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Nipmuc Indians from all bands in Massachusetts
numbered more than 15,000 at the time Europeans came to this area in
1620. Archeological records prove their presence dating back some
15,000-20,000 years ago.
Nipmucs are the original people of Worcester County, much
of Central New England, and beyond—stretching from southern New
Hampshire to Springfield and down into northern CT and RI.
The people lived in scattered villages throughout the area including Wabaquasset, Quinnebaug, Quaboag, Pocumtac, Agawam, Squakkeag, and Wachusett. Their economic and subsistence cycles consisted of hunting, gathering, planting, and harvesting in their seasons. These villages were linked together by kinship ties. trade alliances, and common enemies. They lived in wetus, which could be moved to other encampments. Often thought of as wanderers, they were instead careful planners and good stewards of the land upon which they lived.
There are scattered references throughout history to Europeans landing on the coast of Canada, Maine and the islands nearby. In 1497, John Cabot landed on New Foundland establishing new fishing ground for Northern Europeans. The French attempted several times to colonize the Canadian and Maine coastlines in order to capitalize on the fur trade. Deadly epidemics resulting from these encounters ravaged the Native population. Current scholars estimated a passable 80% mortality rate. Later, when the English began to settle the area, they took the vacant villages and abandoned cornfields as a sign from God that they were meant to supplant the Indians as the right inhabitants of the land.
The tragic
history of the Nipmucs also includes the period during King Philip’s War in 1675-1676
in which English colonists forced-march some 500-1000 Nipmucs to Deer
Island in Boston Harbor without adequate food, clothing or shelter
during a bitter winter. Hundreds died and few ever returned to their
native lands. The Nipmuc Nation and other tribes who were imprisoned
return annually to Deer Island to mourn their ancestors. A memorial
on Deer Island commemorating this historical episode awaits final
funding. (Ojibway oral history tells that a sign was given and the people knew that
a terrible thing was on its way to destroy the people. Therefore, they left
and traveled west to new lands taking the scared fires with them until it
was safe to return to the homelands. They refer to the Indians in New England
as the ones that stayed behind.)
The Nipmuc Nation possesses a rich cultural history which is
celebrated and memorialized through events, artifacts, tribal traditions
at institutions including Sturbridge Village, the Worcester Historical
Museum, the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, MA, Harvard University in
Cambridge and countless libraries, town halls and newspapers throughout
the Commonwealth.
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