Niantic People
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The Niantic (Nehântick or Nehantucket in their own language) were a tribe of Algonquian-speaking American Indians who lived in the area of
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
and
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
during the early colonial period. They were divided into eastern and western groups due to intrusions by the more numerous and powerful
Pequot The Pequot () are a Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut including the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, or th ...
s. The Western Niantics were subject to the Pequots and lived just east of the mouth of the
Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...
, while the Eastern Niantics became very close allies to the
Narragansetts The Narragansett people are an Algonquian American Indian tribe from Rhode Island. Today, Narragansett people are enrolled in the federally recognized Narragansett Indian Tribe. They gained federal recognition in 1983. The tribe was nearly lan ...
. It is likely that the name
Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
is derived from the tribe's
endonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
, Nehantucket. The division of the Niantics became so great that the language of the eastern Niantics is classified as a dialect of Narragansett, while the language of the western Niantics is classified as Mohegan-Pequot.


History

The Niantics spoke an Algonquian Y-dialect similar to their neighbors the Pequots,
Mohegan The Mohegan are an Algonquian Native American tribe historically based in present-day Connecticut. Today the majority of the people are associated with the Mohegan Indian Tribe, a federally recognized tribe living on a reservation in the east ...
s, and Narragansetts in New England, and the Montauks on eastern Long Island. The tribe's name "Nehantic" (''Nehântick'') means "of long-necked waters"; area residents believe that this refers to the "long neck" or peninsula of land known as Black Point, located in the village of
Niantic, Connecticut Niantic is a census-designated place (CDP) and village in the town of East Lyme, Connecticut in the United States. The population was 3,114 at the 2010 census. It is located on Long Island Sound, the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant in nearby Water ...
. The Niantics spent their summers fishing and digging the shellfish which were abundant there and for which the area is famous (see
Millstone Nuclear Power Plant The Millstone Nuclear Power Station is the only nuclear power plant in Connecticut and the only multi unit nuclear plant in New England. It is located at a former quarry (from which it takes its name) in Waterford. With a total capacity of over 2 ...
). They lived on corn, beans, and squash, supplemented by hunting, fishing, and collecting nuts, roots, and fruits.


Pre-1600s

Like the Narragansetts, the Niantics pre-contact lived around salt ponds mainly in what is now coastal
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
, in semi-permanent settlements known to archaeologists as "dispersed villages." As part of their
Late Woodland In the classification of archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BCE to European contact in the eastern part of North America, with some archaeolog ...
subsistence, they relied on the use of snakes and turtles. Socially, the Niantic community valued both personal autonomy and group unity, with individual families responsible for providing for themselves. Surviving artifacts include crafted shell items but few projectile points, showing similar shared culture extending from southern Connecticut to Long Island to Martha's Vineyard. The arrival of the Mohegan and Pequot peoples in the southeastern Connecticut region led to the split of the Niantic people into Western Niantic and Eastern Niantic divisions.


1600s

By the time European settlers arrived in southern Rhode Island in 1636, the Niantic and Narragansett peoples were closely related, both in terms of sociopolitics and family groups. The Eastern Niantic population, led by
Ninigret Ninigret (also known as Juanemo according to Roger Williams) (c. 1610 This source confirms 1662 as the date of his land sales.-1677 This source suggests a date of 1667 for his land sales and a 1647 war against the Mohegans.) was a sachem of the ea ...
, lived primarily in the areas of present-day
Westerly, Rhode Island Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County, Rhode Island, first settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669. It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a popula ...
and Charlestown, Rhode Island. Conflict developed between the Niantics and their colonial neighbors, with the English colonists conducting punitive military expeditions against the Niantics, resulting in massive destruction. The violence became more widespread on both sides of the conflict and degenerated into the
Pequot War The Pequot War was an armed conflict that took place between 1636 and 1638 in New England between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the colonists from the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies and their allies from the Narragans ...
in 1637. This conflict resulted in almost total destruction of the Western Niantics by the colonists and their Indian allies; the roughly 100 surviving members of the Western Niantics merged into the Mohegans. Some members of the Mohegans can trace their ancestry back to the Niantics, especially in the vicinity of
Lyme, Connecticut Lyme is a New England town, town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States, situated on the eastern side of the Connecticut River. The population was 2,352 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Lyme i ...
. Following
King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
(1675–1676), the Narragansetts were reduced in population from 5,000 to a few hundred, while Eastern Niantics were largely spared due to Ninigret's neutrality during the conflict. Surviving
Narragansetts The Narragansett people are an Algonquian American Indian tribe from Rhode Island. Today, Narragansett people are enrolled in the federally recognized Narragansett Indian Tribe. They gained federal recognition in 1983. The tribe was nearly lan ...
fled to the Eastern Niantics in such great numbers that the tribe became known as the Narragansetts. Eastern Niantics continued to lead the joined tribes; by 1679, Ninigret had been succeeded by his daughter Weunquest, who died circa 1686.


1700s

Entering the 18th century, the Eastern Niantic-Narragansett community in Rhode Island was one of the largest in Southern New England, with 300-500 Eastern Niantics outnumbering the surviving Narragansetts. Weunquest's half-brother Ninigret II succeeded her, and under his leadership, the Niantic-Narragansetts received their reservation in 1709. He died in 1723, by which time the Eastern Niantics were fully known as Narragansetts. Alcoholism, political infighting, and pressure from the European settlers in the area began to harm the tribe, with population shrinking to 51 families by 1730. By the autumn of 1713, Christian missionaries had begun to try converting Eastern Niantics to Christianity, though they were met with resistance. In the 1720s, a more concentrated, organized effort began, but success was largely limited to those Eastern Niantics who had been taken as household servants and slaves by European families. Widespread interest in Christianity did not begin amongst the Western or Eastern Niantics until 1743, after which distinct congregations formed for each group. In 1733, Western Niantics travelled to
Woodstock, Connecticut Woodstock is a New England town, town in Windham County, Connecticut, Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,221 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History 17th century In the mid-17th century, John Eliot (m ...
from
East Lyme, Connecticut East Lyme is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 18,693 at the 2020 census. The villages of Niantic and Flanders are located in the town. Geography East Lyme is located in southern New London County, west ...
in order "to barter their skins and furs for powder, shot, rings, knives, cloth, pipes, tobacco, beads, lace, whistle and other commodities" with local merchants. In October 1761,
Ezra Stiles Ezra Stiles ( – May 12, 1795) was an American educator, academic, Congregationalist minister, theologian, and author. He is noted as the seventh president of Yale College (1778–1795) and one of the founders of Brown University. According ...
encountered a Western Niantic community of 85 people, including 56 children, in the present-day village of Niantic. He sketched their
wigwam A wigwam, wickiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wickiup'' ...
s and noted similarities between the design they used and those used by the Kickapoo. He further reported that 11 Niantic men had been killed between 1755-1761 while serving with colonial troops. By the end of the 1700s, the Niantic peoples had adopted many aspects of
Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United St ...
New England culture, including adopting the dominant culture's religious beliefs, style of dress, and class system. In 1780, residents of
New Shoreham, Rhode Island New Shoreham is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island that is coextensive with Block Island. The town was named for Shoreham, Kent, in England. According to the Census Bureau, it has a total area of , of which is land and (91.11%) is water ...
voted to take Eastern Niantic-Narragansett land on the grounds that "the native Indians reextinct in
his His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...
Town."


1800s to present

Following the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, numerous Eastern Niantic families fled west and joined the Brotherton Indians in New York and eventually Wisconsin. Those that remained were often seen by political leaders as separate from the white community but also not as Indigenous, resulting in Niantics being listed as "Black" or "Negro" in Rhode Island town records, a re-classification that would make it difficult for them to maintain their claim on their ancestral lands. By 1870, the Western Niantics were declared extinct by the state of Connecticut, which sold their reservation on the Black Point peninsula of East Lyme. In 1886, the state sold their burial ground, which was desecrated. The Crescent beach community was developed on top of this area. Niantic skeletal remains have been uncovered during excavation for new construction projects over the years, as recently as 1988.The East Lyme Public Library has some information, mainly as small booklets that were researched and written by local historians. These refer to Mercy Matthews and many other Niantic people. In 1880, the Eastern Niantic-Narragansett reservation was sold to the state of Rhode Island, with only the church remaining under their control. In the early 1900s, Mohegan people of southeastern Connecticut considered Western Niantic peoples to be amongst their elders, turning to them for additional guidance on sacred traditions, medicine, symbolism, and tribal history. In the 1930s, Niantics attended a gathering at
Mashapaug Pond Mashapaug Pond is the largest freshwater pond in the city of Providence, Rhode Island. Over the past four hundred years, Mashapaug Pond has been a site of indigenous settlement and displacement, deforestation and agriculture, urban and industr ...
in Providence, Rhode Island that also included Narragansetts,
Nipmuck The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian language. Their historic territory Nippenet, "the freshwater pond place," is in central Massachusetts and nearby par ...
s,
Wampanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...
s,
Passamaquoddy The Passamaquoddy ( Maliseet-Passamaquoddy: ''Peskotomuhkati'') are a Native American/First Nations people who live in northeastern North America. Their traditional homeland, Peskotomuhkatik'','' straddles the Canadian province of New Brunswick ...
s, and
Misquamicut Misquamicut State Beach is a seaside public recreation area in the town of Westerly, Rhode Island. It occupies a portion of Misquamicut Beach, a barrier island that extends westward from Weekapaug to Watch Hill and separates Winnapaug Pond fro ...
s. In 1998, about 35 Connecticut families claiming Niantic descent incorporated as the Nehantic Tribe and Nation non-profit association. They established a three-person governing board, researched their history more fully, and began the petition process of seeking recognition from the federal government as an Indian tribe.


See also

*
Ninigret Ninigret (also known as Juanemo according to Roger Williams) (c. 1610 This source confirms 1662 as the date of his land sales.-1677 This source suggests a date of 1667 for his land sales and a 1647 war against the Mohegans.) was a sachem of the ea ...
, a Niantic
sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...
*
Harman Garrett Harman Garrett (c. 1610 – c. 1678) (also known as Cashawashett or Wequashcook II or Herman Garrett or Harmon Garrett) was a Niantic sachem and then governor of the Eastern Pequots slightly east of the Pawcatuck River in what is now Westerly, Rh ...
, Niantic governor and sachem *
List of early settlers of Rhode Island This is a collection of lists of early settlers (before 1700) in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Most of the lists are of the earliest inhabitants of a particular town or area. Indian tribes and leaders The following ...


Notes


References

*Hodge, Frederick W. Handbook of North American Indians. Washington, DC.: Government Printing Press, 1910. * *Swanton, John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 145. Washington DC.: Government Printing Office, 1952. {{authority control Algonquian peoples Native American tribes in Connecticut Native American tribes in Rhode Island Algonquian ethnonyms