Nipmuc

ethnic group

The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are Native Americans originally from present-day Massachusetts and parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island. They are from the Northeastern Woodlands culture. Their language is in the Eastern Algonquian language family. They did hunting, fishing and farming (mostly corn). They moved for different seasons. Family groups lived in villages. They were led by chiefs. These villages were often not allied with other Nipmuc villages. Villages allied with stronger neighbors like the Mohegan or Massachuset. Many Natives died from European diseases. Nipmuc supported Metacomet in King Philip's War. Many were forced to stay in Boston Harbor. Others were killed or forced into slavery. The Puritan missionary John Eliot converted Natives and created praying towns. The state of Massachusetts recognizes the Nipmuc people.[5][6][7]

Nipmuc
portrait of Hepsibeth Hemenway, a Nipmuc woman from Worcester, Massachusetts, 1830
Total population
Contemporary people claiming Nipmuc descent: 354 Chaubunagungamaug, (2002)[1]
526 Hassanamisco Nipmuc (2004).[2]
Possible total 1,400 (2008)
Regions with significant populations
Central Massachusetts (Massachusetts), northeast Connecticut (Connecticut), and northwest Rhode Island (Rhode Island)
Languages
English, possibly formerly Nipmuc and Massachusett,
Religion
Traditionally Animism (Manito), Christianity.
Related ethnic groups
Narragansett, Shawomet, Pawtuxet, Eastern Niantic peoples[3] [4]
General location of the Nipmuc(k) and other tribes.

References change

  1. Martin, A. M. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. (2004). Final determination against federal acknowledgment of the Nipmuc Nation (fr25jn04-110). Retrieved from Federal Register Online via GPO Access website: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/04-14394.htm.
  2. The Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. (2004). Martin issues final determination to decline federal acknowledgment of the nipmuc nation. Retrieved from website: http://www.doi.gov/archive/news/04_News_Releases/nipmuc.html Archived 2012-09-21 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Pritzker, Barry (2000). A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 442. ISBN 978-0-1951-38771. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  4. Pritzker, B. M. (2000) A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples (p. 442). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
  5. "Welcome to Nipmuc Nation". nipmucnation.org. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  6. "Nipmuc | people | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  7. "Nipmuc Nation | History". www.umass.edu. Retrieved 2022-08-05.