Friday, August 13, 2004
The East Direction Tribes are as follows:
Pequot - Carver: MayEve, East Hartford, CT
The Pequot Indians have been residents of southern New England for centuries. The name Pequot means "destroyers" and is in reference to the war-like nature of these people. They frequently fought the neighboring Niantics and Narragansetts for control of territory, and were the most dreaded of the southern New England tribes. The Pequot and the Mohegan people were originally one tribe which split into two some time around the beginning of the 16th century. After the separation of the tribes, the Pequot still numbered about 3,000 people.
The Pequot were an agricultural people who raised corn, beans, squash and tobacco. They also hunted and fished. The villages were heavily fortified in case of enemy attack. Dwellings were either of wigwams or long houses. Unlike many other tribes, the Pequot were highly organized with a central authority which rested with the tribal council and, ultimately, the grand sachem.
The Connecticut colonists feared the Pequot Indians because small raiding parties attacked their settlements. The Pequot perceived the colonists as a threat to their supremacy in the area. This mutual antagonism came to a head with the Pequot War of 1637, in which the Pequots were defeated. The precipitating cause was the Pequot's murder of John Oldham, an English trader. The English, under john Mason and John Underhill, attacked their stronghold on the Pequot River and killed some 500 Pequot.
The remaining Pequot fled in small groups. One party went to Long Island, and a second escaped into interior Connecticut. A third, led by Sassacus, was intercepted near Fairfield CT where almost the entire party was killed or captured. The captives were forced into slavery, mainly in New England and the West Indies. A few Pequot who managed to escape were put to death by the Mohawk. A remnant of the Pequot was scattered among the southern New England tribes; the colonial government later settled them in Connecticut. At Ledyard, the Mashantucket Pequot established (1992) a casino, which has proved to be one of the largest and most profitable gambling establishments in the world. They also sponsor an elaborate tribal museum.
In the nineteen-sixties, there were just two elderly Pequot women living on what was left of their ancestral land, a 200 acre rocky tract that the state wanted for a park. The Pequot nation was a heartbeat from extinction. Today the 1600-acre reservation is home to more than 110 Indians and their families, bringing the total number of Pequot Indians in Connecticut (2000) to 515.
Narragansett - Carver: Steve & Heidi, RI
The Narragansett are credited as being the first peoples to inhabit the land currently known as the state of Rhode Island. They were first discovered by the "White Man" in the early 1500's and nearly wiped from the planet within 150 years. Narragansett Indians relied heavily upon fishing, hunting, and agriculture while inhabiting the islands around Narragansett Bay. Once westerners took over and colonized America, the natives were forced to one parcel of land created in reserve within the current town of Charlestown, RI. Reports suggest that legal jousting with the state of Rhode Island left the tribe with a mere 2 acres in the late 1880's. Currently their reservation covers some 2500 acres.
This stamp shows several different aspects important to life as a Narragansett Indian. The eight stars represent the original eight hereditary sachems in the tribal rule. The moon signifies the grand sachem; more of a tribal king around whom the others revolve. The ocean depicts the importance of the Narragansett Bay as a fishery and waterway. Narragansetts paddled large dugout canoes across this waterway to trade with other parts of the tribe and to gather food.
The last element is a quahog shell, which is used to make wampum. Wampum is actually not used as money, but as a record of history. It is a symbol of respect and honor. According to the Narragansett tribe's website, the value of the wampum rises as the purple color of the quahog becomes deeper. Truely purple shells are rare and signify a coveted prize.
Maliseet - Carver: Dave of the VonderInsels, Jamestown, RI
Many thanks to the wholesale "borrowing" from the following website: Native Languages of the Americas: Maliseet ( Malecite, Male'cite, Malecites, Malisit) Written by Laura Redish and Orrin Lewis. Found at: http://www.native-languages.org/maliseet.htm
The Maliseet tribe belonged to the loose confederation of eastern American Indians known as the Wabanaki Alliance, together with the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Mi'kmaq, and Abenaki Indians. The Maliseet live primarily in Canada, especially New Brunswick, with one band across the border in nearby Maine ( the U.S. granted full recognition to the Maine tribe in 1980). Older literature sometimes refers to them as "St. John's Indians", thought there's no evidence they ever used that term themselves. The Maliseets own name for themselves is Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet is a Mi'kmaq word for someone who can't talk very well,) but today they are known as Maliseets or Malecites.
The Maliseet and Passamaquoddy people were closely related neighbors who shared a common language, but though the French referred to both tribes collectively as Etchemin, they always considered themselves independent. Smallpox and other European diseases had decimated the Indian populations, and they regrouped as best they could. The Maliseet and Passamaquoddy, near relatives and long time allies who spoke dialects of the same language, banded together against European and Iroquois aggression with their neighbors the Abenakis, Penobscots, and Micmacs. The resulting Wabanaki Confederacy was no more than a loose alliance, however, and neither the Passamaquoddy nor the Maliseet nation ever gave up their sovereignty.
River people, the Maliseet were expert fishermen, using spears to catch fish from their canoes. Fish is still important to their diet and culture today. The fish on the stamp is a brown trout, native to the St. John's River area.
Nipmuc - Carver: Koyote, Winsted, CT
The Nipmuc Indians were the first inhabitants of the Massachusetts central plateau. Their territory extended from what is presently the Vermont and New Hampshire borders, through Worcester County of Massachusetts, and into northern Rhode Island and northeastern Connecticut. Prior to contact with European settlers in the 1600s, the Nipmuc numbered anywhere from three thousand to ten thousand people. They lived in numerous band encampments near bodies of fresh water. Nipmuc translates to "Fresh Water People."
Tribal lands were gradually taken by colonists by force or through various treaties such as the Lancaster Purchase of 1643. The Nipmuc were all but destroyed in the King Phillips War of 1675. The Nipmuc fought bravely at Brookfield, Deerfield and the Battle of Bloody Brook. Some Nipmuc escaped to join the St. Francois Indians and became allies of the French. Today, two groups of Nipmuc survive. The Hassanamisco Nipmuc number approximately 2,500 and live on just two acres on the Hassanamesit reservation in Grafton Massachusetts. The Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuc live in a ten acre reservation located in northeastern Connecticut. In total, there are about 14,000 Nipmuc living in the United States today. Neither of the groups mentioned have received federal recognition.
Abenaki - Carver: Sojourner, Orange, CT
Once spreading across upper New England and into Quebec was the Abnaki or Abenaki Confederacy. This union of tribes included such nations as the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot of Maine, the Micmac and Malecite of Maine and New Brunswick, and the Pennacook of Vermont. Today, the Abenaki are found primarily in the province of Quebec, but a band is also located in Vermont.
Based in the town of Swanton in northern Vermont is the St. Francis-Sokoki Band of the Abenaki Nation, sometimes referred to as the Western Abenaki. Sokoki is their native word for the Western Abenaki. Their original name, the Wabanaki, meant “those who live at the sunrise,” or “the easterners.” The tribe, which numbers around 1200 individuals, has been recognized by other Abenaki Bands in Quebec as true Abenaki. The State of Vermont extended recognition to the tribe in 1976, only to rescind it in 1977 due to protests from hunters and fishermen. The state recognition had included special hunting and fishing rights for the band. Despite this, the St. Francis-Sokoki Band, named for its chief, Mr. Homer St. Francis, is pursuing federal recognition, a long and intricate process.
On July 24, 1991, the Abenaki nation adopted a tribal flag. The flag is dark green recalling the Green Mountains and the overall green image that Vermont possesses. Centered on the green field is the tribal seal. The brown “shield” of the seal is a representation of an animal hide. It bears three symbols, starting with a red sun at the top. Below this is a pair of blue waves recalling the rivers and Lake Champlain and lastly is a green grassy patch bearing two deciduous and three conifer trees. These recall the lush woodlands of western Vermont. A large painting of the tribal flag appears over the main entrance of the Tribal Office in Swanton.
Micmac - Carver: S. Pike, Chester, CT
The First nations of People of Nova Scotia are known as the Mi'kmaq. During the 16th and 17th centuries, they inhabited the region now known as the Maritime provinces and the Gaspe' Penninsula. They also settled in New England and New Foundland. The Mi'kmaq called themselves "L'nu'k," meaning "the people." The term Mi'kmaq comes from their word "nikmak," meaning "my kin-friends." The Mi'kmaq language, one of the Algonkian family of languages, is rich and descriptive. Their name for the month of May is "Tqoljewiku's," "frog-croaking moon." February is "Apiknajit," the "snow-blinder." The language is still spoken today by a number of the people.
Click the image above
to take you to the East Direction Clues
Pequot - Carver: MayEve, East Hartford, CT
The Pequot Indians have been residents of southern New England for centuries. The name Pequot means "destroyers" and is in reference to the war-like nature of these people. They frequently fought the neighboring Niantics and Narragansetts for control of territory, and were the most dreaded of the southern New England tribes. The Pequot and the Mohegan people were originally one tribe which split into two some time around the beginning of the 16th century. After the separation of the tribes, the Pequot still numbered about 3,000 people.
The Pequot were an agricultural people who raised corn, beans, squash and tobacco. They also hunted and fished. The villages were heavily fortified in case of enemy attack. Dwellings were either of wigwams or long houses. Unlike many other tribes, the Pequot were highly organized with a central authority which rested with the tribal council and, ultimately, the grand sachem.
The Connecticut colonists feared the Pequot Indians because small raiding parties attacked their settlements. The Pequot perceived the colonists as a threat to their supremacy in the area. This mutual antagonism came to a head with the Pequot War of 1637, in which the Pequots were defeated. The precipitating cause was the Pequot's murder of John Oldham, an English trader. The English, under john Mason and John Underhill, attacked their stronghold on the Pequot River and killed some 500 Pequot.
The remaining Pequot fled in small groups. One party went to Long Island, and a second escaped into interior Connecticut. A third, led by Sassacus, was intercepted near Fairfield CT where almost the entire party was killed or captured. The captives were forced into slavery, mainly in New England and the West Indies. A few Pequot who managed to escape were put to death by the Mohawk. A remnant of the Pequot was scattered among the southern New England tribes; the colonial government later settled them in Connecticut. At Ledyard, the Mashantucket Pequot established (1992) a casino, which has proved to be one of the largest and most profitable gambling establishments in the world. They also sponsor an elaborate tribal museum.
In the nineteen-sixties, there were just two elderly Pequot women living on what was left of their ancestral land, a 200 acre rocky tract that the state wanted for a park. The Pequot nation was a heartbeat from extinction. Today the 1600-acre reservation is home to more than 110 Indians and their families, bringing the total number of Pequot Indians in Connecticut (2000) to 515.
Narragansett - Carver: Steve & Heidi, RI
The Narragansett are credited as being the first peoples to inhabit the land currently known as the state of Rhode Island. They were first discovered by the "White Man" in the early 1500's and nearly wiped from the planet within 150 years. Narragansett Indians relied heavily upon fishing, hunting, and agriculture while inhabiting the islands around Narragansett Bay. Once westerners took over and colonized America, the natives were forced to one parcel of land created in reserve within the current town of Charlestown, RI. Reports suggest that legal jousting with the state of Rhode Island left the tribe with a mere 2 acres in the late 1880's. Currently their reservation covers some 2500 acres.
This stamp shows several different aspects important to life as a Narragansett Indian. The eight stars represent the original eight hereditary sachems in the tribal rule. The moon signifies the grand sachem; more of a tribal king around whom the others revolve. The ocean depicts the importance of the Narragansett Bay as a fishery and waterway. Narragansetts paddled large dugout canoes across this waterway to trade with other parts of the tribe and to gather food.
The last element is a quahog shell, which is used to make wampum. Wampum is actually not used as money, but as a record of history. It is a symbol of respect and honor. According to the Narragansett tribe's website, the value of the wampum rises as the purple color of the quahog becomes deeper. Truely purple shells are rare and signify a coveted prize.
Maliseet - Carver: Dave of the VonderInsels, Jamestown, RI
Many thanks to the wholesale "borrowing" from the following website: Native Languages of the Americas: Maliseet ( Malecite, Male'cite, Malecites, Malisit) Written by Laura Redish and Orrin Lewis. Found at: http://www.native-languages.org/maliseet.htm
The Maliseet tribe belonged to the loose confederation of eastern American Indians known as the Wabanaki Alliance, together with the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Mi'kmaq, and Abenaki Indians. The Maliseet live primarily in Canada, especially New Brunswick, with one band across the border in nearby Maine ( the U.S. granted full recognition to the Maine tribe in 1980). Older literature sometimes refers to them as "St. John's Indians", thought there's no evidence they ever used that term themselves. The Maliseets own name for themselves is Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet is a Mi'kmaq word for someone who can't talk very well,) but today they are known as Maliseets or Malecites.
The Maliseet and Passamaquoddy people were closely related neighbors who shared a common language, but though the French referred to both tribes collectively as Etchemin, they always considered themselves independent. Smallpox and other European diseases had decimated the Indian populations, and they regrouped as best they could. The Maliseet and Passamaquoddy, near relatives and long time allies who spoke dialects of the same language, banded together against European and Iroquois aggression with their neighbors the Abenakis, Penobscots, and Micmacs. The resulting Wabanaki Confederacy was no more than a loose alliance, however, and neither the Passamaquoddy nor the Maliseet nation ever gave up their sovereignty.
River people, the Maliseet were expert fishermen, using spears to catch fish from their canoes. Fish is still important to their diet and culture today. The fish on the stamp is a brown trout, native to the St. John's River area.
Nipmuc - Carver: Koyote, Winsted, CT
The Nipmuc Indians were the first inhabitants of the Massachusetts central plateau. Their territory extended from what is presently the Vermont and New Hampshire borders, through Worcester County of Massachusetts, and into northern Rhode Island and northeastern Connecticut. Prior to contact with European settlers in the 1600s, the Nipmuc numbered anywhere from three thousand to ten thousand people. They lived in numerous band encampments near bodies of fresh water. Nipmuc translates to "Fresh Water People."
Tribal lands were gradually taken by colonists by force or through various treaties such as the Lancaster Purchase of 1643. The Nipmuc were all but destroyed in the King Phillips War of 1675. The Nipmuc fought bravely at Brookfield, Deerfield and the Battle of Bloody Brook. Some Nipmuc escaped to join the St. Francois Indians and became allies of the French. Today, two groups of Nipmuc survive. The Hassanamisco Nipmuc number approximately 2,500 and live on just two acres on the Hassanamesit reservation in Grafton Massachusetts. The Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuc live in a ten acre reservation located in northeastern Connecticut. In total, there are about 14,000 Nipmuc living in the United States today. Neither of the groups mentioned have received federal recognition.
Abenaki - Carver: Sojourner, Orange, CT
Once spreading across upper New England and into Quebec was the Abnaki or Abenaki Confederacy. This union of tribes included such nations as the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot of Maine, the Micmac and Malecite of Maine and New Brunswick, and the Pennacook of Vermont. Today, the Abenaki are found primarily in the province of Quebec, but a band is also located in Vermont.
Based in the town of Swanton in northern Vermont is the St. Francis-Sokoki Band of the Abenaki Nation, sometimes referred to as the Western Abenaki. Sokoki is their native word for the Western Abenaki. Their original name, the Wabanaki, meant “those who live at the sunrise,” or “the easterners.” The tribe, which numbers around 1200 individuals, has been recognized by other Abenaki Bands in Quebec as true Abenaki. The State of Vermont extended recognition to the tribe in 1976, only to rescind it in 1977 due to protests from hunters and fishermen. The state recognition had included special hunting and fishing rights for the band. Despite this, the St. Francis-Sokoki Band, named for its chief, Mr. Homer St. Francis, is pursuing federal recognition, a long and intricate process.
On July 24, 1991, the Abenaki nation adopted a tribal flag. The flag is dark green recalling the Green Mountains and the overall green image that Vermont possesses. Centered on the green field is the tribal seal. The brown “shield” of the seal is a representation of an animal hide. It bears three symbols, starting with a red sun at the top. Below this is a pair of blue waves recalling the rivers and Lake Champlain and lastly is a green grassy patch bearing two deciduous and three conifer trees. These recall the lush woodlands of western Vermont. A large painting of the tribal flag appears over the main entrance of the Tribal Office in Swanton.
Micmac - Carver: S. Pike, Chester, CT
The First nations of People of Nova Scotia are known as the Mi'kmaq. During the 16th and 17th centuries, they inhabited the region now known as the Maritime provinces and the Gaspe' Penninsula. They also settled in New England and New Foundland. The Mi'kmaq called themselves "L'nu'k," meaning "the people." The term Mi'kmaq comes from their word "nikmak," meaning "my kin-friends." The Mi'kmaq language, one of the Algonkian family of languages, is rich and descriptive. Their name for the month of May is "Tqoljewiku's," "frog-croaking moon." February is "Apiknajit," the "snow-blinder." The language is still spoken today by a number of the people.
Click the image above
to take you to the East Direction Clues
# posted by Mark and Sue @ 7:45 PM 
