The Legacy of the Niantic Tribe: Tracing the History and Culture of a Native American Community
Tauheed Ahmad Nawaz
The Legacy of the Niantic Tribe. The name Niantic is also spelled Nehantic also pronounced nie-ANN-tick and is translated as “at a point of land on an estuary” –that is to say, at a point of land near a water passage where the current of a river meets the tide of the ocean. As a coastal population living on river outlets near the Atlantic Ocean, the Niantic resembled other coastal and river ALGONQUIANS of the Northeast Culture Area, and their way of life was similar to that of other coastal or river ALGONQUIANS. Thus, the Niantic people were very skilled navigators and fishermen, and they relied heavily on the resources of the ocean for their survival.
The Native Americans lived in palisaded villages of wigwams and planted fields nearby, fished and collected shellfish in the waterways, and hunted and collected wild plants in the forests as well. There were two general kinds of Niantic people: the Eastern Niantic, who lived on the coasts of Rhode Island and Connecticut in the present day; and the Western Niantic, who lived between Niantic Bay and the Connecticut River on the coast of Connecticut. PEQUOT lands were the barrier that separated the two groups of people.
It was the Western Niantic that were caught up in the events of the Pequot War in 1636-37 between the Pequot and settlers. The Niantic attempted to remain neutral in conflicts between Indians and settlers, but they were caught up in the events of the Pequot War Indians and settlers. There were some Western Niantic who fought along with the colonists during this time.
The Legacy of the Niantic Tribe. The name Niantic is also spelled Nehantic also pronounced nie-ANN-tick and is translated as “at a point of land on an estuary” Source
Also, as a result of the kidnapping of Niantic women and children for sale as slaves in Virginia, Niantic warriors also helped precipitate the conflict when they killed John Stone, a Boston trader, near the mouth of the Connecticut River, in 1634. It should be noted that, despite the Niantic and Pequot, who spoke for them, attempting to justify the deed, the English authorities held them responsible for what they did.
A few days after the war had ended, the remaining members of Western Niantic were placed under the authority of the MOHEGAN, also of Connecticut. As a result, as part of the colonial force that invaded the lands of the Pequot tribe, along with the Narragansett who was related by marriage to the powerful NARRAGANSETT, the sachem Ninigret of the Eastern Niantic provided auxiliaries along with the Narragansett to the colonial force.
There was, however, some notion that some of the bands of Eastern Niantic were harboring refugees from the Pequots. A war was declared between the Eastern Niantics and the Mohegans in 1643, and the two peoples clashed from time to time until peace was made between them in 1647.
In 1645, the Eastern Niantic and Narragansett, two colonies in the New England Confederation of colonies, had signed a treaty with the New England Confederation of colonies two years before. It is also worth noting that the Eastern Niantic fought with the MONTAUK of Long Island in the 1650s. There was no conflict between the Niantic and the WAMPANOAG and Narragansett during King Philip’s War, which was a revolt by the WAMPANOAG, Narragansett, and NNIPMUC against English colonists in 1675–76.
In 1680, surviving Narragansett people were allowed to join the Niantic people at Charlestown, Rhode Island, where they were confined to a reservation. Shortly afterward, Narragansett was formed from the amalgamation of the two tribes. The Western Niantic were part of the Brotherton Indians, which was a group of mostly MAHICAN Indians, more than a century later, in 1788. There was a village near Danbury, Connecticut in 1808 that included some Western Niantic people.
