Pocomtuc
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Pocomtuc, or Deerfield Indians, were a Native American tribe formerly inhabiting Western Massachusetts, especially around the confluence of the Deerfield and Connecticut Rivers in Franklin County, but could also be found in parts of Hampden and Hampshire County as well as portions of Connecticut and Vermont. Their principal village, also known as Pocomtuc, is in the vicinity of current Deerfield, Massachusetts[1]. Their language, now extinct, was an R-dialect of the Algonquian language family, most likely related to the Wappinger and nearby Mahican tribes of the Hudson River Valley[2]. Originally allied with the Tunxis and Narragansett against Chief Uncas and the Pequots, all these tribes would eventually unite against the English colonists in King Phillip's War. Little is known about the Pocomtuc people, but it is believed they led a similar lifestyle to other tribes of New England, engaging in semi-sedentary agriculture of maize, corn, and squash as well as taking advantage of the fish runs along the Connecticut River, which also served as a major inland transportation route.
Villages associated with the Pocomtuc
- Agawam - present-day Agawam, Massachusetts (sometimes associated with the Nipmuc)
- Mayawaug - present-day West Suffield, Connecticut
- Nameroke - present-day Enfield, Connecticut
- Nonotuck - present-day Northampton, Massachusetts
- Norwottuck - present-day Hadley, Massachusetts
- Pachasock - somewhere in present-day Hampden County, Massachusetts
- Pocumtuc - present-day Deerfield, Massachusetts
- Scitico - present-day Enfield, Connecticut (farther east)
- Squawkeag - present-day Northfield, Massachusetts (sometimes associated with the Nipmuc)
- Woronoco - present-day Westfield, Massachusetts
At the close of the war, many of the Pocomtuc, Nipmuc, and other tribes fled to Schaghticoke, on the Hudson River, where they remained until 1754, when most joined and merged into the Abenaki tribes at St.-François-du-Lac, Québec or moved further West. Despite decimation due to intertribal warfare with the Mohawk and smallpox epidemics which greatly reduced their numbers before European contact, even greater reduction in their numbers came with serving as pawns of the power struggle between the Dutch, English, French and their respective Native American allies. Amazingly, small bands remained in Massachusetts as late as the 1800s, but most fled north or lost their tribal identity through intermarriage with other tribes and settlers. Many of the present-day Abenaki of New Hampshire, Vermont, and Canada contain Pocomtuc blood in their veins.
The Pocomtuc tribe counted Chief Wawanotewat, better known as 'Greylock', was a famous warrior who continued to lead bands into Massachusetts even after most had left the state. Mount Greylock, in the Berkshires is named after him[3].
