Wawaloam (before 1620 – after 1661) (also known as Wararme) was a leader of the Narragansett tribe in Rhode Island, and she was the wife of

Miantonomi Miantonomoh (1600? – August 1643), also spelled Miantonomo, Miantonomah or Miantonomi, was a chief of the Narragansett people of New England Indians. Biography He was a nephew of the Narragansett grand sachem, Canonicus (died 1647), with whom h ...

. Wawaloam was a daughter of Sowheag (often mis-stated to be Sequasson), an ally of

, who was likely a

Wangunk The Wangunk or Wongunk were an Indigenous people from central Connecticut. They had three major settlements in the areas of the present-day towns of Portland, Middletown, and Wethersfield. They also used lands in other parts of what were later or ...

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 ...

sachem living near the Connecticut River. The name "Wawaloam" may refer to the flight of a sparrow in the Nipmuc language. In 1632 Wawaloam and Miantinomi visited Governor

John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led t ...

at his home in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1638 Wawaloam and Miantonomi marched with Roger Williams to Hartford with one hundred warriors to negotiate with the authorities there for Providence's protection. In June of 1661 while at her village of Aspanansuck (Exeter Hill) Wawaloam signed an affidavit regarding

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 ...

, which she swore was taken from the

Pequots 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 t ...

and given to Socho (Sassawwaw) for military services rendered prior to the Pequot War (1637). In the late 1800s a farmer in

Exeter, Rhode Island Exeter is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. Exeter extends east from the Connecticut border to the town of North Kingstown. It is bordered to the north by West Greenwich and East Greenwich, and to the south by Hopkinton ...

William M. Bailey, created a stone memorial to Wawaloan using a large boulder, and later, the nearby school in Exeter was named after her. A campground in nearby

Richmond, Rhode Island Richmond is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island. The population was 8,020 at the 2020 census. It contains the villages of Alton, Arcadia, Barberville, Carolina, Hillsdale, Kenyon, Shannock, Tug Hollow, Usquepaug, Wood River Junction, ...

is also named after Wawaloam as is a bridge on the South County trail.http://www.preservation.ri.gov/pdfs_zips_downloads/survey_pdfs/charlestown.pdf

References

{{reflist 1600s deaths Pre-statehood history of Rhode Island People of colonial Rhode Island 17th-century Native Americans Native American leaders Narragansett people Niantic people Native American history of Rhode Island Female Native American leaders 17th-century Native American women Year of birth uncertain