The Podunk were an
indigenous people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
who spoke an
Algonquian Quiripi language
Quiripi (pronounced , also known as Mattabesic, Quiripi-Unquachog, Quiripi-Naugatuck, and Wampano) was an Algonquian language formerly spoken by the indigenous people of southwestern Connecticut and central Long Island,Rudes (1997:1)Goddard (1 ...
and lived primarily in what is now known as
Hartford County, Connecticut
Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. According to the 2020 census, the population was 899,498, making it the second-most populous county in Connecticut. Hartford County contains the ...
, United States. English colonists adopted use of a
Nipmuc
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 part ...
dialect word for the territory of this people.
History
''Podunk'' is of
Algonquian origin, meaning "where you sink in mire", or a
boggy place, in the
Nipmuc
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 part ...
dialect. The Podunk people called their homeplace ''Nowashe,'' "between rivers."
This people lived in territory near the mouth of the
Park River at its confluence with the
Connecticut River. The Dutch called these waterways the Little River and Great River, respectively. The Dutch indicated their territory on an early 17th-century map with the term ''Nowass,'' likely a transliteration of the Algonquian word.
Like other Woodland peoples, the Podunk built their summer lodges near the river. They fished for
shad and
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
, and
lampreys
Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are an ancient extant lineage of jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes , placed in the superclass Cyclostomata. The adult lamprey may be characterized by a toothed, funnel-like su ...
in their season. The men hunted
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...
and
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
, as well as small game. The women cultivated and processed varieties of
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
and beans, as well as drying the meats and preparing skins. They used the furs of
otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...
,
mink, and
beaver for clothing, and used other hides to cover 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. In winter they moved to inland camp sites. As part of their winter diet, they ate dried
venison
Venison originally meant the meat of a game animal but now refers primarily to the meat of antlered ungulates such as elk or deer (or antelope in South Africa). Venison can be used to refer to any part of the animal, so long as it is edible, ...
and bear meat. Numerous of their tools and artifacts, and other archeological evidence, has been found along the rivers and in the highlands.
Post-encounter history
English colonists entered the
Connecticut River valley around 1631; it was inhabited by peoples they called the River Tribes. After the English began to settle in this area, the General Court reserved much of the land to the Podunk as their traditional territory. In the Winter of 1635, the Podunk kept alive the ill-prepared settlers at Hartford with their gifts of "malt, and acorns, and grains." During this time, the Podunk were governed by two
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 ...
s, Waginacut and Arramamet.
Prior to the English-
Narragansett war, the Podunk seemed to have had a peaceful relationship with colonists. Until about 1675 they lived in close proximity. However, the English restricted the Podunk in many ways. Smiths were not to work for the Podunk, and none but licensed traders were to buy their corn, beaver, venison, or timber. The English forbade any trade in arms, horses, dogs, or boats, or in "dangerous" supplies, such as cider or alcohol.
The Podunk were forbidden to enter English houses or handle the weapons of the settlers, nor were they to bring their own guns into the towns. If found in the English colony at night, they were at risk of arrest by a guard, or of being shot if they had a conflict. The Podunk were not allowed to harbor outsiders in their villages. In 1653 the English ordered them to give up their arms to prove their loyalty.
In 1657, a dispute between the Podunks and both the
Mohegans
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 ...
and
Tunxis
The Tunxis were a group of Quiripi speaking Connecticut Native Americans that is known to history mainly through their interactions with English settlers in New England. Broadly speaking, their location makes them one of the Eastern Algonquian ...
surrounding the murder of a "Connecticut sagamore," seems to have led to the outbreak of a war against
Uncas
Uncas () was a ''sachem'' of the Mohegans who made the Mohegans the leading regional Indian tribe in lower Connecticut, through his alliance with the New England colonists against other Indian tribes.
Early life and family
Uncas was born n ...
, sachem of the Mohegans, where the Podunks were aided by the
Pocomtuc
The Pocumtuc (also Pocomtuck or Deerfield Indians) were a Native American tribe historically inhabiting western areas of Massachusetts.
Settlements
Their territory was concentrated around the confluence of the Deerfield and Connecticut River ...
.
In 1659,
Thomas Burnham
Thomas Burnham (1617 – June 24, 1688) was a lawyer and colonist, who was born in England and migrated to the American Colonies sometime prior to 1645. He lived most of his adult live in Connecticut where he was a lawyer and a landowner. He was ...
(1617–1688) purchased the tract of land now covered by the towns of South Windsor and East Hartford from Tantinomo. "Fort Hill" is probably the fort to which "one-eyed" Tantinomo withdrew at the time of his quarrel with chiefs
Uncas
Uncas () was a ''sachem'' of the Mohegans who made the Mohegans the leading regional Indian tribe in lower Connecticut, through his alliance with the New England colonists against other Indian tribes.
Early life and family
Uncas was born n ...
and
Sequassen The Saukiog tribe (sometimes spelled Sickaog or Suckiaug) was a Native American people who lived in the Hartford, Connecticut vicinity circa the early 17th century.
The Saukiog spoke an Algonquian dialect and were part of the Algonquian confede ...
in 1665, when the English unsuccessfully attempted arbitration between them.
In 1675, the Podunks fought the
United Colonies
The "United Colonies" was the name used by the Second Continental Congress for the emerging nation comprising the Thirteen Colonies in 1775 and 1776, before and as independence was declared. Continental currency banknotes displayed the name 'Th ...
during
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 ...
.
The Podunk suffered high rates of mortality from infectious endemic diseases carried by the colonists. Together with disruption caused by colonial pressures, their numbers dropped dramatically. By 1736, the remnants of the Podunk had amalgamated with others to form the
Schaghticoke tribe. They disappeared from the historic record and are considered extinct as a tribe.
In the early 21st century, the former Podunk land is included in the towns of
East Hartford
East Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 51,045 at the 2020 census. The town is located on the east bank of the Connecticut River, directly across from Hartford, Connecticut. It is home to aerospac ...
,
East Windsor,
South Windsor,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, part of
Ellington,
Vernon,
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
, Marlborough and
Glastonbury
Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...
.
According to a late 19th-century history, the region north of the
Hockanum River
The Hockanum River is a river in Connecticut. Hockanum is derived from the Native American Podunk people Algonquin language word meaning "hook-shaped", so named because of the course of the river. The Hockanum neighborhood in East Hartford is na ...
was generally known as Podunk in colonial times; that south of the river, as Hockanum.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Podunk (People)
Wappinger
Algonquian peoples
Eastern Algonquian languages
Indigenous languages of the North American eastern woodlands
Native American tribes in Connecticut
Algonquian ethnonyms
King Philip's War