Reservation and the city of Worcester....
- Hassanamisco Nipmuc
The Hassanamisco Nipmuc, from whom the four and a half acre Hassanamesit Reservation in Grafton, Massachusetts takes its name, are a group of Nipmuc Indians native to Central Massachusetts, Northeastern Connecticut, and parts of Rhode Island...
- Chaubunagungamaug Reservation
Chaubunagungamaug Reservation in Webster, Massachusetts, was established in the 1680s for the group of Nipmuc Indians now known as the Webster/Dudley Band of Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck....
- Lake Chaubunagungamaug
Lake Chaubunagungamaug, also known as Webster Lake, is a lake in the town of Webster, Massachusetts, United States. It is located near the Connecticut border and has a surface area of .-Name:...
- Tantiusques
Tantiusques is a open space reservation and historic site registered with the National Register of Historic Places. The reservation is located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts and is owned and managed by The Trustees of Reservations; it is notable for its historic, defunct graphite mines...
External links