Hammonasset people
 The Hammonasset River was part of the territory of the Hammonassett people | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| merged into Tunxis people in the mid-18th century[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Connecticut, U.S. | |
| Languages | |
| Algonquian language | |
| Religion | |
| Indigenous religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Quinnipiac, Tunxis |
The Hammonasset people were a historical Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands whose territory was along the west bank of the Connecticut River to the Hammonasset River in Connecticut.
Language
[edit]The Hammonasset spoke an Algonquian language.
Culture
[edit]In their society, villages were organized by patrilineal clans with names appointed by animal totems.[2] The indigenous people who settled in the area named it Hammonasset, which roughly translates to “where we dig the ground.”[3]
Economy and subsistence
[edit]They subsisted by fishing and hunting, and raised corn, beans, and squash.[4] The Hammonasset River was one of the few to have salmon runs.[5]
History
[edit]17th century
[edit]The first European colonists arrived in their territory area in 1638.[1]
They were once a band of Quinnipiac people, who were recorded living near Guilford, Connecticut. Their leader was named Sebequnash, or "The Man Who Weeps."[6]
In 1730, the band's population was 250 to 300 people. By 1774, they were reduced to only 38 people. They moved to Farmington, Connecticut, to live among the Tunxis in 1768.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Hodge, Frederick Webb (1910). Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, Part 2. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. p. 345. ISBN 9780722208281.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ "The Eastern Woodland Hunters - Food / Hunting / Tools". firstpeoplesofcanada.com. Retrieved 2019-04-27.
- ^ "Hammonasset State Park Serves the State and its Residents", Connecticut history.org.
- ^ "Hammonasset State Park", Connecticut State Parks
- ^ Lavin, Lucianne. Connecticut's Indigenous Peoples, Yale University Press, 2013, p. 111ISBN 9780300195194
- ^ Hodge, Frederick Webb, ed. (1912). Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico: A–M, Vol 30, Part 1. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. p. 529.