Wampanoag, Algonquian-speaking North American Indians who formerly occupied parts of what are now the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, including Martha’s Vineyard and adjacent islands. They were traditionally semisedentary, moving seasonally between fixed sites.
Wampanoag, Algonquian-speaking North American Indians who formerly occupied parts of what are now the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, including Martha’s Vineyard and adjacent islands. They were traditionally semisedentary, moving seasonally between fixed sites. Corn (maize) was the staple of their diet, supplemented by fish and game. The tribe comprised several villages, each with its own local chief, or sachem. In 1620 the Wampanoag high chief, Massasoit, made a peace treaty with the Pilgrims, who had landed in the tribe’s territory; the treaty was observed until Massasoit’s death. Bad treatment by settlers who encroached on tribal lands, however, led
Pequot, Algonquian-speaking North American Indians who lived in the Thames valley in what is now Connecticut. The Pequot War (1636-37) fought against a coalition of English settlers and their Native American allies eliminated the Pequot as an impediment to English colonization of southern New England.