217:, in semi-permanent settlements or dispersed villages. Socially, the Niantic community valued both personal autonomy and group unity, with individual families responsible for providing for themselves. They crafted shell artworks but did not create too many projectile points, showing similar shared culture extending from southern Connecticut to Long Island to Martha's Vineyard. The arrival of the Mohegan and Pequot peoples in the southeastern Connecticut region led to the split of the Niantic people into Western Niantic and Eastern Niantic divisions.
37:
272:
Niantic-Narragansetts received their reservation in 1709. He died in 1723, by which time the
Eastern Niantics were fully known as Narragansetts. Alcoholism, political infighting, and pressure from the European settlers in the area began to harm the tribe, with population shrinking to 51 families by 1730.
375:
In 1998, about 35 Connecticut families claiming
Niantic descent incorporated as the Nehantic Tribe and Nation nonprofit association. They established a three-person governing board, researched their history more fully, and began the petition process of seeking recognition from the federal government
336:
By 1870, the
Western Niantics were declared extinct by the state of Connecticut, which sold their 300-acre (1.2 km) reservation on the Black Point peninsula of East Lyme. In 1886, the state sold their burial ground, which was desecrated. The Crescent beach community was developed on top of this
332:
in New York and eventually
Wisconsin. Those that remained were often seen by political leaders as separate from the white community but also not as Indigenous, resulting in Niantics being listed as "Black" or "Negro" in Rhode Island town records, a reclassification that would make it difficult for
275:
By the autumn of 1713, Christian missionaries had begun to try converting
Eastern Niantics to Christianity, though they were met with resistance. In the 1720s, a more concentrated, organized effort began, but success was largely limited to those Eastern Niantics who had been taken as household
271:
Entering the 18th century, the
Eastern Niantic-Narragansett community in Rhode Island was one of the largest in Southern New England, with 300-500 Eastern Niantics outnumbering the surviving Narragansetts. Weunquest's half-brother Ninigret II succeeded her, and under his leadership, the
241:
Conflict developed between the
Niantics and their colonial neighbors, with the English colonists conducting punitive military expeditions against the Niantics, resulting in massive destruction. The violence became more widespread on both sides of the conflict and degenerated into the
262:
fled to the
Eastern Niantics in such great numbers that the tribe became known as the Narragansetts. Eastern Niantics continued to lead the joined tribes; by 1679, Ninigret had been succeeded by his daughter Weunquest, who died circa 1686.
348:
In the early 20th century, Mohegan people of southeastern
Connecticut considered Western Niantic peoples to be amongst their elders, turning to them for additional guidance on sacred traditions, medicine, symbolism, and tribal history.
225:
By the time
European settlers arrived in southern Rhode Island in 1636, the Niantic and Narragansett peoples were closely related, both in terms of sociopolitics and family groups. The Eastern Niantic population, led by
246:
in 1637. This conflict resulted in almost total destruction of the Western Niantics by the colonists and their Indian allies; the roughly 100 surviving members of the Western Niantics merged into the Mohegans.
276:
servants and slaves by European families. Widespread interest in Christianity did not begin amongst the Western or Eastern Niantics until 1743, after which distinct congregations formed for each group.
192:
Prior to European colonization of their lands, the Niantics spent their summers fishing and digging the shellfish which were abundant there and for which the area is famous. They cultivated the
258:(1675–1676), the Narragansetts were reduced in population from 5,000 to a few hundred, while Eastern Niantics were largely spared due to Ninigret's neutrality during the conflict. Surviving
782:
Public Library has some information, mainly as small booklets that were researched and written by local historians. These refer to Mercy Matthews and many other Niantic people.
287:, in order "to barter their skins and furs for powder, shot, rings, knives, cloth, pipes, tobacco, beads, lace, whistle and other commodities" with local merchants.
942:
937:
126:
means "of long-necked waters"; area residents believe that this refers to the "long neck" or peninsula of land known as Black Point, located in the village of
340:
In 1880, the Eastern Niantic-Narragansett reservation was sold to the state of Rhode Island, with only the church remaining under their control.
407:
111:
337:
area. Niantic skeletal remains have been uncovered during excavation for new construction projects over the years, as recently as 1988.
294:
encountered a Western Niantic community of 85 people, including 56 children, in the present-day village of Niantic. He sketched their
667:"They Were Here All Along: The Native American Presence in Lower-Central New England in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries"
165:
927:
761:
312:, including adopting the dominant culture's religious beliefs, style of dress, and class system. In 1780, residents of
932:
193:
903:. Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 145. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1952.
156:
The division of the Niantics became so great that the language of the eastern Niantics is classified as a dialect of
133:
The Niantic people were divided into eastern and western groups due to intrusions by the more numerous and powerful
313:
235:
302:. He further reported that 11 Niantic men had been killed between 1755-1761 while serving with colonial troops.
20:
316:, voted to take Eastern Niantic-Narragansett land on the grounds that "the native Indians extinct in Town."
36:
832:"Turning toward Mashapaug: Using Oral History to Teach about Place and Community in Providence, Rhode Island"
196:: maize, beans, and squash. They also hunted, fished, and collected nuts, roots, and fruits. During the Late
922:
161:
779:
309:
284:
280:
250:
Some members of the Mohegans can trace their ancestry back to the Niantics, especially in the vicinity of
231:
880:
Hodge, Frederick W. Handbook of North American Indians. Washington, DC.: Government Printing Press, 1910.
157:
64:
259:
255:
127:
329:
325:
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621:"The Right to a Name: The Narragansett People and Rhode Island Officials in the Revolutionary Era"
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213:
Like the Narragansetts, the Niantics lived around salt ponds mainly in what is now coastal
137:. The Western Niantics were subject to the Pequots and lived just east of the mouth of the
299:
197:
394:
353:
911:
365:
847:
214:
176:
The Niantics spoke an Algonquian Y-dialect similar to their neighbors the Pequots,
119:
571:
369:
291:
115:
52:
243:
181:
361:
146:
164:. Today, only western Nehantics are known to exist, in the area of coastal
298:
and noted similarities between the design they used and those used by the
385:
305:
By the end of the 1700s, the Niantic peoples had adopted many aspects of
227:
809:
793:
457:
441:
690:
666:
442:"Dispersed Villages In Late Woodland Period South-Coastal Rhode Island"
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836:
Transformations: The Journal of Inclusive Scholarship and Pedagogy
665:
Baron, Donna Keith; Hood, J. Edward; Izard, Holly V. (July 1996).
356:
in Providence, Rhode Island that also included Narragansetts,
160:, while the language of the western Niantics is classified as
556:"Red Yankees: Narragansett Conversion in the Great Awakening"
328:, numerous Eastern Niantic families fled west and joined the
141:, while the Eastern Niantics became very close allies to the
440:
Leveillee, Alan; Waller, Jr., Joseph; Ingham, Donna (2006).
333:
them to maintain their claim on their ancestral lands.
122:during the early colonial period. The tribe's name
80:
70:
58:
46:
41:Niantic tribe's territory in southern New England
352:In the 1930s, Niantics attended a gathering at
230:, lived primarily in the areas of present-day
755:
753:
200:, they also dined on snake and turtle meat.
16:Historic Native American tribe in Connecticut
8:
180:, and Narragansetts in New England, and the
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713:"Two 1761 Wigwams at Niantic, Connecticut"
426:Moseley, Christopher and R. E. Asher, ed.
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614:
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762:"Now the Nehantics Ask U.S. Recognition"
711:Sturtevant, William C. (October 1975).
476:
474:
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279:In 1733, Western Niantics travelled to
943:Native American tribes in Rhode Island
798:Studies in American Indian Literatures
408:List of early settlers of Rhode Island
938:Native American tribes in Connecticut
7:
619:Herndon, Ruth Wallis (Summer 1997).
446:Archaeology of Eastern North America
47:Regions with significant populations
430:. (New York: Routelege, 1994) Map 3
901:The Indian Tribes of North America
481:Byers, Douglas S. (October 1952).
14:
830:Valk, Anne; Ewald, Holly (2017).
554:Simmons, William S. (May 1983).
884:Sultzman, Lee (July 15, 1997).
856:10.5325/trajincschped.27.1.0009
848:10.5325/trajincschped.27.1.0009
792:Beard, Laura J. (Summer 2003).
487:American Journal of Archaeology
671:The William and Mary Quarterly
601:"History of King Philip's War"
508:2027/nnc2.ark:/13960/t0cv73g6w
428:Atlas of the World's Languages
166:New London County, Connecticut
1:
572:10.1525/ae.1983.10.2.02a00030
397:, Niantic governor and sachem
145:. It is likely that the name
794:"Review: [Untitled]"
760:Libby, Sam (2 August 1998).
483:"Review: [Untitled]"
149:is derived from the tribe's
959:
314:New Shoreham, Rhode Island
18:
236:Charlestown, Rhode Island
114:who lived in the area of
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75:
63:
51:
34:
184:on eastern Long Island.
21:Niantic (disambiguation)
380:Notable Niantic people
285:East Lyme, Connecticut
281:Woodstock, Connecticut
232:Westerly, Rhode Island
81:Related ethnic groups
65:Narragansett language
928:Algonquian ethnonyms
560:American Ethnologist
376:as an Indian tribe.
128:Niantic, Connecticut
19:For other uses, see
326:American Revolution
310:New England culture
87:Narragansett people
76:Indigenous religion
31:
933:Algonquian peoples
766:The New York Times
717:American Antiquity
330:Brotherton Indians
209:Precontact history
899:Swanton, John R.
886:"Niantic History"
290:In October 1761,
256:King Philip's War
252:Lyme, Connecticut
139:Connecticut River
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723:(4): 437–444.
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603:. 31 May 2017.
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324:Following the
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162:Mohegan-Pequot
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889:. Retrieved
859:. Retrieved
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813:. Retrieved
804:(2): 90–93.
801:
797:
787:
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768:. p. 9.
765:
740:. Retrieved
720:
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694:. Retrieved
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648:. Retrieved
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625:Ethnohistory
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583:. Retrieved
563:
559:
520:. Retrieved
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486:
461:. Retrieved
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445:
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388:, a Niantic
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370:Misquamicuts
351:
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344:20th century
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320:19th century
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267:18th century
254:. Following
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221:17th century
215:Rhode Island
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158:Narragansett
155:
132:
123:
120:Rhode Island
103:
99:
95:
93:
26:Ethnic group
891:November 4,
842:(1): 9–28.
292:Ezra Stiles
116:Connecticut
104:Nehantucket
53:New England
912:Categories
874:References
585:August 23,
362:Wampanoags
244:Pequot War
110:-speaking
108:Algonquian
861:23 August
815:23 August
780:East Lyme
742:23 August
696:23 August
650:23 August
522:23 August
463:23 August
452:: 71–89.
147:Nantucket
124:Nehântick
100:Nehântick
59:Languages
810:20737201
458:40914497
402:See also
386:Ninigret
358:Nipmucks
300:Kickapoo
228:Ninigret
188:Lifeways
182:Montauks
178:Mohegans
172:Language
71:Religion
918:Niantic
691:2947204
296:wigwams
283:, from
204:History
151:endonym
135:Pequots
96:Niantic
854:
808:
737:279330
735:
689:
645:483031
643:
580:643911
578:
517:500590
515:
456:
390:sachem
368:, and
307:Yankee
234:, and
852:JSTOR
806:JSTOR
733:JSTOR
687:JSTOR
641:JSTOR
576:JSTOR
513:JSTOR
454:JSTOR
414:Notes
893:2012
863:2021
817:2021
778:The
744:2021
698:2021
652:2021
587:2021
524:2021
465:2021
118:and
94:The
844:doi
725:doi
679:doi
633:doi
568:doi
503:hdl
495:doi
130:.
102:or
914::
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840:27
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834:.
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764:.
752:^
731:.
721:40
719:.
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685:.
675:53
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639:.
629:44
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623:.
609:^
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564:10
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558:.
532:^
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473:^
450:34
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98:(
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
