Massachusett

Historic Native American tribe from Massachusetts Ethnic group MassachusettLocation of the Massachusett and related peoples of southern New England.Regions with significant populations United States: MassachusettsLanguagesEnglish, formerly Massachusett languageReligionChristianity (Puritanism), Indigenous religion, Algonquian religion.Related ethnic groupsNipmuc, Wampanoag, Narraganasett, Mohegan, Pequot, Pocomtuc, Montaukett and other Algonquian peoples The Massachusett were an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands whose historic homeland encompassed much of present-day Greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, particularly the watersheds of the Charles and Neponset rivers and the coast of Massachusetts Bay. The English name Massachusett derives from an Indigenous place-name commonly interpreted as referring to the Great Blue Hill. The colony and later the Commonwealth of Massachusetts were named after the people. Before sustained European settlement, Massachusett communities lived in politically autonomous villages led by sachems. Their economy combined the cultivation of maize, beans and squash with fishing, shellfishing, hunting and the collection of wild plants. They