Everything about Nipmuck totally explained
The
Nipmuck (also spelled
Nipmuc) are a group of
Algonquian Indians native to
Worcester County, Massachusetts.
Name
Their name has also been spelled as Nipnet, Neepmuck, Neepnet, Neetmock, Neipnett and Nipmug. The name originated from the
Algonquian language word "nipnet" (or something similar) meaning literally "small pond place" and is sometimes translated as "fresh water people."
Lake Chaubunagungamaug, with which they've long been associated, may be the source of this name.
Language
The Nipmuck spoke an
Algonquian language akin to that of their neighbors. Their language is now extinct. The only known source for the language is Gordon Day's (1975) redaction of Father Mathevet's 17th-century notes on the language of the 'Loup', who are believed to have been either the Nipmuck or else another closely-related tribe in central Massachusetts.
The "L-dialect" spoken by the Nipmuck was closely related to the "N-dialect" of the
Massachuset.
Territory
The Nipmuck were once more numerous and wide-ranging than they're today. In early times, according to one appraisal:
The 500+ remaining Nipmuck recognized by the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts live in and around the
Chaubunagungamaug Reservation in
Webster and the
Hassanamisco Reservation in
Grafton. Their territory may once have extended into northern
Rhode Island and northeast
Connecticut.
Legal Status
This Indian group has long been recognized by the state of Massachusetts, but in
2004 the
Bureau of Indian Affairs decided that this group doesn't meet four of the seven mandatory requirements for
Federal acknowledgment as a "
nation".
This specific legal determination prevents the Nipmuck from dealing with the
U.S. Government on a "government-to-government" basis.
The decision and was made on the basis of such points as Nipmuc families having long owned their land individually rather than communally and having been legally "detribalized" by the
Massachusetts Enfranchisement Act of 1869.
As such, this determination is in no way a
defamation of the Nipmuc people past or present and the Nipmuck, like the
Wampanoag, continue to have a special status within the Commonwealth.
Pre-colonial history
Coming from the
southwest,
Paleo Indians settled
New England over 10,000 years ago, hunting the animals that inhabited the
subarctic environment. 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 Nipmuck'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 lodges) were used for purification rituals and many of these ancient chambers can still be found near the sites of Nipmuck villages.
During the
Woodland Period (1000 BCE–1000 CE) and later, trade and with other peoples brought the "
three sisters" (
maize,
beans, and
squash), encouraging an agricultural based society. In time, Nipmuck territory was at the hub of the "
Great Path" to all parts of the
northeast.
Nipmuck homes were framed of
deciduous saplings covered with skins, bark and woven mats. The
bow and arrow supplemented the use of
spears in
hunting and
war.
Colonial-era history
As early as
1630 there's a record of a Nipmuck known as Acquittamaug walking to
Boston with his father, each carrying a
bushel and a half of corn from
Woodstock, Connecticut, to the starving settlers for sale. Just a generation later the colonists were offering bounties on the scalps of Nipmuck men, women, and children.
Regarding the Nipmuck, one historian wrote:
In
1644,
John Winthrop the Younger, son of the first leader of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony, purchased the
Tantiusques graphite mine and the surrounding land from the Nipmuck and began the first commercial mining operation on the site.
By the
1650s, much of the Nipmuck peoples had been brought into the fold of what the colonists called "
Praying Indians". During
King Philip's War large numbers of Nipmuck, including many
sachem, were either killed in battle or captured and
hanged.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Nipmuck'.
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