Niantic
The Niantic are a Native American group belonging to the Algonquian language family, historically situated along the coasts of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Their name translates to "at a point of land on an estuary," reflecting their close relationship with the coastal environment. Evidence indicates that the Niantic have inhabited this region for thousands of years, establishing permanent villages and cultivating a diet that included fish, seafood, maize, beans, and pumpkins. They were skilled artisans, known for creating woven fabrics, splint baskets, and leather goods, and their homes, called wigwams, featured a distinctive bent and lashed pole construction.
In the sixteenth century, the Niantic were divided into Eastern and Western groups due to pressures from Pequot attacks. The Western Niantic faced significant population decline from epidemics and the Pequot War in 1637, leading many survivors to align with the Mohegan tribe. The Eastern Niantic eventually merged with the Narragansett tribe in the 1670s. While the Niantic as a distinct identity has diminished over the centuries, descendants are still present, particularly among the Narragansett and Mohegan. In recent years, individuals claiming Niantic descent have organized into the Nehantic Tribe and Nation in Connecticut, advocating for federal recognition as an Indigenous nation.
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Niantic
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Northeast
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Algonquian
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Connecticut, Rhode Island
The Niantic, a branch of the Algonquian family, lived on the coasts of Rhode Island and Connecticut. Their name means “at a point of land on an estuary.” Evidence suggests they had lived in the area for thousands of years. They lived in permanent villages and ate a diet of fish, seafood, maize, beans, and pumpkins. They cooked food in clay pots, stirring it with wooden utensils, and created beautiful woven fabrics, splint baskets, and leather goods. Their houses, called wigwams, were made on a bent and lashed pole framework; in later years, they often included European furniture. During the sixteenth century, the nation was divided into the Eastern and Western Niantic by a series of Pequot attacks. The Western Niantic, who numbered about 600 in 1600, lived on the coast between the Connecticut River and Niantic Bay. This land was much desired by White settlers, who continually tried to take it. After epidemics decimated their population in 1616-1619, the Western Niantic were all but wiped out by the Pequot War in 1637. Those who survived became associated with the Mohegan. Since the nineteenth century, claims of Western Niantic Indigenous identity have been limited. The Eastern Niantic merged with the Narragansett in the 1670s. Population counts after the merger treated the two nations as one group. Descendants of the Niantic do exist, especially among the Narragansett and Mohegan. In 1998, thirty-five Connecticut families claiming Niantic descent organized as the Nehantic Tribe and Nation, a nonprofit organization. They began petitioning the US government to be a federally-recognized Indigenous nation, although they have not achieved this status.
Bibliography
Libby, Sam. "Now the Nehantics Ask US Recognition." The New York Times, 2 Aug. 1998, www.nytimes.com/1998/08/02/nyregion/now-the-nehantics-ask-us-recognition.html. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
"Niantic Tribe." Dartmouth College Library Digital Collections, collections.dartmouth.edu/occom/html/occom/ctx/orgography/org0071.ocp.html. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
"Niantic, Western." Native Northeast Portal, nativenortheastportal.com/bio-tribes/niantic-western. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.
Puniello, Anthony J. "Evidence of the Niantic Indians in the Archaeological Record." Northeast Historical Archaeology, vol. 22, 1993, doi.org/10.22191/neha/vol22/iss1/6. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.