Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck

Webster/Dudley Band of the Chaubunagungamaug
Nipmuck Indians
Total population
(354 (2002).[1])
Regions with significant populations
United States of America United States (Massachusetts Massachusetts and Connecticut Connecticut).
Languages
English, Nipmuck, Massachusett
Religion
Christianity, Midewiwin (Manito), Other.
Related ethnic groups
Other Nipmuc(k) tribes, Massachusett, Wampanoag, Narragansett, Pennacook, Pocomtuc, Pequot, Mohegan and other Algonquian peoples

The Webster/Dudley Band of the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck Indians, also known as the Chaubunagungamaug, Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck, Pegan or Dudley Indians, are a Native American tribe indigenous to the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Connecticut in the region of New England. They are one of three tribes with state recognition in Massachusetts as a tribe of Nipmuck Indians, including the Hassanamisco Nipmuc and the Natick Massachusett, although the latter are mainly descended from the Massachusett people.

Members trace their ancestry to Nipmuck that lived between Lake Chaubunagungamaug and the Maanexit River. Contact with English settlers began in the 1630s, as the colonists began following the Indian trails to new settlements in the Pioneer Valley or the Pequot War (1634-1638). By the 1670s, the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck came under the nominal control of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and under the expanding missionary influence of the Rev. John Eliot, leading to the establishment of a 'Praying Town of Chabanakongkomun' in 1674.[2] After the ravages of King Philip's War (1675-1676), the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck were awarded a reservation in 1682. This reservation was sold in 1870, following the passage of the Massachusetts Indian Enfranchisement Act the year prior, forcing the tribe to disperse and assimilate into the surrounding communities.[1]

The tribe incorporated in 1981, and subsequently received state recognition from the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs. Private land in Webster, Massachusetts and Thompson, Connecticut is used by the tribe as its unofficial reservation.[3] Members worked closely with the Hassanamisco Nipmuc under Nipmuc Nation, especially in regards to federal recognition, but the tribe split from Nipmuc Nation in 1996. Many of the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck remain affiliated with Nipmuc Nation, where they are counted amongst the Hassanamisco Nipmuc. The tribe was denied federal recognition as an Indian tribe in 2001, 2004 and 2007 decisions from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.[4]

Ethnonyms

Modern shoreline of Webster Lake. The lake's shorter indigenous name, Chaubunagungamaug, serves as the namesake of the tribe.

The tribe is unique for its preference for the spelling Nipmuck as opposed to the more commonly used 'Nipmuc.' Both derive from nippamaug ('freshwater fishing pond'). This can be seen in Massachusett cognates such as nippe ('water')[5] and -amaug ('fish taken by hook').[6][7] Chaubunagungamaug signifies a 'boundary fishing place' or 'fishing place at the boundary,' named after the historical zoning of fishing rights between the Chaubunagungamaug and the Monuhchogok (Manchaug), a related people on the opposite shores of the lake. The full name of the lake is 'Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg.' Massachusett cognates include [chad]chabenumoónk ('boundary,' 'division' or 'separation'), and probably related to chippenau ('he divides'),[8] and the suffix -amaug ('fishing pond').[6] A variant, 'Chabanakongkomun', was used by Eliot himself, and the Indian converts of the Praying town came to be known as the Praying Indians of Chabanakongkomun.[9]

In the 18th century, the tribe was known as the Pegan Indians (not to be confused with Piegan Blackfoot) because of the prevalent nature of the surname Pegan amongst its members. It is related to the indigenous elements pegan- and pahegan- ('bare,' 'barren' or 'treeless') found in local topography.[10][11] Most of the other common names for the tribe the location of the reservation lands which were first granted in Dudley, Massachusetts and then later moved to another part that was ceded to form the town of Webster, Massachusetts. By the 19th century, the tribe came to be known as the Dudley, Webster-Dudley and Webster Indians.[1] In 1996, the tribe adopted the formal name of the Webster/Dudley Band of the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck Indians.[12]

Location

The Nipmuck referred to their original homeland as Nippenet ('Freshwater Pond Place') or Nippmaug ('Freshwater Fishing Place'), which covered most of central Massachusetts, north-eastern Connecticut and north-western Rhode Island. Within this region, the Chaubunagungamaug inhabited an area near Lake Chaubunagungamaug and the Maanexit River. This small region now corresponds to the Towns of Dudley, Southbridge, Webster, Charlton, Oxford, Sutton, Douglas in Worcester County, Massachusetts and across the state border in Windham County, Connecticut in what is now the Town of Thompson.[11]

Tribal Membership

Membership in the tribe is open to lineal descendants of the 'Dudley Indians' enumerated in the 1861 Report to the Governor and Council concerning the Indians of the Commonwealth (Earle Report) conducted by Indian Commissioner John Milton Earle or the 1890 Worcester Probate Court lists of beneficiaries to the funds from the reservation land sales.[12] Surnames of Dudley Indians on the Earle Report of 1861 include Bakeman, Beaumont, Belden, Cady, Corbin, Daley, Dorus, Esau, Fiske, Freeman, Henry, Hull, Humphrey, Jaha, Kyle, Nichols, Oliver, Pegan, Robinson, Shelley, Sprague, White, Willard and Williard.[13] In 2004, the tribe had 354 members.[1]

In 2004, 277, or 53%, of the Nipmuck identifying with the Nipmuc Nation and listed in the Hassanamisco Nipmuc tribal rolls at the time were Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck that remained after the 1996 exit of the Webster/Dudley Band, mostly from the Jaha, Humphrey, Belden, Pegan/Wilson, Pegan and Sprague families listed on the Earle Report. This also indicated that at that time, 43% of the total known population of descendants of the Dudley Indians, to which the Webster/Dudley Band are a successor, were not included in tribal rolls.[14]

Government

Since 1981, when Sachem ('Chief') Edwin Wise Owl Morse, Sr., incorporated as the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck, traditional leadership of the tribe has passed through his descendants, currently headed by Sachem Edwin Morse III.[15] Since 1996, the tribe has its own elected council.[12] The council is elected to serve three-year terms, with elections occurring at the end of December. As of November 2013, the council consists of Chairman/Treasurer Kenneth White, Vice-Chairman David White, Secretary Sherry Davis, Enrollment Committee Chairperson Stacey Kelleher, Resident Agent Tom Morse, Joyce Brown, Charles Morse and Melissa Greene. Councillors are restricted to certain family lines, such as the Dorus/White, Sprague/Henries and Nichols/Heath branches.[12][16]

Sachems since 1981

Relationship with other Nipmuck

Although tribal relations between the Webster/Dudley Band of the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck and the Hassanamisco Nipmuc (including Nipmuc Nation Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuc) were formerly strained, the close kinship ties and shared cultural pursuits have helped to heal old wounds. The two tribes are currently working together to revive the Nipmuck language, get Nipmuck involved in archaeological projects such as Project Mishoon and make use of land identified by the East Quabbin Land trust as a possible site for a Nipmuck cultural centre.[18] Other Nipmuc(k) groups, without state recognition, include the Connecticut Nipmuc, descendants of Nipmuck from the Praying towns that were located in what is now Connecticut and Nipmuck that relocated there,[19] as well as the Quinsigamond Nipmuc, including many Nipmuck that either descend from the original Quinsigamond Nipmuc[11] or later migrants into the areas around Worcester, Massachusetts. Nippamaug of all bands regularly attend the powwows, Indian fairs and social gatherings of the others.[20] The Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck, Hassanamisco Nipmuc and Natick Massachusett, as state recognized tribes in Massachusetts, work with the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs to provide support for Native peoples.[18]

Notable Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck

Chiefs and Leaders

Veterans

'Last of the Nipmucks'

The following gained notoriety as the so-called 'last of the' or 'last full-blooded' Nipmuck:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Martin, A. M. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. (2004). Final determination against federal acknowledgment of the nipmuc nation (fr25jn04-110). U.S. Government Printing Office: Washington, D.C.
  2. ↑ Cogley, R. W. (2009). John eliot's mission to the indians before king philip's war (pp. 157-166). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  3. ↑ Blumenthal, R. Connecticut Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, Indian Affairs. (2002). Comments of the state of connecticut and the northeastern connecticut council of governments on the proposed findings on the petitions for tribal acknowledgement of the nipmuc nation and the webster/dudley band of the chaubunagungamaug nipmuck indians. Retrieved from http://www.ct.gov/ag/lib/ag/press_releases/2002/indian/nipmuc_brief.pdf.
  4. ↑ Artman, C. J. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. (2007). In re federal acknowledgement of the webster/dudley band of chaubunagungamaug nipmuck indians (IBIA 01-154-A). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  5. ↑ Trumbull, J. H. (1903). Natick dictionary: A new england indian lexicon. Issue 25. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 85, 342.
  6. 1 2 Trumbull, J. H. (1903). p. 7.
  7. ↑ Hodge, R. W. (2006). Handbook of american indians, north of mexico. (Vol. II). Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Pub. p. 74.
  8. ↑ Trumbull, J. H. (1903). p. 21.
  9. ↑ Cogley. R. W. (2009). pp. 155-166.
  10. ↑ Huden, J. C. (1962). Indian place names of new england. New York, NY: Heye Foundation, Museum of the American Indian. pp. 387-394.
  11. 1 2 3 Galvin, W. F. Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC), (2007). Historic & archaeological resources of central massachusetts: A framework for preservation decisions. Boston, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Historical Society.
  12. 1 2 3 4 McCaleb, N. A. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. (2001). Summary under the criteria and evidence for proposed finding: Webster/dudley band of chaubunagungamaug nipmuck indians (CBN-V001-D005). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
  13. ↑ Earle, J. M. Office of the Governor of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Senate-Appointed Indian Commissioner. (1861). Report to the governor and council concerning the indians of the commonwealth, under the act of april 6, 1859. Boston, MA: William White, State Printer.
  14. ↑ Darling, N. Department of the Interior, (2004). Martin issues final determination to decline federal acknowledgment of the nipmuc nation. Washington, D.C.: Department of Interior News.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Obituaries: Edwin morse, jr., chief red fox. (2013, June 07). Webster Times, p. O2.
  16. ↑ Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck Indian Council (CBNI). Council news: CBNI Election results. (2013, November 01).
  17. 1 2 Minder, B. L. (2010, 2 9). Chief wise owl dies; led nipmuc recognition battle. Worcester Telegram and Gazette.
  18. 1 2 Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs (2013, June). In Peters, J. (Executive Director). Minutes from the june 11, 2013 meeting. 100 Cambridge Street Conference Room 2A. Massachusetts commission on indian affairs meeting, Boston, MA.
  19. ↑ Prindle, T. (2013). Nipmuc Indian Association of Connecticut.
  20. ↑ Holley, C. T. (2012, January 02). Working together in nipmuc country in 2011. Unnai: Nipmuc Museum Web Log.
  21. 1 2 3 Connole, D. A. (2007). p. 242.
  22. ↑ Cogley, R. W. (2009). p. 157-164.
  23. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/behind_the_scenes/nipmuc_language
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 Diaz, B. L., Gentry H. L. and Strahan J. D. (2008). 978-1-892237-10-1.pdf African American and American Indian Patriots in the Revolutionary War: A Guide to Service, Sources and Studies. Eric G. Grundset, (ed.). Washington, D. C.: National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Doughton, T. L. (1997). 'Unseen neighbors: Native americans of central massachusetts, a people who had "vanished".' In After King Philip's War: Presence and persistence in indian new england. ed. Colin G. Calloway. (p. 207-230). Hanover, NH: University Press of New England.

External links

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