Wawyachtonoc (also rendered Wyachtonok, Wawayachtonoc, and Wyaghtonok) were an Algonquian-speaking Native American people indigenous to east central

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and northwest

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 ...

. In 1687, the Wyachtonok,originally subgroup of

Paugussett The Golden Hill Paugussett is a state-recognized Native American tribe in Connecticut. Granted reservations in a number of towns in the 17th century, their land base was whittled away until they were forced to reacquire a small amount of territor ...

, joined the Mohican Confederacy. The majority of the Wawyachtonoc were converted to Christianity, beginning in 1740, by Moravian missionaries. During this period Wawyachtonoc populations became concentrated at the Moravian missions at Shekomeko and Schaghticoke. In the 1830s the some Wawyachtonoc were displaced to

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. These Wawyachtonoc descendants are now part of the

Stockbridge–Munsee Community The Stockbridge–Munsee Community also known as the Mohican Nation Stockbridge–Munsee Band is a federally recognized Native American tribe formed in the late eighteenth century from communities of so-called "praying Indians" (or Moravian Indi ...

and

Brothertown Indians The Brothertown Indians (also ''Brotherton''), located in Wisconsin, are a Native American tribe formed in the late 18th century from communities of so-called "praying Indians" (or Moravian Indians), descended from Christianized Pequot, Narr ...

, while those that remained in Connecticut are part of the

Schaghticoke Tribal Nation The Schaghticoke ( or ) are a Native American tribe of the Eastern Woodlands who historically consisted of Mahican, Potatuck, Weantinock, Tunxis, Podunk, and their descendants, peoples indigenous to what is now New York, Connecticut, and Massa ...

, a

state-recognized tribe State-recognized tribes in the United States are organizations that identify as Native American tribes or heritage groups that do not meet the criteria for federally recognized Indian tribes but have been recognized by a process established under ...

Name

The

ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...

''Wawyachtonoc'' is often translated as "eddy people" or "people of the curved channel."

Territory

The traditional territory of the Wawyachtonoc extended throughout what is now Columbia and Duchess County New York, and

Litchfield County Litchfield County is in northwestern Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is the ...

, Connecticut.

Villages

* Weantinock, the tribe's primary village, situated along the

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...

near present New Milford * Wechquadnach, meaning "wrapped around by the mountain," on the Eastern side of Indian Lake, Litchfield County *

Shekomeko Shekomeko (41°55'41"N 73°35'58"W) was a historic hamlet in the southwestern part of the town of North East, New York, United States) in present-day Dutchess County. It was a village of the Mahican people. They lived by a stream which Anglo-Ame ...

, meaning "great village," 2 miles south of present Pine Plains, NY * Weataug, meaning "

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'' ...

place," likely on the Housatonic River between Washining Lake and Canaan, CT, near present

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

* Bantam * Pomperaug

References

{{authority control Native American history of Connecticut Native American tribes in Connecticut History of Fairfield County, Connecticut