Pocomtuc

Pocomtuc
Central Connecticut River Valley, historically the main area of Pocomtuc settlement.
Total population
Extinct as a tribe
Regions with significant populations
 United States ( Massachusetts)
Languages
an Eastern Algonquian language
Religion
Indigenous religion
Related ethnic groups
Other Algonquian peoples

The Pocumtuc (also Pocomtuck or Deerfield Indians) were a Native American tribe from Massachusetts. They are part of the Northeastern Woodlands culture. Their language was part of the Algonquian language family. They farmed the Three Sisters (maize, beans, and squash). They also did hunting and fishing along the Connecticut River. Many Pocumtuc died from European diseases. Many also died from wars with colonists.[1] The Pocumtuc allied with the Tunxis and Narragansett against the Mohegan and the Pequot. In King Philip's War, they fought against English colonists. The Pocumted eventually fled to New York. They later moved to Quebec and the West. They joined Abenaki tribes in Canada.[2] Today, many descendants of Pocumtuc live in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Canada.[3]

Territories of the Pocumtuc and neighboring tribes

References

  1. Thomas, Peter A. In the Maelstrom of Change: the Indian Trade and Cultural Process in the Middle Connecticut River Valley: 1635–1665. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts—Amherst, 1979
  2. Spady, James O'Neil. "As if in a Great Darkness: Native American Refugees of the Middle Connecticut River Valley in the Aftermath of King Philip's War: 1677-1697," Historical Journal of Massachusetts, Vol. 23, no. 2 (Summer, 1995), 183-197.
  3. "Pocomtuc | people | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-08-09.