“Nipmuc: In the state of Massachusetts, the low coastal plains rise up to an inland plateau. The plateau is separated from even higher country to the west, the Berkshire Hills, by the Connecticut River. On this central plateau, covered with rich topsoil and dense woods, and coursed by swift-flowing rivers, once lived bands of Algonquians. But there were many different bands and villages, but they came to be known together as Nipmucs.
Their name, pronounced NIP-muck, is derived from the Algonquian word nipmaug, for “fresh water fishing place.” The fact that they primarily used inland freshwater lakes and rivers for their fishing rather than the Atlantic Ocean marks their major difference from many other New England Algonquians who lived closer to the coast. In other ways–such as their hunting and farming methods, their tools, and their beliefs–they were much like their other Algonquian neighbors. The Nipmucs were noted in particular for their basketmaking, weaving, and leatherwork.
Historically, too, their story is linked to other area tribes. The Nipmucs were associated in early colonial years with the Massachuset tribe, and many of them also became Praying Indians. But then in 1675, most of the Nipmuc braves joined the Wampanoags and Narragansets in King Philip’s War. At the end of the war, Many Nipmuc survivors joined Algonquian kinsmen, such as the Mahicans on the Hudson River. Others joined Algonquians in Canada.
The Nipmucs have one of the smallest reservations in the East, only 11.9 acres. It is called the Hassanamisco Reservation, after a village and tribal name. The Hassanamiscos once held the territory around what is now Grafton, Massachusetts. Before 1728, the reservation consisted of 8,000 acres. But most of the land was lost when tribal leaders were tricked into selling it for no payment at all. In 1848, the state set aside the tiny piece that now remains.”
Excerpted from: Waldman, Carl. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. New York: Facts on File, 1988.
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