The Native Americans

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The Native Americans

When the Pilgrims first encountered the native Americans during their early explorations of Cape Cod, both groups feared each other. The first meeting of the two groups occurred at First Encounter Beach where the Pilgrims were showered with arrows before the Indians took flight.

There were nights when the Pilgrims could hear the noise of Indian drams, which made the Pilgrims uneasy about their neighbors. From the accounts they had heard from other explorers, they had come to think of the Indians as savages. They had no way of knowing that an Indian named Squanto was an English-speaking native who would befriend them and act as an interpreter between them and the Wampanoag Indians.

Literally, Wampanoag means "People of the Light." They are sometimes referred to as "Eastern People" since the first light each day appears in the east.

The Wampanoag (also known as the Pokanoket) was the Native American tribe that lived in the region where the Pilgrims landed. At the time the Pilgrims arrive, the tribe was under enormous pressure: nearly three-fourths of its number had been killed by diseases introduced by foreign explorers, and the remaining members were fending off attacks from a neighboring, the Narragansett.

The Pilgrims were also confronting the crisis of survival. Almost half of the new settlers died of scurvy caused by poor nutrition, or of exposure caused by the lack of adequate shelter. With both the Indians and the newcomers struggling to stay alive, the time was ripe fro a friendship that could benefit each side.

SAMOSET AND SQUANTO

The Pilgrims' first winter in America was difficult. They lacked food, and about half of the colonists had died of the "great sickness" during the first terrible winter.

In the spring, an Indian named Samoset entered the Plymouth Colony and introduced himself to the Pilgrims. Samoset had also been kidnapped by explorers and taken to England where he had learned the language. Samoset was an Abnaki Indian from Maine.

Later he returned with Squanto. Squanto was born about 1585 near what is now known as Plymouth, Massachusetts. He was a Pawtuxet Indian who was captured in 1614 by English seamen and taken to Spain where he was sold as a slave. Squanto escaped to England, where he lived for several years and learned to speak English.

In 1619, Squanto returned to his home and found most of the people of his tribe had died of disease. He joined the Wampanoags who were living near Plymouth, and in 1621, he met the Pilgrims.

It was Squanto who would teach the Pilgrims how to find herring, a kind of fish, and to use it as a fertilizer when planting corn, pumpkins and beans. This was especially important to the Pilgrims because the seeds they had brought with them from England did not do well in the New England soil. Squanto also showed them how to find clams and eels in the rivers and how to hunt for deer, bears and turkeys. The children also learned where to find nuts and berries of all kinds.

THE INDIAN PEACE TREATY

Gradually, Squanto and Samoset reassured the Wampanoags that their new neighbors were peaceful and meant them no harm. He told them of the Pilgrims' desire to make a treaty of peace with them.

On March 22, 1621, Samoset and Squanto appeared in the little colony with three other Indians. They brought with them a few skins and some dried some red herrings to trade. They told the Pilgrims that their great sagamore, Massasoit, was nearby with Quadequina, his brother and about sixty men. They were able to arrange a meeting between Massasoit and the first governor of Plymouth Colony, John Carver.

After an hour, Massasoit came to the top of the hill with his men. The Pilgrims were not willing to send their governor to them, and the Indians were unwilling to come to them. Squanto went again to Massasoit and brought back word the Pilgrims should send one to parley with him. Edward Winslow agreed to serve as diplomatic ambassador and went to Massasoit bearing gifts for him and his brother Quadequina. Winslow remained with the Indians as Massasoit came over the brook with some twenty men following him.

Captain Standish and William Brewster met the king at the brook with half a dozen musketeers, where they saluted him and he them. With Standish on one side of Massasoit and Brewster on the other, they escorted Massasoit to a house which was just being built. On the floor, the Pilgrims had placed a green rug and three or four cushions.

Immediately, Governor Carver came to the house with drum and trumpet after him and a few musketeers. Governor Carver kissed the hand of Massasoit and Massasoit kissed Carver before they sat down.

Governor Carver called for some strong water, and drank made a toast to Massasoit. Massasoit drank deeply of the liquor which made him sweat. Then, Carver called for fresh meat, which Massasoit ate and shared with his followers.

Following the introductory ceremonies, Carver and Massaoit agreed upon the terms of a peace treaty between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags. The treaty of mutual support they negotiated said in part:

That he nor any of his should do hurt to any of their people.
That if any of his did hurt any of theirs, he should send the offender, that they might punish him.
That if anything were taken away from any of theirs, he should cause it to be restored; and they should do the like to his.
If any did unjustly war against him, they would aid him; if any did war against them, he should aid them.
He should send to his neighbors confederates to certify them of this, that they might not wrong them, but might be likewise compromised in the conditions of peace.
That when their men came to them, they should leave their bows and arrows behind the.

During the next few months, the Native Americans and the settlers worked together to till and plant the first successful crops. The first feast of Thanksgiving, in October of 1621, was a harvest festival filled with fellowship, good food and games. The Indians and the colonists shared the fruits of their labor: venison, duck, turkey, corn and pumpkin.

The peace born of mutual support and trust eventually eroded. In 1675, a full-scale war

erupted between the increasing number of colonists and the Indians. Now known as King Phillip's War, after the name of Chief Massasoit's son, who was then chief, the clash lasted eleven years and caused great destruction on both sides. The Wampanoag was defeated, and peaceful relations between the two groups were forever shattered.

The peaceful relations between the Pilgrims and Indians had lasted 54 years, during the lifetimes of Massasoit and the original members of Plymouth Colony.

SOME WAMPANOAG WORDS AND PHRASES

Kuwonukumish: "Hello" or "I greet you."

Pooneam Netop: "Hello, friend."

Taubut: "Thank you."

Appish: "Sit down."

Wunniish: "Be good." "Goodbye."

Abokquos: house covering, either mats or bark.

Appin: bed. Poles or split logs laid across a pole frame and covered with mats or skins. Hopuonk: tobacco pipe, for social or religious use. [Not called a peace pipe.]

Manoot: basket. Twine or plait weave, made of various natural materials.

Matasquas: mat. Made of cattails, cornstalks, corn husks, bulrushes, sedge or cedar bark.

Mishoon: canoe. Either a "dugout" made of pine, chestnut or oak and holding up to 20 people, or one made of birchbark with a cedar frame, fastened with spruce root.

Nootau: a fire for cooking and heating the wetu.

Notassen: soft basket or bag of twine or net weave.

Ohkoon: tanned skin for clothing, bags or bedding.

Pokanoket: literally, "at the cleared land." The home area of Massasoit (now Bristo, RI). The English settlers referred to al Wampanoags as Pokanokets.

Qunassin: literally, "long stone." A pestle for pounding corn in a mortar.

Qunnam: a ladle-like spoon with a short handle, made of hardwood.

Toguhwonk: mortar, used for grinding corn, made of wood or stone.

Wanachikmuk: the smoke hole at the top of a wetu.

Wetu: house or wigwam.

Wunnonk: bowl. Made of hardwood and used for eating or serving.

Wuttamauog: a native species of tobacco, raised by the men for ceremonies and medicine.

Wuttapuisog: the poles for the wetu frame, either cedar or maple saplings, put up by the men.

THE WAMPANOAG BOWL GAME

The Wampanoags of Southern New England had a variety of amusing games which they played. One of these was the Bowl Game. This game was observed by Roger Williams (an Englishman who founded Providence, RI) as sometimes being played one town against another with a great amount of goods wagered on the outcome.

The Wampanoag Bowl Game is played as follows:

You need a shallow wooden or plastic bowl, five flat plumstones (prune or plum pits), which have been painted black on one side only, and 20 tokens or marker of any kind.

To play: Place the 5 flat plumstones in the bowl. Each player takes turns banging the bowl once on the floor. As the bowl hits the floor's hard surface, the stones will jump and flip around the bowl. If the stones should turn up all the same color, the player receives 2 tokens and plays again. If the stones turn up 3 of the same color, the player gets one token and continues his turn. If the player turns up 4 of the same color, the player receives no tokens and loses his turn. Play then passes to the person on his left. Play stops when all tokens have been handed out. The person with the most tokens wins.

Last modified October 7, 1999
by
Webmaster Dave Lossos