THE NAHANT HISTORICAL SOCIETY WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE MASSACHUSETT TRIBE, THE TRIBE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE FROM WHOM THE COLONY, PROVINCE AND COMMONWEALTH HAVE TAKEN THEIR NAME. WE WOULD LIKE TO PAY OUR RESPECTS TO THE ANCESTRAL MASSACHUSETT TRIBE AND THEIR DESCENDANTS WHO STILL INHABIT HISTORICAL MASSACHUSETT TRIBE TERRITORIES TO THIS DAY.
Ever wonder who lived in Nahant during the 16th century and before? Humans migrated into New England as the last ice age ended about 10,000 years ago. By the 16th century, there were an estimated 100,000 people living in what is now Massachusetts. The Massachusett tribe lived in the Massachusetts Bay area, roughly north from present day Salem – Peabody and south to Weymouth - Brockton. Nahant’s First People raised their families in dome-shaped homes built of bark, and saplings, called wigwams or wetus. Primeval forests graced the land. “Bear Pond” was much larger than it is today. The tribe thrived by hunting, fishing, and, raising the “Three Sisters:” crops of beans, corn, and squash in Nahant. During the depths of winter, they sheltered inland in what is now Lynn. The Massachusett preserved their culture through storytelling, and played sports, such as the forerunner of modern lacrosse.
Sadly, European exploration, and colonization brought devastating changes to the Massachusett. First were European diseases, causing wide-spread death, as much as 90 percent, horribly worse than Covid19. Moreover, Native Americans practiced stewardship of their environment. But the colonists practiced damaging methods of farming, fishing, and hunting, which triggered negative environmental changes. The primeval forests were clear-cut causing wide-spread loss of habitat. This precipitated the loss of formerly abundant species, for example, the turkey, and the introduction of invasive species, both flora, and fauna, such as rats. The remaining First People struggled to survive as colonists took more and more control.
Watercolor by Dan deStefano
Do you know the 17th century story of Poquanum, the Sachem of Nahant, acting as a peacemaker between his people, and the Europeans? The Society has researched many sources to find out. Because so many of his tribe had lost their lives in the epidemics, Poquanum realized he had only two choices for his remaining people’s survival: wage war or make peace. He chose peace. Not understanding the difference between his own people’s world view and that of the colonists, Poquanum accepted small “gifts” and signed away land starting with Nahant in 1630. Poquanum’s time as peacemaker was ill-fated. He traveled north to present day Maine near Portland where trouble had erupted between Native Americans and colonists. The Abenaki, led by the Sagamore Scitterygusset, were suspected of the 1631 killing of a trader, Walter Bagnoll, who had defrauded them. Colonists wanted revenge. In 1633, Poquanum was tragically framed and lynched.
Today, according to the 2010 Federal Census, some 37,000 Native Americans live in Massachusetts. How can we all respectfully learn more about the Massachusett?
The Society recommends starting with the books and online resources listed below.
Study Resources of Native American History – online sources (Special note: the first three are written from the viewpoint of each 17th to early 20th century author’s perspective.)
Local – Nahant and Lynn (online sources)
Strobel, Christoph. Native Americans of New England, The Global Atlantic 1400–1900. 2015.
Lewis, Alonzo. The History of Lynn 1844 (2nd edition.) This Lynn historian, abolitionist, artist, poet, publisher and surveyor researched Poquanum’s life, family, and his murder. Lewis also discovered the Sachem’s real name by this 2nd edition. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=yale.39002015471577&view=1up&seq=9&skin=2021
Wilson, Fred A. Some Annals of Nahant. 1928. This author was not only a Nahant building contractor but also an author, historian, and genealogist who served as a volunteer in many town offices, not least as Nahant Public Library trustee. #1 - Some annals of Nahant, Massachusetts, by Fred A. Wilson. - Full View | HathiTrust Digital Library
Wood, William. New England’s Prospect: Being a true, lively, and experimental description of that part of America, commonly called New-England: discovering the state of that country, both as it stands to our new-come English planters; and to the old native inhabitants. And laying down that which may both enrich the knowledge of the mind-travelling reader, or benefit the future voyager. 1634. Wood came to New England in 1629 to report on the Massachusetts Bay area’s environment, and how settlement was progressing to sponsors in England. Many details about Native Americans plus a section on Nahant. https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/47082
O’ Brien, John L. Registrar, Southern Essex Registry of Deeds. Native American Deeds website, which documents the history of how the lands of Nahant, and other Essex municipalities came to be under colonial control. https://salemdeeds.com/NAD/default.aspx
Massachusetts and New England
Bragdon, Kathleen J. Native people of southern New England, 1500-1650.
Cronon, William. Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England, 1983.
Lipman, Andrew. The Saltwater Frontier: Indians and the Contest for the American Coast. 2015
Newell, Margaret Ellen. Brethren by Nature: New England Indians, Colonists, and the Origins of American Slavery. 2015
Philbrick, Nathaniel. Mayflower: a Story of Courage, Community, and War. 2006
Schultz, Eric B. and Michael J. Tougias. King Philip's War: the History and Legacy of America's Forgotten Conflict. 2016
National
Brown, Dee. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, 1970
Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. "All the Real Indians Died Off": And 20 Other Myths about Native Americans. 2016
Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States. 2014
Reséndez, André. The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America. 2016.