Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation facts for kids
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Enrolled members: 100 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 United States (Connecticut) |
|
| Languages | |
| English, formerly Paugussett (Quiripi) | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mashantucket Pequot, Mohegan |
The Golden Hill Paugussett is a Native American tribe in Connecticut. The state of Connecticut officially recognizes them. In the 1600s, they were given special lands called reservations in many towns. Over time, most of their land was taken away. In the 1800s, they had to buy back a small amount of land.
Today, they have a state-recognized reservation in Trumbull. They also have another reservation in Colchester, Connecticut, which they got in 1978 and 1980. The Golden Hill Paugussett people are descendants of the historic Quiripi-speaking Paugussett nation. This nation spoke an Algonquian language and lived in much of western Connecticut before Europeans arrived. They are one of five tribes recognized by the state of Connecticut. However, the United States government did not give them federal recognition in 2004.
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Life Today for the Golden Hill Paugussett
About 100 members belong to the Golden Hill Paugussett tribe. Most of them live in cities in Southwestern Connecticut. This is because their main reserve in the Nichols area of Trumbull, Connecticut is very small, only about 1⁄4-acre (0.0010 km2).
Some tribal members also live in Colchester, Connecticut. The tribe has a second reservation there, which is about 106-acre (0.43 km2). In 2009, a state court decided that the tribe's status as Native Americans was valid. The court refused to remove members of the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe from their reservations in Trumbull and Colchester.
A Look Back at Paugussett History
The Paugussett people have a long history that began long before Europeans came to America. The first written records about them come from European explorers. Their language, called Quiripi, was one of many Algonquian languages spoken by tribes along the Atlantic coast. Other tribes that spoke Quiripi included the Quinnipiack, Wampano, Unkechaug, Naugatuck, Mattabesic, and Schaghticoke. Sadly, the Quiripi language has not been spoken since the early 1800s.
Historically, the Paugussett people lived in a large area of Connecticut. This area stretched from what is now Norwalk to West Haven. It also went inland as far as they could travel by canoe on the Housatonic and Naugatuck rivers.
The tribe had four main groups:
- The Paugussett Proper lived in what is now Milford, Derby, and Shelton.
- The Pequonnock lived along the coast.
- The Potatuck lived in Newtown, Woodbury, and Southbury.
- The Weantinock lived in New Milford.
The Paugussett people had a culture based on farming and fishing. The women grew important crops like corn, beans, and squash. They also grew tobacco, which they used for special ceremonies. The men caught fish in both fresh and salt water. Large piles of shells found along the coast show that they lived in this area for a long time. These shell piles also show that they had a well-organized society.
Early Challenges from Settlers
The Paugussett people did not meet Europeans directly at first. However, they did interact with other Native Americans who had met Europeans. Because of this, they were affected by a smallpox epidemic in 1633–35, which caused many deaths. They also learned about the English and their allies fighting the Pequot in 1637. The Pequot nation was defeated in this war. English settlers first arrived in Paugussett lands in 1638–39. They started settlements in places like New Haven, Guilford, Milford, Stratford, and Fairfield.
Losing Land: Golden Hill and Turkey Hill
Within a few years, the Paugussett people had lost most of their lands to the colonists. In 1639, a reservation was set aside at Golden Hill in present-day Bridgeport. This place was special to the tribe because it had a sacred spring. Another reservation was created at Turkey Hill in what is now Derby.
In 1802, the state-appointed person in charge of the tribe sold the Golden Hill land. A new reservation was made at Turkey Meadows in Trumbull in 1841. But this land was also sold in 1854. The last part of Turkey Hill was sold by the state in 1826.
The Ethiope or Liberia Community
According to a historian named Charles Brilvitch, some Paugussett people moved to Bridgeport starting in the 1820s. They were led by Joel Freeman, a Turkey Hill Indian from Derby. They settled in an area of the city that became known as Ethiope or Liberia. This community was mostly Paugussett people. However, it also included Native Americans from other nations like the Mahican, Shinnecock, Nehantic, and Munsee-Delaware.
Joel Freeman's sisters, Mary and Eliza, built houses there in 1848. These houses are still standing today and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Before the Civil War, the Paugussett and other Native Americans in this community became quite successful. Many men worked on whaling ships and trading vessels. Many women worked as cooks and waitstaff on steamboats. The village built two churches, a Masonic lodge, a resort hotel, and a school.
There was some confusion about the identity of Joel Freeman and his sisters. This was because old documents sometimes used the term "coloured" to describe people who were not white. This term was sometimes used for Native Americans as well as African Americans. This confusion has affected other Native American communities trying to show their history. Native American nations often welcomed people from other backgrounds and intermarried with their neighbors.
Getting Land Back
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Around 1857, William Sherman (1825-1886), who was a whaler, left the Liberia community. He settled in Nichols Farms in Trumbull, Connecticut. This was the same place as the old Turkey Meadows reservation (1841-1854). In 1875, he bought a small piece of land, about a quarter-acre. This land included a Paugussett burial ground. He used money from the Golden Hill Tribal Fund to build a house there. Local histories from the 1880s call him the chief of the tribe. Before he died in 1886, Sherman gave the property to the state overseer to hold for the Golden Hill tribe. The State of Connecticut accepted this land as an official reservation that same year.
Later, his son George Sherman (born 1871) became the leader of the Golden Hill people. He lived on the reservation and led the tribe until he died in 1938. His son Edward (1896-1974) then became chief, known as "Chief Black Hawk." Edward's sister, Ethel (1893-1993), was named "Chieftess Rising Star" in 1933. Ethel was very active in the Pan-Indian movement, which worked to unite Native American tribes. She strongly supported Native American rights and fought many battles in courts.
Ethel named her son Aurelius H. Piper (1916-2008) as "Chief Big Eagle" in 1959. After Chief Black Hawk died in 1974, Piper (Chief Big Eagle) became the full leader of the tribe. He moved to the Trumbull reservation. He received money to buy land in Colchester, Connecticut for the community in 1978 and 1980. The state legislature officially recognized this land as a reservation in 1981.
Tribal Leaders
On May 1, 1991, because he was getting older, Chief Big Eagle named his son, Aurelius H. Piper, Jr. (1945 - 2021), as Chief of Chiefs and Hereditary Chief of the Golden Hill Tribe. Aurelius H. Piper, Jr. was known as Chief Quiet Hawk. He was a former Marine and social worker. At the time, he was the executive director of American Indians for Development, Inc. As soon as he became chief, he started the Golden Hill Indian Development Corporation. Its goal was to help the tribe's economy using their reservation properties.
In September 1992, Chief Quiet Hawk filed a lawsuit to get back lands that were taken from the tribe. He said these lands were taken in violation of the federal Nonintercourse Act. This law says that Native American lands cannot be sold without the approval of the U.S. Congress. The tribe first tried to get back two lots in Bridgeport that the State of Connecticut sold in 1802 without Congress's approval. In November 1992, he added the Turkey Meadows Reservation in Trumbull to the claim. At the same time, the tribe sued for the rest of the 80-acre Golden Hill Reservation in Bridgeport. Soon after, they added historic reservation lands in Milford, Orange, Woodbridge, Stratford, and Shelton. They announced plans to claim land in 24 towns, which was worth a lot of money and involved many property owners.
A major goal for Chief Quiet Hawk was to get federal recognition for the tribe. He received money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1992 to help with this. Another goal was to use modern technology to help tribal members connect with each other and strengthen their community.
Chief Quiet Hawk passed away on April 26, 2021, at age 76. On November 14, 2022, the tribal members voted to confirm his brother, Aureliuse H. Piper III, as his successor. Aureliuse is the oldest surviving son of Chief Big Eagle and is known as Chief Bear Eagle.
Working for Federal Recognition
Chief Big Eagle first asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for federal recognition of the Golden Hill Paugussett tribe in 1982. This request was not acted upon. In early 1990, Chief Big Eagle asked Chief Quiet Hawk to continue the effort for federal recognition and to work on the land claims in Connecticut.
Some local residents were against federal recognition because they worried about a casino being built in Bridgeport. Some experts believe this opposition was due to unfair treatment of Native Americans and people of mixed heritage. This is because many Golden Hill Paugussett people have mixed backgrounds.
In 1996, the Bureau of Indian Affairs officially denied recognition to the Golden Hill Paugussett. The tribe appealed this decision and provided more historical and family documents. However, they were again denied federal recognition in 2004. After laws changed, federally recognized tribes could build gambling casinos on their lands. This has brought a lot of money for education and development to some tribes, including two in Connecticut.
In 2015, the Bureau of Indian Affairs changed its rules for recognition. They now only required tribes to prove their history back to 1900, not to the time of first contact with Europeans. They also accepted state recognition and existing reservations as proof of a continuing relationship between the tribe and the government. This change would have likely helped the Paugussett and other state-recognized tribes get federal recognition. However, Connecticut's leaders in Congress insisted on adding a rule that tribes previously denied federal recognition could not apply again. In 2017, the Golden Hill Paugussett announced they would challenge this "no second chance" rule. They said it was unfair and planned to work on another application for federal recognition.
State Opposition to Federal Recognition
Connecticut has earned a lot of money from its share of income from the two large casino resorts in the state. However, Connecticut officials have been against recognizing more tribes and adding more gambling sites. State officials actively tried to stop the BIA from recognizing the Golden Hill Paugussett.
The governor, members of Congress from Connecticut, and private property owners also challenged and worked to reverse the federal recognition given to the Eastern Pequot Nation in 2002 and the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation in 2004. They succeeded in getting the BIA to review both cases. After a change in government leaders, the recognition of both tribes was taken away in 2005. This was a very unusual action.
Land Rights Claims
The Paugussett tribe has also filed lawsuits about their land rights. They say the state did not have the right to manage or sell land on their behalf. They believe the state caused them to lose a lot of land since colonial times. Because they do not have federal recognition, it has been harder for them to pursue these lawsuits.
Chief Big Eagle first started these claims. The Paugussett originally claimed legal rights to 700,000 acres (2,800 km2) of land. This land stretched from Orange/Woodbridge in New Haven County through Fairfield County to Greenwich. It also went north into Eastern Litchfield County up to the Massachusetts border. However, the Paugussett have since dropped these very large claims.
In 1992, Chief Quiet Hawk filed a lawsuit claiming 80 acres in Bridgeport, the site of Golden Hill. The state had sold this land in 1802. He also claimed land in Trumbull and Orange. In 1993, a federal judge named Peter Dorsey agreed that Connecticut had broken the 1790 Non-Intercourse Act. This act says that Native American lands cannot be sold without the federal government's approval. However, the judge stopped the case until the BIA decided on the Paugussett's request for federal recognition.
In 1999, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned this decision. They said that the rules for a Native American group to claim land might not be the same as the rules for federal recognition. In 2006, a federal district court judge dismissed the Golden Hill Paugussett's 14-year-old lawsuit. This lawsuit claimed lands in Orange, Trumbull, and Bridgeport. The judge dismissed it because the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs had rejected the tribe's request for federal recognition. The Golden Hill Paugussett argued that since they were a Native American nation, the state did not have the power to deal with them on land sales. Since the United States was formed, the federal government has kept the power to deal with Native American nations. It requires the Senate's approval for any sale of Native American lands.
Important Golden Hill Paugussett People
- Aurelius H. Piper, Sr. (1916 - 2008), also known as Chief Big Eagle. He was a hereditary chief who died at age 92 in Trumbull. In the late 1900s, he encouraged the tribe to bring back the Paugussett language. He believed it was very important for Native American people to keep their languages alive.
- Aurelius H. Piper, Jr. (1945 - 2021), also known as Chief Quiet Hawk. His father, Chief Big Eagle, chose him to be the next Chief of Chiefs.
See also
